A review by liveglavlove
The Snow Gypsy by Lindsay Jayne Ashford
2.0
This book would have been 4 stars had the main character been Lola. Rose was uninteresting as a whole, but would have made for an adequate minor character. I don't quite think she's a Mary Sue, but she is unbelievable as a woman in the WW2 era: no flaws, no prejudices, super progressive in her beliefs, everyone loves her (unless they are a bad person), and she has that one "flaw" that MS's typically possess. That's right. She's clumsy. Even her mistakes are because of other people deceiving her, so she can't fully be blamed.
The book starts out with Lola's story, a gypsy child caught in the Spanish civil war. The few pages where she is introduced are gripping and tragic. If the book had focused on her, and her struggles, it would have been great.
Instead, she is knocked into a secondary position by poor little rich girl Rose. The rest of the book is basically about her, her love life, and her search for her brother. Lola's personal history and story take a backseat, with brief chapters wedged in between solid blocks of Rose's hikes, or Rose flirting with handsome men, or Rose hiking and flirting with handsome men. It's just amazing that she keeps running into handsome men who want to help her.
Because of the character the author chose to roll with, what could have been an elevated story of war, tragedy, friendship, and gypsy life is instead, simply, your everyday romance novel with war, tragedy, friendship, and gypsy life as its background. You've read this kind of story before. Numerous times.
The two stars are because of Lola. Rose, you get no stars.
The book starts out with Lola's story, a gypsy child caught in the Spanish civil war. The few pages where she is introduced are gripping and tragic. If the book had focused on her, and her struggles, it would have been great.
Instead, she is knocked into a secondary position by poor little rich girl Rose. The rest of the book is basically about her, her love life, and her search for her brother. Lola's personal history and story take a backseat, with brief chapters wedged in between solid blocks of Rose's hikes, or Rose flirting with handsome men, or Rose hiking and flirting with handsome men. It's just amazing that she keeps running into handsome men who want to help her.
Because of the character the author chose to roll with, what could have been an elevated story of war, tragedy, friendship, and gypsy life is instead, simply, your everyday romance novel with war, tragedy, friendship, and gypsy life as its background. You've read this kind of story before. Numerous times.
The two stars are because of Lola. Rose, you get no stars.