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seekittyread's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I desperately wanted to love this book. Unfortunately the author's casual disregard of the abuses of adoption and medically forced deliveries ruined it. The characters were beautiful and the story had great promise, but I found the abuses and inaccuracies a downer.
I think it important that it is made clear that a cord being wrapped around the neck during childbirth is a common occurance and not a fatal one. I believe the author's use of this as a manor to further plot quite distasteful and probably led her own miseducation due to gaslighting by the medical industry. Parents who seek out doctors are led to believe that a cord around the neck is fatal and a baby only survives due to the "greatness" of the abusive doctor they have hired to deliver their babies. In reality fatalities due to a cord being rapped around the neck are minimal and most often happen before the baby can be born. Cords wrapped around the neck are simply slipped off by mother after birth during natural births when doctors and the overbearing hands are not involved. I would encourage this author to research more about the abuses of medically led deliveries before casting it as the normal and right way for babies to enter the world.
I think it important that it is made clear that a cord being wrapped around the neck during childbirth is a common occurance and not a fatal one. I believe the author's use of this as a manor to further plot quite distasteful and probably led her own miseducation due to gaslighting by the medical industry. Parents who seek out doctors are led to believe that a cord around the neck is fatal and a baby only survives due to the "greatness" of the abusive doctor they have hired to deliver their babies. In reality fatalities due to a cord being rapped around the neck are minimal and most often happen before the baby can be born. Cords wrapped around the neck are simply slipped off by mother after birth during natural births when doctors and the overbearing hands are not involved. I would encourage this author to research more about the abuses of medically led deliveries before casting it as the normal and right way for babies to enter the world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Infertility, Mental illness, Sexism, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and War
Warning for misrepresentation of the "benefits" of adoption and for the promotion of abusive medical deliveries.kathryn_changedbychrist's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I finished The Lake House just this morning and, ugh, I'm so not ready for it to be over! I definitely enjoyed The Forgotten Garden by Morton when I read it earlier this year, but I gotta say, I think this one was so much better!
.
.
As someone else mentioned to me, The Lake House started out in classic Morton style with a little family mystery and I honestly thought it would be just like TFG - it wasn't! Honestly, I don't know what made this one so different. It was full of family mysteries and beautiful scenery and multiple timelines and lots of drama, but it was also so much more than that. There were complex family secrets and dynamics, mystery authors, disgraced detectives, and a present day mystery. Ugh, y'all, I loved this one so much!
.
.
One thing to note though: if you're looking for a solid, twisty mystery, this one isn't for you. Yeah, I definitely enjoyed the mystery aspect, but for two big reveals, I guessed it before it even dawned on the characters. That didn't really bother me at all, but I do know it would bother some people.
So if you're looking for a slow novel full of family secrets, drama, mysteries, and Cornwall (😍) this one is for you!
.
.
As someone else mentioned to me, The Lake House started out in classic Morton style with a little family mystery and I honestly thought it would be just like TFG - it wasn't! Honestly, I don't know what made this one so different. It was full of family mysteries and beautiful scenery and multiple timelines and lots of drama, but it was also so much more than that. There were complex family secrets and dynamics, mystery authors, disgraced detectives, and a present day mystery. Ugh, y'all, I loved this one so much!
.
.
One thing to note though: if you're looking for a solid, twisty mystery, this one isn't for you. Yeah, I definitely enjoyed the mystery aspect, but for two big reveals, I guessed it before it even dawned on the characters. That didn't really bother me at all, but I do know it would bother some people.
So if you're looking for a slow novel full of family secrets, drama, mysteries, and Cornwall (😍) this one is for you!
Content Warnings
Minor: Infidelity, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, and Medical trauma