The Winter Secret
Nov. 2nd, 2023 01:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearThe Winter Secret by Lulu Taylor was another charity shop find - it's one of those books that has multiple *secrets* and dripfeeds foreboding throughout, with a massive climactic speed-up of the pace towards the dramatic conclusion...
And, as one of those books - it was pretty good! Initially, it had very strong 'Rebecca' vibes, which made me wonder if the title was an homage. And certain aspects did align with that book, though the storyline also diverged quite a bit.
I felt the sense of foreboding regarding the central relationship was a bit heavy-handed, and both narrative threads got a bit repetitive in the middle, so it felt like the book could have been 100 pages shorter without really losing anything.
That said, I liked the main protagonist, Buttercup, and I was interested by both narratives enough to keep reading. There were some things about the ultimate conclusion that surprised me (in a good way - especially the eventual appearance of the ex-wife character) but a lot that didn't.
I definitely had the urge to skim towards the end, just to find out what happened - which I guess is more a failing in me than in the book. But overall, this was a good read.
And, as one of those books - it was pretty good! Initially, it had very strong 'Rebecca' vibes, which made me wonder if the title was an homage. And certain aspects did align with that book, though the storyline also diverged quite a bit.
I felt the sense of foreboding regarding the central relationship was a bit heavy-handed, and both narrative threads got a bit repetitive in the middle, so it felt like the book could have been 100 pages shorter without really losing anything.
That said, I liked the main protagonist, Buttercup, and I was interested by both narratives enough to keep reading. There were some things about the ultimate conclusion that surprised me (in a good way - especially the eventual appearance of the ex-wife character) but a lot that didn't.
I definitely had the urge to skim towards the end, just to find out what happened - which I guess is more a failing in me than in the book. But overall, this was a good read.
