kblincoln's review against another edition
3.0
***I read an Advance Reader Copy of this Book***
Spun on a riff from the famous poem "Evangeline" by Longfellow, this story is the twin tales of love between Maine Acadians Evangeline and Gabriel and their modern teen counterparts Gabe and Eva.
The story was interesting to me for the history of the early Acadians who were forcibly dispersed and evicted from their homes. Also the atmospheric feeling to the writing, the lushness of the descriptions of nature and place were very enjoyable.
However, in the end, the four characters felt like overly lovesick teens longing and sighing for each other with no meaningful end results. I can't tell how the two couples end up with out spoilery-ness, but I felt that especially the modern day Gabe's actions in the face of his brother's death (leaving the town and the girl whose name he writes obsessively over and over in his notebook and professes to love) didn't make sense to me.
It made me want to hit him upside the head and say "get over yourself" instead of feeling sympathetic to him.
This Book's Food Designation Rating: A cream puff, for the intensely rich, sweetness of the love described here with mostly air inside the puff.
Spun on a riff from the famous poem "Evangeline" by Longfellow, this story is the twin tales of love between Maine Acadians Evangeline and Gabriel and their modern teen counterparts Gabe and Eva.
The story was interesting to me for the history of the early Acadians who were forcibly dispersed and evicted from their homes. Also the atmospheric feeling to the writing, the lushness of the descriptions of nature and place were very enjoyable.
However, in the end, the four characters felt like overly lovesick teens longing and sighing for each other with no meaningful end results. I can't tell how the two couples end up with out spoilery-ness, but I felt that especially the modern day Gabe's actions in the face of his brother's death (leaving the town and the girl whose name he writes obsessively over and over in his notebook and professes to love) didn't make sense to me.
It made me want to hit him upside the head and say "get over yourself" instead of feeling sympathetic to him.
This Book's Food Designation Rating: A cream puff, for the intensely rich, sweetness of the love described here with mostly air inside the puff.
xxemokidxx's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to enjoy this but the character development and story were lacking. The author would have been better off modernizing the poem into a compelling story rather than what we are given.
Read more at: everydayshaila
Read more at: everydayshaila
sea_su's review against another edition
1.0
It was a waste of time to read. Too much jumping around and the "romance" was a bit creepy. Only reason I read from start to finish is because I hate leaving in the middle of a book.
lazygal's review against another edition
3.0
This version of Longfellow's "Evangeline" follows both a modern-day couple and the 'original' Cadian Evangeline and Gabriel; it would be nice if this sparks more interest in the poem and in the Grand Derangement.
The liberties taken with the plot of the poem were clearly made to better mimic the modern story, but I wish they hadn't been made. I also found it jarring that one of the Cadians quotes Longfellow, but that may not disturb other readers.
Without the tie-in to "Evangeline" and the historic events, this would just be a passable YA romance.
ARC provided by publisher.
The liberties taken with the plot of the poem were clearly made to better mimic the modern story, but I wish they hadn't been made. I also found it jarring that one of the Cadians quotes Longfellow, but that may not disturb other readers.
Without the tie-in to "Evangeline" and the historic events, this would just be a passable YA romance.
ARC provided by publisher.
adrianab2021's review against another edition
2.0
Anxious Hearts I was anxious to read. It also has a gorgeous cover! Anyways I got it and started reading it. It was ok but by the end of the book I was wondering why I read it.
**************************SPOILER ALERT********************************
It sounded good. A love story between two different couples with the same names but living 200 years apart. Where could you go wrong right? Evangeline and Gabriel (from 200 years ago) have just gotten married. But then ships approach and take Gabriel away. He awakes and is on a quest to find his Evangeline. So he searches for about two years and finally finds her. I liked this side of the story more than the other side.
The other side is in the present. Eva and Gabe used to be friends but are not anymore. Eventually they talk to each other again and fall in love. But then Gabe leaves and Eva is heartbroken. There really isn't a whole lot going on in this side of the story. Plus I didn't really feel that connected to these characters.
Overall this book was only ok to me. I think if it were longer and gave us more time to see the characters it would be better.
**************************SPOILER ALERT********************************
It sounded good. A love story between two different couples with the same names but living 200 years apart. Where could you go wrong right? Evangeline and Gabriel (from 200 years ago) have just gotten married. But then ships approach and take Gabriel away. He awakes and is on a quest to find his Evangeline. So he searches for about two years and finally finds her. I liked this side of the story more than the other side.
The other side is in the present. Eva and Gabe used to be friends but are not anymore. Eventually they talk to each other again and fall in love. But then Gabe leaves and Eva is heartbroken. There really isn't a whole lot going on in this side of the story. Plus I didn't really feel that connected to these characters.
Overall this book was only ok to me. I think if it were longer and gave us more time to see the characters it would be better.
ifthebook's review
2.0
The concept of this book really intrigued me, but the actual execution did not follow through at all. So much of the story was told that it was hard for me to feel an investment in any of the characters. I wasn’t even able to buy into the modern day pairing’s deep connection, and I thought their actions were completely unbelievable.
emokidforever's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to enjoy this but the character development and story were lacking. The author would have been better off modernizing the poem into a compelling story rather than what we are given.
Read more at: everydayshaila
Read more at: everydayshaila
cheermio's review against another edition
1.0
started off good, became increasingly ridiculous and maudlin. overly saccharine sweet.
awwwyisss44's review against another edition
5.0
There’s always going to be those stories that capture your heart. Whether it’s something that is heartbreaking and sticks with you, or something that is so pure and enticing that your heart envelops it; one way or another your heart becomes involved with the words and the characters inside. Anxious Hearts by Tucker Shaw is not only one of those stories, it’s the latter of the two, it’s the one that runs through your mind over and over again, it’s the one that so pure that you become one with the story.
In 1847, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published a poem, “Evangeline,” that has now become one of his most notable works, and also one of the most common taught poems in English classes. This beautiful poem inspired Tucker Shaw to write Anxious Hearts and for that, I must thank Mr. Longfellow (yes, I am going to thank a man that’s been dead for somewhere around, oh, 125+ years).
Anxious Hearts begins the story of Eva and Gabe, two teenagers that lost touch in each other’s lives, only to pick back up years later as they explore the forests surrounding their seaside town. They follow the same paths, and are exploring the same tranquil forests as Evangeline and Gabriel, two young lovers, did over one hundred years before them. On the day of Evangeline and Gabriel’s wedding, their village was attacked by enemies and they were separated from one another. In the present, Gabe suddenly disappears from Eva and it seems as if their love will mirror that of the two lovers torn apart on their wedding day.
The first couple of chapters threw me through a loop, I’m used to alternate points of view, but I don’t think I’ve ever read anything that is not only alternate voices, but also alternate time periods. Eva and Gabe’s story is told by Eva, while Gabriel and Evangeline’s tale is told by Gabriel, some hundred years earlier. It only took a few chapters in for me to not only get used to the change, but to also welcome the bits of each tale I got.
The imagery in Anxious Hearts is something I’ve not seen in a long time, not since AP English in high school. It’s got the air of one of those old stories your teacher forces you to read, then you’re thankful in the end. It’s pure, beautiful, and vivid in the words that flow across the page. The beauty in Longfellow’s tale weaves into Shaw’s and characters, both new and old, come alive on the page and leap into your mind.
I found it really hard to find the words to describe Anxious Hearts. There were moments that made me laugh and smile, then there were the ones that made my jaw drop and stay hanging open in fear and pain for the characters that have woven themselves into my heart in fewer than 300 pages. Eva, Gabe, Evangeline, and Gabriel all found their own place in my heart and I found myself understanding them in different ways and wanting the best for them.
If you’ve never read “Evangeline” then I advise you not to read it until after you’ve read Anxious Hearts. It’s been years since I’ve read it, but once I started reading the story of these lovers those years faded away and the story was there again. The story behind Shaw’s words is just as important as the words themselves. Anxious Hearts is beautiful and lyrical, it flows with a fluid grace that enamors the soul and captures the soul, all in the same page.
Anxious Hearts speaks to the hopeless romantic in all of us. It contains the purest love I’ve read in a long time. I didn’t want the story to end, even though I knew it had too. If there’s one romance that should be on everyone’s shelf, it should be the timeless beauty that is Anxious Hearts. Even those that aren’t big fans of romance will have no other choice but to fall in love with these characters and the stories they have to tell.
In 1847, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published a poem, “Evangeline,” that has now become one of his most notable works, and also one of the most common taught poems in English classes. This beautiful poem inspired Tucker Shaw to write Anxious Hearts and for that, I must thank Mr. Longfellow (yes, I am going to thank a man that’s been dead for somewhere around, oh, 125+ years).
Anxious Hearts begins the story of Eva and Gabe, two teenagers that lost touch in each other’s lives, only to pick back up years later as they explore the forests surrounding their seaside town. They follow the same paths, and are exploring the same tranquil forests as Evangeline and Gabriel, two young lovers, did over one hundred years before them. On the day of Evangeline and Gabriel’s wedding, their village was attacked by enemies and they were separated from one another. In the present, Gabe suddenly disappears from Eva and it seems as if their love will mirror that of the two lovers torn apart on their wedding day.
The first couple of chapters threw me through a loop, I’m used to alternate points of view, but I don’t think I’ve ever read anything that is not only alternate voices, but also alternate time periods. Eva and Gabe’s story is told by Eva, while Gabriel and Evangeline’s tale is told by Gabriel, some hundred years earlier. It only took a few chapters in for me to not only get used to the change, but to also welcome the bits of each tale I got.
The imagery in Anxious Hearts is something I’ve not seen in a long time, not since AP English in high school. It’s got the air of one of those old stories your teacher forces you to read, then you’re thankful in the end. It’s pure, beautiful, and vivid in the words that flow across the page. The beauty in Longfellow’s tale weaves into Shaw’s and characters, both new and old, come alive on the page and leap into your mind.
I found it really hard to find the words to describe Anxious Hearts. There were moments that made me laugh and smile, then there were the ones that made my jaw drop and stay hanging open in fear and pain for the characters that have woven themselves into my heart in fewer than 300 pages. Eva, Gabe, Evangeline, and Gabriel all found their own place in my heart and I found myself understanding them in different ways and wanting the best for them.
If you’ve never read “Evangeline” then I advise you not to read it until after you’ve read Anxious Hearts. It’s been years since I’ve read it, but once I started reading the story of these lovers those years faded away and the story was there again. The story behind Shaw’s words is just as important as the words themselves. Anxious Hearts is beautiful and lyrical, it flows with a fluid grace that enamors the soul and captures the soul, all in the same page.
Anxious Hearts speaks to the hopeless romantic in all of us. It contains the purest love I’ve read in a long time. I didn’t want the story to end, even though I knew it had too. If there’s one romance that should be on everyone’s shelf, it should be the timeless beauty that is Anxious Hearts. Even those that aren’t big fans of romance will have no other choice but to fall in love with these characters and the stories they have to tell.