3.75/5

There is no denying this book is well written, I understand how there are people who enjoy it simply because of that. However, I just couldn’t get into it, partially because I didn’t enjoy the characters. 

Elizabeth is a terrible person and I found myself dreading reading her perspective. The way she thinks about her husband and son make me so profoundly uncomfortable, she is just awful.

Jack’s story and the prairie background were much more interesting. But, I find it hard to conceptualize that a man so deeply in love with his wife would never share the story of Evelyn or his parents. It just really didn’t seem to fit.

Last, the conclusion, and coming back to fire was good but felt much too foreshadowed. There was no shock value or anything about the shipworks being burnt down, perhaps there wasn’t meant to be, but it really was just okay? Perhaps if the fire had been from Jack’s perspective it would’ve had a bigger impact on readers.