A review by nonabgo
Grădina uitată by Kate Morton

3.0

[b:The Forgotten Garden|3407877|The Forgotten Garden|Kate Morton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547843777l/3407877._SY75_.jpg|3448086] is full of mystery, beautiful descriptions, multi-faceted characters you can relate to, just like all the other [a:Kate Morton|615274|Kate Morton|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1536334121p2/615274.jpg] books I've read. However, despite my initial excitement after reading [b:The House at Riverton|1278752|The House at Riverton|Kate Morton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356452218l/1278752._SX50_.jpg|1267740], I sort of got bored with her style a little bit and that's why I'm rating these books at 3* and not higher. She needs to find different angles, as it all seems repetitive after the first 2 books. I will however *probably* read whatever else she writes in the future.

The book is, again, an easy read and you can probably call it a vacation book, the kind you take with you on the beach. I couldn't put it down despite being what I would call a classic chick book (I may be wrong but I seriously doubt there are guys who would read this kind of lit).

It's still going back-and-forth between 3 different times, talking about 4 related women from different generations, one of them harbouring a secret that would impact the lives of all the others. A secret which is only revealed to the youngest, after much investigation.

I'm not familiar with high society lifestyle, but for some reason I always found the mysteries a bit stretched, but that doesn't take anything from the enjoyment this book has brought me. I will, however, say that the book could have easily finished a good 50 pages earlier and that the last part was just never ending and pointless.

Some storylines were, from my point of view, bullshit - why would Eliza's mother live like that, when it's clear her family was missing her? Plus the whole Linus arc which was creepy and boring (rare combination). I won't even go into that whole love story at the end. Too many useless details and drama and obviously not enough when really needed - like Georgiana's story, which should have been more developed, as opposed to others.

I also ended us despising Nell and thinking she was just an ungrateful b***h who messed up (and ruined) the lives of her adoptive father, her sisters, her fiance and her daughter. definitely not a heroine or an example for her granddaughter.

I find myself writing a bit too much about the bad parts, but the truth is that, despite all of these, the book is quite engrossing and kept me hooked until the end, mainly due to the beautiful writing and the twists and turns in the story.