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A review by thelibraryloner
The Story Collector by Iris Costello
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
I must have struck gold when I chose this book to be my first ever eARC, because it truly blew me away. I am rating this an easy 4.75 - it was heart-breaking, ghostly and raw.
I do enjoy historical fiction, but sometimes for me there's a blurred line between boring and interesting - this was 100% interesting, engaging and page-turning. I am *obsessed* with Costello's style of writing. She brings each time period to life, with enough description to perfectly set the scene and transport you to another time, but not too much to make the reader lose interest. Especially considering that 2 POVs within this book are set during The Great War, which for me personally, have the potential to be too politically dense and challenging to follow. Yet, those were the POVs that I enjoyed reading the most, so that say's it all really.
Costello also knows how to leave you hanging - the AMOUNT of POVs that ended with me gasping, and having to physically restrain myself from flicking through the other chapters just to continue where the POV left off.. . And, this book made me cry *actual tears*. I mean....
"So I vowed to find it again, dedicating my life to collecting voices, like butterflies in a net, in the hope that I would one day hear hers again" ... have you ever heard something to beautiful and heart-breaking in all your life?!
In particular, one of the love stories during the past POV had my complete and utter attention, and was literally clawing at my heartstrings page by page. And whilst I did guess perhaps the 'major' plot revelation, it literally didn't bother me at all as it was exactly how I was hoping the story would go.
SO, when this book is published in February, I implore you all to pick it up as it's one of the most phenomenal reads that I've had in a while. Thank you so much to NetGalley for granting me access to an e-copy!
I do enjoy historical fiction, but sometimes for me there's a blurred line between boring and interesting - this was 100% interesting, engaging and page-turning. I am *obsessed* with Costello's style of writing. She brings each time period to life, with enough description to perfectly set the scene and transport you to another time, but not too much to make the reader lose interest. Especially considering that 2 POVs within this book are set during The Great War, which for me personally, have the potential to be too politically dense and challenging to follow. Yet, those were the POVs that I enjoyed reading the most, so that say's it all really.
Costello also knows how to leave you hanging - the AMOUNT of POVs that ended with me gasping, and having to physically restrain myself from flicking through the other chapters just to continue where the POV left off.. . And, this book made me cry *actual tears*. I mean....
"So I vowed to find it again, dedicating my life to collecting voices, like butterflies in a net, in the hope that I would one day hear hers again" ... have you ever heard something to beautiful and heart-breaking in all your life?!
In particular, one of the love stories during the past POV had my complete and utter attention, and was literally clawing at my heartstrings page by page. And whilst I did guess perhaps the 'major' plot revelation, it literally didn't bother me at all as it was exactly how I was hoping the story would go.
SO, when this book is published in February, I implore you all to pick it up as it's one of the most phenomenal reads that I've had in a while. Thank you so much to NetGalley for granting me access to an e-copy!