A review by rainb0wreads
Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

dark emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

While I can say I was invested in the action in this book, there is literally nothing else that was getting me through it. I was honestly forcing myself to finish this book. The plot? A fantastic concept? The atmosphere? Cozy. The characters? Very different, very interesting, but I just didn’t care. The writing style was what mostly wrecked it for me. This was supposed to be a mystery from what I gather, but it read like an old timey fantasy, which kind of suites the book but not really. I wasn’t attached the the characters really which was disappointing because this is such a character driven book. When the secrets and the plot unfolded it was nice and I liked the action that came with it, I just felt like this book really wasn’t for me, that’s all. I guess I see why other people like it, I just didn’t. The ending was cute though, I did like that ending.

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