Marielle Thompson

The description of the book is really good, very well written but I don't feel I read a book as good as that description. And the cover... Most women spent their time cowering and trying not to be noticed vs. that powerful looking woman on the cover. The Last Witch in Edinburgh ran and hid for 180 years. #reasons but the cover doesn't properly represent the story inside.

Things I liked... I burned through much of the first half of the book with only some issues (sorrow for the child who watched his mother hang, ache for the brother abandoned, annoyance by the instalove with someone who was a bitch). The first part of the book showed us old Edinburgh and taught us the lore and of the women who became witches by honoring the goddess Cailleach. We spent a lot of time in an apothecary as the first part of the story was told.

Things I didn't like... For one thing, the time jump. Any fans of Survivor? Jeff Probst is out in Fiji and walks from a jungle to a stage in Hollywood in a matter of moments? That was what it was like as our character advanced 180 years. For all those extra years you'd think we see her wiser. We'd see a stronger witch but no she was the witch that ran and hid for 180 years and not much else. Oh, she upped her "tea" skills. I skimmed much of the last third of the book as we re-encountered the "evil" character which was a deity keeping women down (patriarchy).

If anyone can tell me if the necklace was returned and if the recipient explained why it was lost in the first place and why our MC didn't return it right away, I'd appreciate it. I didn't come by that with all my skimming to the end.
---------------

I received a copy via NetGalley therefore I feel bad leaving this less than favorable review but I appreciate being given a copy to offer my opinion.

First half was 4*, second half 1.5*. Marking it as 3*.… (plus d'informations)

A beautifully romantic book.
Saoirse has gone to Langdon Hall with her fiancé, Jack, because his mother is dying. Saoirse feels that the family and the estate is foreboding. That is, until she helps Jack organize, she discovers a journal. She requests it. He agrees. As she wanders the estate, she meets Theo Page, an ancestor of Jack's from 1818. Saoirse and Theo fall in love and he paints her portrait, and they are always trying to find time to be together. Meanwhile, she is becoming more and more distant from Jack and his parents, and her mental health is suffering.
There is a bit of time travel which will test your belief in the story, but the ending and the author's note explains it all. Very romantic, but sad, story.… (plus d'informations)

3.5-4 Stars
3 Stars for execution, 4.5 Stars for purpose behind the novel and the idea.
Pros: Gothic novel with mental health as a major theme, author's reasons for writing this story, the cover art, the idea of the plot
Cons: some repetition, disconnect between readers and MC, flow of the story, although quite frankly, these could all have been intentional and are good representations of many mental illnesses, so maybe just the comparisons to Outlander and Mexican Gothic are the cons

I can understand why this book may not be for everyone but if you are at all interested in a controversial novel with honest illustrations of mental illness and the good that may accompany the bad, it may be for you.

Publisher Review Copy Giveaway… (plus d'informations)

Where Ivy Dares to Grow by Marielle Thompson
Dual timeline gothic mystery / drama.
Saoirse Read travels to her fiancé’s family home so they can spend time with his terminally ill mother. His parents make it more than clear that Saoirse is not welcome and is unworthy of their family. Saoirse spends her time roaming the grounds and hiding from others until she runs into Theo Page who is apparently in the year 1818. She spends extensive time with Theo in Langdon Hall and falls in love. But she can’t remain in historical times, can she? Is she really even there or is it perhaps a dream to escape the unfriendly feelings of her future in-laws.

Theo explains the time travel so well and isn’t surprised by Saoirse’s visits. Why is that? Is she really able to slip through time or is it a daydream?

*********spoiler*********
The author notes say she deliberately wrote this novel to explain and make public depersonalization-derealization disorder (DPDR). Dissociative mental health issue.
It was a mind twister near the end. Was she really traveling? Was she simply daydreaming? Unfortunately, for me, the addition of the authors notes ruined the questions and intrigue of the story. Up until then, it was a suspenseful question.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher.… (plus d'informations)