dwan28's review against another edition
5.0
Having spent almost a month in the Algarve region in 2016, I was really excited to read this book. It was a well-paced story that kept me interested.
teabooksandbreathe's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
vaniasacramento's review against another edition
3.0
Quando terminei de ler 300 dias de Sol, fiquei na dúvida se avaliava este livro com 3 ou com 4 estrelas, por isso decidi atribuir-lhe um 3,5.
Este livro relata a história de Joanna, uma jornalista, que ao conhecer Nathan envolve-se numa aventura que tem como ponto de partida o desaparecimento de crianças no sul de Portugal.
Desde o início que percebi uma grande relação ao caso Maddy (a menina inglesa desaparecida no Algarve), e apesar de esperar um desenvolvimento da narrativa muito centrado nesse tema, acabou por me surpreender na medida em que a autora introduz na história uma outra história completamente diferente, passada durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial. A história dentro de outra história, assim como todo o trabalho de pesquisa da autora sobre Portugal, foram para mim os pontos fortes deste livro. É interessante ver o nosso próprio país visto pelos olhos de outra pessoa. No entanto, esperava mais dos personagens, e acabei por não sentir muita empatia com eles. O livro tem uma narrativa simples e fluida. Trata-se de uma leitura leve e o mistério acaba por nos envolver. Embora o enredo me tivesse prendido, confesso que fiquei desapontada com o final. Senti que faltou um clímax na história.
Este livro relata a história de Joanna, uma jornalista, que ao conhecer Nathan envolve-se numa aventura que tem como ponto de partida o desaparecimento de crianças no sul de Portugal.
Desde o início que percebi uma grande relação ao caso Maddy (a menina inglesa desaparecida no Algarve), e apesar de esperar um desenvolvimento da narrativa muito centrado nesse tema, acabou por me surpreender na medida em que a autora introduz na história uma outra história completamente diferente, passada durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial. A história dentro de outra história, assim como todo o trabalho de pesquisa da autora sobre Portugal, foram para mim os pontos fortes deste livro. É interessante ver o nosso próprio país visto pelos olhos de outra pessoa. No entanto, esperava mais dos personagens, e acabei por não sentir muita empatia com eles. O livro tem uma narrativa simples e fluida. Trata-se de uma leitura leve e o mistério acaba por nos envolver. Embora o enredo me tivesse prendido, confesso que fiquei desapontada com o final. Senti que faltou um clímax na história.
luckyliza13's review against another edition
4.0
I wish more fiction readers knew about Deborah Lawrenson, she really is a great novelist. Her books always have great detail of place and time, revealing the amount of research Lawrenson must do. I enjoyed this one for various reasons: a unique locale (Portugal), a believable &relatable narrator, WWII historical fiction backstory woven into contemporary tale, true crime suspense, and an interesting ending. Jo's story and Alva's story were both so compelling, I didn't want to put the book down!
throwmeabook's review against another edition
4.0
Journalist Joanna Millard, having just lost her job and needing separation from her boyfriend Marc, travels from Brussels to Faro, Portugal. She spends her days taking language lessons and lazily exploring the history and natural beauty of this seaside town. She soon befriends fellow classmate Nathan Emberlin, who enlists Joanna to investigate a number of child kidnappings that have occurred in the area. As Joanna reaches out to the locals, she uncovers 'The Alliance', a novel written by Esta Hartford, which recounts an American couple's experiences in Portugal during WWII. Although written as fiction, Joanna begins to suspect that the story of 'The Alliance' and the mysterious kidnappings are somehow connected.
So, I have to admit that when I first started reading this back in 2016, I gave up on it after only 100 pages. At the time I just wasn't in the right frame of mind, and honestly found the writing to be slow and dry, and I just couldn't get interested in the premise of the story. Fast forward to present day, I decided to give 300 Days of Sun a second chance when I found it would fit one of the Goodreads Seasonal Challenge tasks.
I'm so happy to have restarted it again. While the writing is still slow, and I didn't really find it very thrilling, the descriptions of Faro, and the Algarve coast are so wonderfully vivid. I found myself engaged with the characters, almost imagining myself following in their footsteps, lazily enjoying the sun's heat or exploring the historical beauty of Portugal.
The use of the two timelines, with Joanna and Nathan in present day Faro and the Faro of WWII depicted in 'The Alliance', works really well and adds a certain historical depth to the mystery. Both stories eventually converge, providing a satisfying tying up of loose ends.
300 Days of Sun has almost all you could hope for; mystery, espionage, history and romance and is really the perfect read for the lazy days of summer ahead of us.
Thank you to NetGalley and Lawsome Books for providing a digital advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
So, I have to admit that when I first started reading this back in 2016, I gave up on it after only 100 pages. At the time I just wasn't in the right frame of mind, and honestly found the writing to be slow and dry, and I just couldn't get interested in the premise of the story. Fast forward to present day, I decided to give 300 Days of Sun a second chance when I found it would fit one of the Goodreads Seasonal Challenge tasks.
I'm so happy to have restarted it again. While the writing is still slow, and I didn't really find it very thrilling, the descriptions of Faro, and the Algarve coast are so wonderfully vivid. I found myself engaged with the characters, almost imagining myself following in their footsteps, lazily enjoying the sun's heat or exploring the historical beauty of Portugal.
The use of the two timelines, with Joanna and Nathan in present day Faro and the Faro of WWII depicted in 'The Alliance', works really well and adds a certain historical depth to the mystery. Both stories eventually converge, providing a satisfying tying up of loose ends.
300 Days of Sun has almost all you could hope for; mystery, espionage, history and romance and is really the perfect read for the lazy days of summer ahead of us.
Thank you to NetGalley and Lawsome Books for providing a digital advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
hmonkeyreads's review against another edition
3.0
This story takes place in the Algarve area of Portugal where there are 300 days of sun, hence the title. The story is divided between a mystery in 2014 and excerpts from a novel written in the 50s about WWII in this same area. The stories are intertwined and that's the crux of the novel.
I loved the concept but felt let down overall mostly because the ending was not satisfying to me but I can't quite understand why. I think because the crimes hinted at early in the book don't exactly tie out with the resolution of the story. I did enjoy the writing. I connected more with the WWII characters than the modern ones also and that may be part of my overall disconnect.
Despite my misgivings it was a worthwhile few days of reading.
I loved the concept but felt let down overall mostly because the ending was not satisfying to me but I can't quite understand why. I think because the crimes hinted at early in the book don't exactly tie out with the resolution of the story. I did enjoy the writing. I connected more with the WWII characters than the modern ones also and that may be part of my overall disconnect.
Despite my misgivings it was a worthwhile few days of reading.
prof_shoff's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting current-day-mystery-involving-WWII-events plot that doesn't follow the expected narrative. Pleasantly surprised by this!
kristelwyman's review against another edition
1.0
I truly can't overstate how bad this book really is. The writing is terrible and seems to be mostly comprised of filler. It's as if she wrote a short story and then stretched it out to a novel. It literally includes words that don't exist and words that are unnecessarily complex but infrequently enough that it is like Lawrenson picked a word at random and looked it up in a thesaurus. The plot is absurd and doesn't tie together well. She really seems to have tried to pick up every type of drama -- love, sex, kidnapping, violence, drugs, Nazis (that really hold a grudge -- for generations), murder, multiple aliases for nearly every character, poison, adultery... it is all way too much.
The only thing that got me through this horrific read was that I actually feel a moral obligation to stop others from reading it.
The only thing that got me through this horrific read was that I actually feel a moral obligation to stop others from reading it.
paristexas's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0