saradavcamp's review against another edition
3.0
I really like the story, but I would have enjoyed it more if it were about 100 pages less. She's a great writer, but very wordy. Occasionally her random bouts of wordiness were funny, but generally, it was a bit too much for me.
pandacat42's review against another edition
5.0
A sweet book. I quite enjoyed it. It was a fast read. Fun and charming. I wanted to punch out the fiance almost all the way through, that miserable woman!
annestef1a's review against another edition
3.0
This book reminded me a lot of Downton Abbey (which hyped me up for the next movie) and I'm kinda perplexed that this was released earlier because most of the subplots were featured in Downton Abbey.
The heroine is a Russian royalty who escaped her country from the revolution and was left destitute that she has no choice but to work as a maid. Princes became chauffeurs and taxi drivers, titled relatives became doormen and such. It's mind-boggling how they coped with this flip of status. Now I've read some similar tropes, like duke's daughter pretending to be a maid to prove responsibility and all of them are quite unrealistic but this one is aligned with history.
The writing was different from most I've read. It has a lot of characters and it does not focus entirely on the main ones. However, since this book is standalone with many povs and subplots, the main romance became unimpactful. Nonetheless, it succeeded in telling a story with a diverse eye and it was definitely engaging.
Also, I'd like to note that this is a kind of story where the butler saves the day, yet again, so that was fun.
The heroine is a Russian royalty who escaped her country from the revolution and was left destitute that she has no choice but to work as a maid. Princes became chauffeurs and taxi drivers, titled relatives became doormen and such. It's mind-boggling how they coped with this flip of status. Now I've read some similar tropes, like duke's daughter pretending to be a maid to prove responsibility and all of them are quite unrealistic but this one is aligned with history.
The writing was different from most I've read. It has a lot of characters and it does not focus entirely on the main ones. However, since this book is standalone with many povs and subplots, the main romance became unimpactful. Nonetheless, it succeeded in telling a story with a diverse eye and it was definitely engaging.
Also, I'd like to note that this is a kind of story where the butler saves the day, yet again, so that was fun.
uzoma's review against another edition
5.0
Okay so I definitely had forgotten everything about this book except that I’d really liked it as a kid/teenager. How absolutely delightful to discover it now as an adult. The romance is sweet and the characters well drawn. But the thing that surprised and thrilled me the most was the humor. I was ugly laughing in the dark at many a scene. This is just what I was looking for!
Perhaps I shall read the rest of her catalog for adults. Though I should pace myself as the writing is simple enough that it could quickly become too simple and thus boring.
Perhaps I shall read the rest of her catalog for adults. Though I should pace myself as the writing is simple enough that it could quickly become too simple and thus boring.
ssung's review against another edition
3.0
my first ibbotson book and probably not my last. this was like eating a delicious fluffy angel food cake, although i suspect this is probably not one of her better works but anna herself is pretty delightful to read
although to be utterly honest, rupert is not a particularly exciting fellow to fall in love with (he's awfully mean at some points in the book, and not a charming mean, either) and she should've married her charming cousin sergei instead, chest blisters and all
om nom nom
although to be utterly honest, rupert is not a particularly exciting fellow to fall in love with (he's awfully mean at some points in the book, and not a charming mean, either) and she should've married her charming cousin sergei instead, chest blisters and all
om nom nom
hana83's review against another edition
4.0
Loved it! This is a charming young adult novel that transports the reader to St. Petersburg in 1917 and then to London in 1919. Yes, the story is predictable, yet there is something about the young protagonist and the way the story is written that warms the reader's heart. This story reminds me of the children's classics: A Little Princess and The Secret Garden. If you have enjoyed these stories, you will enjoy this one.
kindledspiritsbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I picked up this book due to a combination of feely poorly and listening to Sentimental Garbage, a podcast that discusses various chick-lit classics. They were talking about The Secret Countess, a book which I had read years and years ago, and I enjoyed their conversation so much that I promptly picked it up for a sickbed re-read. The plot centres around Anna Grazinsky, a teenaged Russian countess whose family flees Russia following the Bolshevik revolution and winds up in London utterly penniless. Anna is determined to support her family and so takes a job as a maid in the home of the Earl of Westerholme. The newly minted Earl is about to bring his fiancée home to plan their wedding, but once the Earl and Anna meet things rapidly stop going to plan. Honestly this book is as close to perfect as it gets. It has the most enormous and absolutely ridiculous cast of characters, all of whom I love (or at least love to hate) and the humour moves rapidly between pantomime and Austen. It has everything; daschunds who’ve swallowed priceless jewels, literal Nazis, dramatic costume parties, curtsies being used as a weapon and elderly wet nurses who practice voodoo and wear mummified saint’s fingers around their necks. I’m generally pretty tolerant of differences of opinion when it comes to literature, but if you don’t love this book I pity you and we can’t be friends. I’m incapable of being rational about this.
alisonb's review against another edition
3.0
This book was recommended to me by a fellow book club member. I had never heard of this author, and was surprised to find that she rates in the realm of classic authors of romance novels.
This story reads strongly in the historical department. I found myself a bit lost at times. The heroine, Anna, reminisces about her time in Russia and we get glimpses into Russian life and history. It was interesting, but hard for me to capture and place into the orderly thoughts of my mind. It was more of a jumble of information.
There is an interesting ensemble cast of characters. A lot of them resemble caricatures rather than deep character studies. I am okay with that when there are so many people involved in a story. And, at times, caricatures are more predictable and my mind can vacillate on the stars of the story rather than the secondary characters.
I really enjoyed Anna and Rupert's romance. There was little in the way of building the romance, but like everyone who adored Anna (a perfect specimen of beauty and character), I found myself joining the crowd and wanting for Anna what she wanted for herself. I even found myself skimming so that I could get to the sweet and quiet moments between Rupert and Anna.
If you are someone who likes historical romance novels with an emphasis on the historical, I think that you would enjoy this story set just after the Russian Revolution in 1917.
This story reads strongly in the historical department. I found myself a bit lost at times. The heroine, Anna, reminisces about her time in Russia and we get glimpses into Russian life and history. It was interesting, but hard for me to capture and place into the orderly thoughts of my mind. It was more of a jumble of information.
There is an interesting ensemble cast of characters. A lot of them resemble caricatures rather than deep character studies. I am okay with that when there are so many people involved in a story. And, at times, caricatures are more predictable and my mind can vacillate on the stars of the story rather than the secondary characters.
I really enjoyed Anna and Rupert's romance. There was little in the way of building the romance, but like everyone who adored Anna (a perfect specimen of beauty and character), I found myself joining the crowd and wanting for Anna what she wanted for herself. I even found myself skimming so that I could get to the sweet and quiet moments between Rupert and Anna.
If you are someone who likes historical romance novels with an emphasis on the historical, I think that you would enjoy this story set just after the Russian Revolution in 1917.
marimenegati's review against another edition
5.0
Update literally a month later after finishing it for the first time: I bought the physical version of it and have now reread it. This book has now become my comfort read!
One of my new favorite books, I completely loved it!
The writing was SO beautiful, I felt a genuine love for life from it. Love of music, art, beautiful places, nature. It was just so amazing to read.
The other great thing was the characters. They were so refreshing to read about. Just because they were, most of them at least, good and nice people, who genuinely want to have a good impact in the world and are hard working, kind and just decent. Don't get me wrong, I love reading about morally grey or plain out evil characters, but nothing beats the feeling of falling in love with characters that are doing their best to be good.
Moreover, they weren't only good people, but more often than not, that goodness made them beautiful, regardless of how they physically looked. The main character, Anna, even though she wasn't ugly, she wasn't physically stunning either. But her goodness, her personality, *made* her beautiful, which I can't express how much I loved and wish to see more of.
I think it takes a person who's good at understanding humans to write passionately about life and other people. She knows what about a situation would stand out for a particular character, which made them feel real.
Something that reflects the author's good writing and characters was how she treated war. The book is set against the background of the russian revolution and world war one, however is not a depressing or violent story, it isn't ignorant of the sadness and horrors of war either. It recognizes the reality of it whilst also showcasing the good things that survived and that will happen.
The only thing that was a bit off were certain dynamics or terms that due to the book being written in 1981 (I think) are a bit outdated. Other than that I have no complaints.
I can't wait to read other books by Eva Ibbotson in the future!
One of my new favorite books, I completely loved it!
The writing was SO beautiful, I felt a genuine love for life from it. Love of music, art, beautiful places, nature. It was just so amazing to read.
The other great thing was the characters. They were so refreshing to read about. Just because they were, most of them at least, good and nice people, who genuinely want to have a good impact in the world and are hard working, kind and just decent. Don't get me wrong, I love reading about morally grey or plain out evil characters, but nothing beats the feeling of falling in love with characters that are doing their best to be good.
Moreover, they weren't only good people, but more often than not, that goodness made them beautiful, regardless of how they physically looked. The main character, Anna, even though she wasn't ugly, she wasn't physically stunning either. But her goodness, her personality, *made* her beautiful, which I can't express how much I loved and wish to see more of.
I think it takes a person who's good at understanding humans to write passionately about life and other people. She knows what about a situation would stand out for a particular character, which made them feel real.
Something that reflects the author's good writing and characters was how she treated war. The book is set against the background of the russian revolution and world war one, however is not a depressing or violent story, it isn't ignorant of the sadness and horrors of war either. It recognizes the reality of it whilst also showcasing the good things that survived and that will happen.
The only thing that was a bit off were certain dynamics or terms that due to the book being written in 1981 (I think) are a bit outdated. Other than that I have no complaints.
I can't wait to read other books by Eva Ibbotson in the future!
ama_reads's review against another edition
5.0
Anna Grazinsky – a Russian Countess – and her family fled to England after the loss of both her father and their fortune due to the combined tragedies of WWI and the Russian Revolution. Armed with an outdated guidebook, she is hired on as a temporary maid at the Earl of Westerholme’s grand estate. Rupert, who inherits the title and the estate, after the deaths of his father and older brother, is returning home after spending many months in the hospital, recovering from war injuries. Rupert brings home what seems to be a wonderful surprise…he is engaged to marry the rich heiress Muriel Hardwicke, whose money will save the estate from being sold, if she doesn’t tear the household apart first.
Davina Porter does an excellent job of reading this historical romance novel.
Not familiar with the whole upstairs/downstairs attitude and traditions? I suggest watching 1900s House (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/1900house/).
Davina Porter does an excellent job of reading this historical romance novel.
Not familiar with the whole upstairs/downstairs attitude and traditions? I suggest watching 1900s House (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/1900house/).