msrichardsreads89's Reviews (2.64k)

Abbeychurch is the charming first novel of Charlotte Mary Yonge. Overall, I found this to be a middle of the road Yonge novel, but I enjoyed seeing the foundations of her writing as well as how she improves in later books. Her characters have sparkling wit that are reminiscent of Jane Austen characters, and her family dynamics are always so well done. This plot wasn't as engaging to me as her other works, but I am glad I read this one, and it was an enjoyable read!

This is a marmite book - you either love it or hate it. Unfortunately I fell into the hate it category. It took me four tries to get into this book, and the longer I read, the more irritated I became. I went in with a bit of excitement because the premise of this book sounds fantastic: a murder and the Gordon Riots. However, the riots themselves were so boring, and all the plotting was exhausting. The villains get most of the page time, and I had no one to root for. One of the things I love about Dickens's writing is his character development, and in this book it was sorely lacking. We meet them for a bit and then go back to the villains. Then the good guys pop back up for a bit and then get tossed aside again. For as much page time as the villains get, they are also not developed well. There is no character growth, and for a character reader like myself, it was incredibly frustrating. I gave up caring around the halfway mark. After over 700 pages, I was so glad to see the back of this book. Barnaby Rudge was a major trudge. 

TL;DR: Who cares? I want these hours of my life back. 

I must admit that I went into this one with high expectations because George Eliot is one of my absolute favorite authors. These stories are very different from Eliot's usual style, and both stories are quite different! "The Lifted Veil" is pretty ominous with a weird yet shocking plot twist. I've read it three times, and I find it pretty unmemorable except for the end. "Brother Jacob" is a bit more clever. I read this with a lovely group of friends, and most of them found this one humorous, but for me the humor fell flat and was borderline cringeworthy. I enjoyed the themes explored in both stories, but overall they were fun but very mid for me. In my opinion, George Eliot really shines in novel form. 

The Four Winds was such a pleasant surprise! This follows a family through the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl years in the 1930s and their resiliency and strength through incredible hardships. Elsa is an unforgettable character as well as her in-laws and children. We follow her journey from her home in Texas and her choice to take her family to California for more opportunities. I really appreciated the care the Kristin Hannah took in making this story realistic and true to life. She focuses on the plight of the working poor: how they were taken advantage of, how they struggled to feed their families, and how the dry heat and drought affected everyone and everything. Not only does Hannah focus on the Dust Bowl, but she also explores motherhood and doing the best you can with what you have. I enjoyed the exploration of poverty, greed, xenophobia, communism, unions, and how these themes affected the characters throughout the novel. This book will make you cry, but it ends on a note of hope. The writing was compelling and lovely, and I look forward to reading more of Kristin Hannah's work. 

This was absolutely wonderful! Charlotte Mary Yonge is such a lovely writer. Her prose is rich and engaging, and her characters are complex, relatable, endearing kindred spirits. The plot was very well paced with a rewarding, redemptive conclusion. She was part of the Oxford Movement, and her faith shines through with her exploration of spiritual themes without coming across as sanctimonious or overly didactic. The more I read her work, the more I fall in love with her writing. This is a great place to start if you are new to Charlotte Mary Yonge. This has become a new favorite! 

This was delightfully cozy and heartwarming! I loved that it centers around a father and daughter who recreate lost recipes. This book will make you so hungry, and the stories were so touching. I loved the exploration of memories related to food and how they can evoke such emotional responses. I wish this had a bit more of the investigation of the lost recipes, but this was just what I needed at the right time. I'm excited to continue with the series!

This was such a pleasant surprise! I went in expecting a fun, Sapphic, small-town rom-com and discovered that this book is so much more. Not only do we get the relationship development between our two main protagonists, Delilah and Claire, we also get to see development in other relationships between the characters and their internal development. I also loved that the characters' lives don't center around their relationships; they have their own hobbies and interests. There are several conflicts in this book, but I felt as though it created realistic, dynamic characters. They had to work through their feelings about their relationships but also work through their own feelings and how they see themselves. I loved the build up of the slow-burn romance. It was a sweet one with some spice. 

The cast of characters was fantastic. Every character felt fully fleshed out and had their own voice. I was so invested in all the plotlines. This was so much more than a simple romance book, and I love it for that. The writing style was entertaining and effortless. I was hooked from beginning to end. The audiobook was great, and the narrator did a great job. The author explored the themes of friendship, messy relationships, toxic masculinity, queerness, female empowerment, and self-discovery so well. I am very eager to read the other books in this series, because this one was so fabulous!