A review by anna_pengu
The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons

slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

At first, I enjoyed the vivid and detailed descriptions the author gave for every piece of landscape around Elise, the main character. However, it started to wear thin about halfway into the book and the overly long and flowery descriptions started to feel like they were there to pad out the length of the book. This also really bogged down the pacing, as these long passages fill out the bulk of the book whenever nothing else is happening. 

The characters, especially Elise herself, were difficult to find interesting. Relationships aren't built very realistically and the one at the end, specifically, just felt icky to me considering how it comes together after the tragic revelation just before it.


Overall, this book was a struggle to get through and I definitely started skimming the long passages of describing animals on a hill, the sound of waves on a shore, and so on and so forth. A very uninteresting read with a middling plot that doesn't really go anywhere satisfying.