kblincoln's review
4.0
Moira Leahy lived in the shadow of her musically talented and outgoing twin sister, Maeve.
When the older brother of a friend mistakes Moira for Maeve one day, Moira begins a series of deceptions that isolate her from her close bond with Maeve.
Years later, Maeve buys a Javanese knife in an auction on impulse, and digs up memories of her sister, and the tragedy that took her life.
Traveling to Rome to find out the mystery of the knife, Maeve ends up finding out about herself, and the bond with her twin sister that still haunts her.
The disparate parts of this book were very interesting for me, the world of antiques and auctions, the Javanese mythology surrounding the knife, Maeve's isolation and her growing ability to break out of it, as well as Moira's teenaged voice in the past.
However, for some reason, the interweaving of all these parts did not satisfy. I sometimes felt annoyed by the timing of the Moira flashbacks, as well as not quite drawn back into the present of Maeve's inability to connect to people.
As a mystery, and an emotional journey to healing, the book is fine. For the romantic and mythological parts, the ones I'm most interested in as a reader, things didn't quite hang together enough for me.
This Book's Food Designation Rating: Chicken black bean chili because the ingredients are fine, but it just doesn't hit the sweet spots as much as a normal chili does.
When the older brother of a friend mistakes Moira for Maeve one day, Moira begins a series of deceptions that isolate her from her close bond with Maeve.
Years later, Maeve buys a Javanese knife in an auction on impulse, and digs up memories of her sister, and the tragedy that took her life.
Traveling to Rome to find out the mystery of the knife, Maeve ends up finding out about herself, and the bond with her twin sister that still haunts her.
The disparate parts of this book were very interesting for me, the world of antiques and auctions, the Javanese mythology surrounding the knife, Maeve's isolation and her growing ability to break out of it, as well as Moira's teenaged voice in the past.
However, for some reason, the interweaving of all these parts did not satisfy. I sometimes felt annoyed by the timing of the Moira flashbacks, as well as not quite drawn back into the present of Maeve's inability to connect to people.
As a mystery, and an emotional journey to healing, the book is fine. For the romantic and mythological parts, the ones I'm most interested in as a reader, things didn't quite hang together enough for me.
This Book's Food Designation Rating: Chicken black bean chili because the ingredients are fine, but it just doesn't hit the sweet spots as much as a normal chili does.
robinsbooks's review
4.0
I had hoped to give this book five stars and thought it might be worthy, but after 150 pages decided there was little too much paranormal and mysticism involved, which I really don't care for anymore. However, I kept reading for the secrets that were slowly revealed during the story.
Maeve and Moira are twins and the story alternates between their childhood and contemporary times when Maeve, a university professor of languages, appears to be the only twin around. At the start of the book she purchases a keris (Javanese dagger) at an auction and feels an immediate connection. From here this extremely neurotic and socially inept woman struggles to understand the keris, which takes her to Italy where she meets up with the man she was attracted to before he went to Europe to find his mother. During her visit she suffers various mishaps while trying to find out why the dagger has such power over her.
I found Maeve so neurotic that I had a hard time identifying with her problems and the novel at times wandered into the “had-I-but-known” school of plot devices, but the story of what happened to the twins in the past kept me engrossed and I was happy with the resolution.
Maeve and Moira are twins and the story alternates between their childhood and contemporary times when Maeve, a university professor of languages, appears to be the only twin around. At the start of the book she purchases a keris (Javanese dagger) at an auction and feels an immediate connection. From here this extremely neurotic and socially inept woman struggles to understand the keris, which takes her to Italy where she meets up with the man she was attracted to before he went to Europe to find his mother. During her visit she suffers various mishaps while trying to find out why the dagger has such power over her.
I found Maeve so neurotic that I had a hard time identifying with her problems and the novel at times wandered into the “had-I-but-known” school of plot devices, but the story of what happened to the twins in the past kept me engrossed and I was happy with the resolution.
bellatora's review
2.0
Moira and Maeve are twins in a small coastal town. Moira is the bookish, shy one while Maeve is the brave, vivacious one. They also have a psychic link and some psychic predicting powers. Older boy-next-door Ian moves in and is obsessed with Maeve. Sadly, Moira falls in love with him and decides to pretend to be her sister to get with him. It’s just so sad and painful. Moira would rather pretend to be her twin to hook up with a guy who actively despises her actual personality than find someone who actually likes her when she’s her. Ian is also a complete prick who pressures her into sex. It finally comes to a head one dark and stormy night when .
Grown-up Maeve is despondent over her lost twin. She falls into a stupid, stupid plot about a keris that helps her cure her guilt and sadness and sends her to Italy to chase some stupidly obscure messages and there’s some plot involving a threatening, envious brother of the guy who gave Maeve the keris or some such. And Maeve hangs out with her boring and bland boyfriend Noel.
For involving switched identities and dueling siblings and so many soap opera twists, the book is surprisingly underwhelming. I was just so angry at Moira for being obsessed with the waste of space that was Ian. And then annoyed with Maeve for being so dull and for having boring Noel as her great love.
Spoiler
Maeve (the twin Ian actually likes and who Maeve was pretending to be) goes to Ian and he rapes her. Moira meanwhile gets hit by a drunk driver and goes into a coma she never comes out ofGrown-up Maeve is despondent over her lost twin. She falls into a stupid, stupid plot about a keris that helps her cure her guilt and sadness and sends her to Italy to chase some stupidly obscure messages and there’s some plot involving a threatening, envious brother of the guy who gave Maeve the keris or some such. And Maeve hangs out with her boring and bland boyfriend Noel.
For involving switched identities and dueling siblings and so many soap opera twists, the book is surprisingly underwhelming. I was just so angry at Moira for being obsessed with the waste of space that was Ian. And then annoyed with Maeve for being so dull and for having boring Noel as her great love.
pollyhall's review
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Miscarriage, Rape, and Toxic relationship
bookstuff's review
I lost interest in this and returned it to the library. The style is just not my cup of tea; too literary. There are some literary books that I read because the story is strong enough for me to keep turning the page; but for this one I didn't feel that.
An aside. I think part of what turns me off is that I the book falls neatly into what I think of as WASP-lit. I find it hard to relate to. I prefer the other end of the spectrum -- stories of outsiders and misfits.
An aside. I think part of what turns me off is that I the book falls neatly into what I think of as WASP-lit. I find it hard to relate to. I prefer the other end of the spectrum -- stories of outsiders and misfits.
mayarend's review
5.0
Oh Moira, oh Maeve! So much love, so much hate, such a deep connection...
This review will be a bit off of my normal way, I'm sorry, but I really loved this book. And not just "wha an amazing book" but a strong feeling of caring and loving the characters and what they've achieved, how much they advanced, grown and changed.
I can't think of negative parts or possible issues, so forgive me! Forgive me if you read the book and find the issues that I, so in love, ignored, but my eys didn'r see them, the ugly is beautiful on the eyes of those in love with it.
“The Last Will of Moira Leahy” is the first novel by Therese Walsh, american and a sweetheart.
I met Therese on a Facebook giveaway, named "let's make these books bestsellers" along with 50 oher writers, each donated 2 copies of their books and I ended up winning two copies of another author's book (Receive me Falling, read the review here), but I kept in touch with Therese, who ended up sending me two copies of her book.
I was a bit nervous before starting to read it, since drama isn't REALLY my favorite gender. Historical romances, Sci fi, fantasy, so much that I love, but drama... But Last Will really caught me (wow really? Could barely notice it). The book tells the story of Moira and Maeve Leahy, redheaded twins, so alike and so different, in two moments, one through their childhood and early teen years and anoher following Maeve, after she lost Moira.
After a while, actually, way after half of the book, we find out what happened to Moira, although from the first page the impact it has on Maeve is obvious, she dyes her hair and does't look in the mirror, so she doesn't see Moira, she does't play the sax anymore (and she used to play it very well, and was recording a demo tape to send to recording companis) and doesn't listen to music, so she doesn't have to remember Moira (or at last that's the clearest explanation, but there are others).
When they were young, Moira was more shy and Maeve was more daring, more sensitive (could feel when bad things were going to happen), while the "After Maeve" as she categorizes herself, has no friends, is retracted, only works and works, having some sort of relationship only to Noel, who is the grandson of the owner of an antiques shop, but is "only a buddy" according to her, despite being clear that she does have feelings for him.
The story begins with Maeve finding, in an auction, a dagger, a Keris, that is just like the one she lost when she was a child, playing pirate, and she buys it, almost hipnotized. Noel is in Europe, looking for his mother and she can't ask him for advice, but strange things start to happen, like notes and books that show up nailed to her office door and she starting to dream and remember things she doesn't want to remmber. And then she goes to Rome. I won't tell how or why, I think that's part of the fun, or what happens there, as it would be major spoiling.
Do I have to repeat that I loved the story? Moira and Maeve have such a beautiful relationship and so different from After Maeve that you wonder what happened and under which circunstances she lost Moira or why her mom acts very irrationally and never goes to isit her, for example.
When we meet Noel and see his interaction wth Maeve, we pity them both, because they are both so troubled only because they can't let go, they can't move on... For wanting so bad but being afraid of wanting, because wanting hurts...
Well, don't want to talk about the plot anymore, I don't want to spoil it, but I can tell you rthat it managed to suprise me, I imagined something and something else happened, which doesn't happen often, can usually, at least, have an idea of what's happening....
But I really wanted you to feel this emotion, the characters are so real, so plausible, you can touch them, feel them, imagine them daily, you can see characteristics of people around you in them, or even parts of your own personality.
Each moment, each discovery of each of he sisters is lived closely, as ifyou were feeling the same thing. And here, think I must say, that the part where they are young is narrated by Moira and the "After Maeve" is narrated by herself or by an external narrator, some parts are not very clear, meaning you have everyone's point of view.
I'll stop here, because this review is huge, but I'll leave the invitation, as Therese has left before.... Let's make this book a bestseller! Because it deserves it.
This review will be a bit off of my normal way, I'm sorry, but I really loved this book. And not just "wha an amazing book" but a strong feeling of caring and loving the characters and what they've achieved, how much they advanced, grown and changed.
I can't think of negative parts or possible issues, so forgive me! Forgive me if you read the book and find the issues that I, so in love, ignored, but my eys didn'r see them, the ugly is beautiful on the eyes of those in love with it.
“The Last Will of Moira Leahy” is the first novel by Therese Walsh, american and a sweetheart.
I met Therese on a Facebook giveaway, named "let's make these books bestsellers" along with 50 oher writers, each donated 2 copies of their books and I ended up winning two copies of another author's book (Receive me Falling, read the review here), but I kept in touch with Therese, who ended up sending me two copies of her book.
I was a bit nervous before starting to read it, since drama isn't REALLY my favorite gender. Historical romances, Sci fi, fantasy, so much that I love, but drama... But Last Will really caught me (wow really? Could barely notice it). The book tells the story of Moira and Maeve Leahy, redheaded twins, so alike and so different, in two moments, one through their childhood and early teen years and anoher following Maeve, after she lost Moira.
After a while, actually, way after half of the book, we find out what happened to Moira, although from the first page the impact it has on Maeve is obvious, she dyes her hair and does't look in the mirror, so she doesn't see Moira, she does't play the sax anymore (and she used to play it very well, and was recording a demo tape to send to recording companis) and doesn't listen to music, so she doesn't have to remember Moira (or at last that's the clearest explanation, but there are others).
When they were young, Moira was more shy and Maeve was more daring, more sensitive (could feel when bad things were going to happen), while the "After Maeve" as she categorizes herself, has no friends, is retracted, only works and works, having some sort of relationship only to Noel, who is the grandson of the owner of an antiques shop, but is "only a buddy" according to her, despite being clear that she does have feelings for him.
The story begins with Maeve finding, in an auction, a dagger, a Keris, that is just like the one she lost when she was a child, playing pirate, and she buys it, almost hipnotized. Noel is in Europe, looking for his mother and she can't ask him for advice, but strange things start to happen, like notes and books that show up nailed to her office door and she starting to dream and remember things she doesn't want to remmber. And then she goes to Rome. I won't tell how or why, I think that's part of the fun, or what happens there, as it would be major spoiling.
Do I have to repeat that I loved the story? Moira and Maeve have such a beautiful relationship and so different from After Maeve that you wonder what happened and under which circunstances she lost Moira or why her mom acts very irrationally and never goes to isit her, for example.
When we meet Noel and see his interaction wth Maeve, we pity them both, because they are both so troubled only because they can't let go, they can't move on... For wanting so bad but being afraid of wanting, because wanting hurts...
Well, don't want to talk about the plot anymore, I don't want to spoil it, but I can tell you rthat it managed to suprise me, I imagined something and something else happened, which doesn't happen often, can usually, at least, have an idea of what's happening....
But I really wanted you to feel this emotion, the characters are so real, so plausible, you can touch them, feel them, imagine them daily, you can see characteristics of people around you in them, or even parts of your own personality.
Each moment, each discovery of each of he sisters is lived closely, as ifyou were feeling the same thing. And here, think I must say, that the part where they are young is narrated by Moira and the "After Maeve" is narrated by herself or by an external narrator, some parts are not very clear, meaning you have everyone's point of view.
I'll stop here, because this review is huge, but I'll leave the invitation, as Therese has left before.... Let's make this book a bestseller! Because it deserves it.
mermaidkatie's review
3.0
I read this based on Juliet Marillier's recommendation. It was pretty well written, but at times the heroine was too whiney and the plot too contrived. I liked the magic-y part, the twin cognition part and the cool knife part, but the bad guy was rediculous, the romance part blah (jeez-just get it on will ya?) and sometimes I just wanted to smack the girl for being so weak. She reminded me of the herione in Juliet by Anne Fortier (withouth the Romeo & Juliet backstory) - she just got on my nerves - in fact, the whole thing kind of rang out the same as Juliet - if you liked the fore-story of it, you'll like this one. I was sort of disappointed.
bellatricks's review
5.0
I LOVED this book. As soon as I finished it, I really wanted to 1) Cry and 2) Start it over again right then. It is one of those books that just sticks with you long after you read it, and it was absolutely wonderful.
bumblebeekip23's review
3.0
This was a readable story...but lost me somewhere in Rome. The story of the twin sisters and going back and forth from present day to the past was great! Then towards the middle when you wanted to know more about the past there was too much present and new characters with a whole other story. It did conclude with a decent resolution, but felt that more could have been done to resolve the extra characters we had, maybe not necessarily, gotten to know well. Maybe I missed something along the way, but just did not hold my interest as much as I thought it would.
jaime523's review
1.0
I stopped reading this about halfway through because I just couldn't get into it.