Reviews

The Marsh Queen by Virginia Hartman

trisha_thomas's review against another edition

1.0

In my first Aadvark Club box!

I see all these 4 & 5 star reviews and I am jealous, I wish I'd loved this one as much as others. But, no, this was a slow, choppy, boring read for me. Nothing happened for at least the first 200 pages. The introduction to the absolute complete WHOLE town took forever, was confusing and left me with characters I definitely didn't care about.

The mystery of what happened to the dad was completely buried behind packing and unpacking boxes, about 1000 visits in a canoe to draw every last bird in Florida, reading her mom's odd herb journal and visiting her mom in a new facility (visits that typically only lasted about 10 mintues). None of these side storylines seemed to really propel the story forward, only gave me more characters (past and current) to confuse and bogged the plot down with useless details. Even blow by blow of the jogs with her brother didn't provide much.

I wish I'd liked this more.

beagletracy's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

vanvicki's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

tashasbooked's review against another edition

2.0

I’m between a 1 and 2 star for this…it was so boring and literally emotionless, the characters were dull and unimaginative. I skimmed the last 50%

nadiamg_reads's review against another edition

2.0

Slow. Boring. Uneventful.

You can’t even put this in the same space as Where The Crawdad’s Sing. Nothing happened until the last 10 chapters, and even then I rolled my eyes far too often. By the end, I didn’t even really care what happened with the Dad. If not for the audiobook, I would have quit reading.

books_by_the_bottle's review against another edition

4.0

Loni, a nature artist, returns home to the Florida marshlands where she grew up. Her mother’s dementia is worsening and her brother needs her help. As she attempts to help pack up her mother’s house, she finds a cryptic note about her father’s death. Since he passed away long ago, Loni begins to investigate if there was more than meets the eye.

This book started off strong but in the middle, I felt like it got a little slow. But I loved the characters and thought the author did a great job at exploring the complex relationships of family and secrets. It picked back up towards the end and I found myself reading quickly. I would definitely read more by this author!

This review will be shared to my Instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly.

mindfullibrarian's review against another edition

4.0

(free review copy) I’m so happy this book showed up in the mail from the publisher right as I was finishing another book ~ it was perfect timing for me to sink into a story I might not otherwise have picked up. This story is so atmospheric and I absolutely loved living in the Florida wetlands while Loni worked through her past and discovered what her future should hold. I was enthralled with the story except for an action sequence that lasted about a chapter towards the end but I’m 100% willing to look past that and recommend it fully to anyone who appreciates art, nature and family stories.

willowshield8's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.75

hellodarlinggirl's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

jaded618's review against another edition

4.0

This book was beautiful and very visually written. Loni Mae lost her father when she was young. When she grew up she took the one thing her father and her shared, their love of the marsh and nature and she became a natural history artist. She drew birds for the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC. One day, her brother calls her to tell her that her mother is having problems and they need her at home. She discovers her mom already moved into a living facility and that she has been losing her memory. Her brother and wife have already begun packing her things and have been thoughtless about including her until now. As she begins to pack up her mothers life, a mysterious letter is found that mentions someone knowing the truth about her father's death.
Now Loni is back in Florida and the circumstances around her fathers death are coming to the surface. Can she find out the truth? and can she do it without anyone else getting hurt?