A review by sassybookishmama
The Master Craftsman, by Kelli Stuart
3.0
This is my first book by this author and when presented to me the summary sounded amazing and it is a dual timeline which is a favorite type of read for me. Definitely a story that I could get lost in but sadly that wasn't the case for me. There is a lot to be said for this book but I will keep my thoughts brief. Let's start with the positives. I absolutely loved the historical part of this story. The timeline that takes place in Russia was definitely my favorite part of the book. You can tell that the author did extensive research on the Faberge eggs and Faberge himself which I found quite interesting. If she wrote a book solely on that time period I may take a chance on it.
I know a lot of authors are trying this concept of writing dual timelines and I must say that after reading and reviewing quite a few of them some are more successful than others. I just felt like it was disjointed. The contemporary storyline was a bit slow and hard to get into. The characters were not relatable and I must admit that Ava just grated on my nerves. Oh, and the almost uses of mild cussing was just not necessary I also felt like the ending left some things unresolved which left me in a more blah mood about this book.
This book had no faith element whatsoever. It had no mentions of anything relating to God whatsoever. I am no prude. I am no "holier than thou" person nor do I pretend to be. I do prefer to read Christian fiction or Clean Fiction that perhaps has nothing to do with religion. So I definitely don't expect every single book that I read to have some type of faith element. However, if a book is published by a Christian publisher I do expect to be some type of mention of God or anything relating to faith. Sadly, that was not the case here.
Had it not been for her impeccable historical research this book would've been a 2 star for me but that alone brought it up to an almost 3. Obviously don't go by my thoughts, this is just my review of what I feel about the book. You may completely enjoy it so if you enjoy adventure, treasure hunt type books then give it a try and let me know what you think!
I received a copy of this book through the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
I know a lot of authors are trying this concept of writing dual timelines and I must say that after reading and reviewing quite a few of them some are more successful than others. I just felt like it was disjointed. The contemporary storyline was a bit slow and hard to get into. The characters were not relatable and I must admit that Ava just grated on my nerves. Oh, and the almost uses of mild cussing was just not necessary I also felt like the ending left some things unresolved which left me in a more blah mood about this book.
This book had no faith element whatsoever. It had no mentions of anything relating to God whatsoever. I am no prude. I am no "holier than thou" person nor do I pretend to be. I do prefer to read Christian fiction or Clean Fiction that perhaps has nothing to do with religion. So I definitely don't expect every single book that I read to have some type of faith element. However, if a book is published by a Christian publisher I do expect to be some type of mention of God or anything relating to faith. Sadly, that was not the case here.
Had it not been for her impeccable historical research this book would've been a 2 star for me but that alone brought it up to an almost 3. Obviously don't go by my thoughts, this is just my review of what I feel about the book. You may completely enjoy it so if you enjoy adventure, treasure hunt type books then give it a try and let me know what you think!
I received a copy of this book through the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.