Reviews

The Girl at the Window by Rowan Coleman

avamaria90's review against another edition

dark hopeful informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

nerys's review

emotional hopeful slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Probably it's because I've had wrong expectations starting this book (I thought it would be a gothic haunted house/ghost story) but I ended up really struggling with it. It is a veeery sentimental (and in a pretty cheap way) story, the plot is uninteresting and painfully predictable, main character was getting increasingly annoying to me the more I read and the others weren't better. Also the

Spoiler

ending with isolated-amazonian-tribe ex machina was the most ridiculous thing I've read in a while

Agnes parts were pretty interesting though

jesikasbookshelf's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I've had this book on my shelf for a shamefully long time, but I decided to finally pick it up before a much delayed trip to Haworth and the Brontë parsonage. 

I'm so glad I did, it delivers so much on the atmosphere and sense of place, the general vibes of this landscape that is familiar from the Brontë books. We see the ways this landscape is a backdrop to modern stories whilst containing within it an echo of everything that has come before.

The book is set largely at Ponden Hall, a place that was familiar to the Brontë siblings, and in and around Haworth. The protagonist is a modern day Heaton, the family that loves at Ponden. She has her own life and heartbreaks and mysteries to uncover but through her connection to Emily Brontë she starts working through these things. Fittingly, this book feels gothic in nature, I'm not sure how it couldn't considering the setting, but that setting feels alive. The sense that Emily and her contemporaries are in the next room or out on a walk is palpable and it lends some weight to the emotional journey the modern day Heatons are on.

The ending wrapped up very quickly, but I really enjoyed this book - the audio was great as well!

rachie88's review against another edition

5.0

Brilliant read

I'd highly recommend this book. Rowan Coleman is a brilliant author and this book is an amazing read. You follow the story of Trudy, and her return to her home after the loss of her husband Abe. It is a moving story that will have you gripped

rachie88's review

5.0

Brilliant read

I'd highly recommend this book. Rowan Coleman is a brilliant author and this book is an amazing read. You follow the story of Trudy, and her return to her home after the loss of her husband Abe. It is a moving story that will have you gripped

angelika_02's review

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

erinleighty16's review

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

katygoodall's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I absolutely ADORED this book from start to finish and I didn’t expect to at all. only thing that took me slightly aback was the slight horror dimension to it, but despite not being a horror fanatic, I still adored the premise and the main parts of the book. Tore through this and genuinely couldn’t put it down. I adored Trudy for her resilience throughout

lmaccabee's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Kind of, sort of love everything about this.
Yes the last chapter is a bit out there but it rounds of the story and brings it to a conclusion.
Thoroughly enjoyed the Bronte story within a Bronte story.

amalia1985's review

1.0

To me, this seemed no better than the average melodramatic romance -which I avoid like the plague- fully equipped with one-dimensional characters and atrocious dialogue. Tru and Will are the most boring mother-son figures you’ll ever come across. But these aren’t the major issues. What made this a nightmare was the writer’s audacity to include Emily Brontë and Wuthering Heights in her soap-opera/cry-me-a-river abomination down to a bad mimicking of names and themes. Have some common decency, writer….

It was heroic on my part that I was able to reach the 50% mark before I toss this one into oblivion. I don’t rate a book I don’t finish but this had a plotline related to the book I have been obsessed with all my life. Bear with me… Readers who are not as strict and obnoxious as I am will probably enjoy this much, much more.

Many thanks to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.