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A review by estherfilbrun
The Master Craftsman by Kelli Stuart
3.0
There was a lot to love in this story, although some parts of the book annoyed me. The historical portion was spot-on, as far as I can discover, and I loved learning about Karl Fabergé, his business, and the beautiful creations he and his craftsmen came up with. Seeing the Russian Revolution through his eyes was an experience in itself, and I appreciated being able to see a little of how that developed as the story went on. The historical section was definitely my favorite part of this book!
The present-day sections were a bit of a disappointment, though. People’s attitudes toward each other annoyed me, several characters’ crushes on other characters came up relatively frequently, and the climax felt somewhat dramatic. I did LOVE how the treasure hunt brought a broken family together again—that was beautiful! I also loved seeing the mystery side play out—it was fairly easy to guess what would happen next, after reading the historical side, but I loved seeing how the characters went about looking for clues.
This wasn’t my most favorite book of the year, but I am grateful I got to read it. There was a lot to enjoy here. Please note, however, if you’re looking for a Christian story, this isn’t it—it’s relatively clean, but I didn’t pick up on any faith elements in the story.
Verdict: 3.5 out of 5 stars
I was given a review copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.
The present-day sections were a bit of a disappointment, though. People’s attitudes toward each other annoyed me, several characters’ crushes on other characters came up relatively frequently, and the climax felt somewhat dramatic. I did LOVE how the treasure hunt brought a broken family together again—that was beautiful! I also loved seeing the mystery side play out—it was fairly easy to guess what would happen next, after reading the historical side, but I loved seeing how the characters went about looking for clues.
This wasn’t my most favorite book of the year, but I am grateful I got to read it. There was a lot to enjoy here. Please note, however, if you’re looking for a Christian story, this isn’t it—it’s relatively clean, but I didn’t pick up on any faith elements in the story.
Verdict: 3.5 out of 5 stars
I was given a review copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.