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A review by ceena
The Last Word by Samantha Hastings
4.0
*I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
As someone who has started a series only to realize it would never finish because the author died, this book struck a cord with me. Through in a childhood friend on the outs who is badgered into going on impromptu journeys to find out how the story ended and I knew I wanted to read this book.
The Last Word is a charming book with a sweet slow building romance. It's one I've been looking forward to getting to, but after my burn out of historical novels last year I was a bit apprehensive to start. This is a historical novel done right... for me. There are historically accurate events and people who are present. I always enjoy when there is a short author's note at the back going over some of the historical events and giving more solid dates.
Lucinda is a charming character who I immediately liked. I felt bad about her circumstances and was rooting for her to get all she wanted in life. I didn't like how in the first pages the characters were explaining the main character's personality to us, but as the book went on the dialogue and explanations were better. I love how smart she is and that David never questions how smart she is. As for David, there were times he might seem bland, but I appreciated his drive to do good work, be a gentleman, and how open he is towards Lucinda rising above what women could do at the time.
I will say their initial interactions in the book were a bit awkward for me since it seemed like they were both always smirking or trying to one up each other, but they were chuckle-worthy as well. Their relationship conflicts were not entirely internal either which was very nice. Most of the book is reading about their growing affections, so there is not any necessary drama.
I also want to mention that there are some prominent side characters. They might not have been as fleshed out as they could be, but I appreciated the conversations between Lucinda and Penelope that had nothing to do with men or crushes.
My biggest problems with the book were the switching the point of view without notice and the time and setting not always being clear. I think some of this might be the ARC issues though and formatting will put in clearer divides. Perhaps this would also help make it clearer when a significant amount of time has passed.
I recommend this one to those who like historical novels and may be looking for a cleaner or less intense romance.
As someone who has started a series only to realize it would never finish because the author died, this book struck a cord with me. Through in a childhood friend on the outs who is badgered into going on impromptu journeys to find out how the story ended and I knew I wanted to read this book.
The Last Word is a charming book with a sweet slow building romance. It's one I've been looking forward to getting to, but after my burn out of historical novels last year I was a bit apprehensive to start. This is a historical novel done right... for me. There are historically accurate events and people who are present. I always enjoy when there is a short author's note at the back going over some of the historical events and giving more solid dates.
Lucinda is a charming character who I immediately liked. I felt bad about her circumstances and was rooting for her to get all she wanted in life. I didn't like how in the first pages the characters were explaining the main character's personality to us, but as the book went on the dialogue and explanations were better. I love how smart she is and that David never questions how smart she is. As for David, there were times he might seem bland, but I appreciated his drive to do good work, be a gentleman, and how open he is towards Lucinda rising above what women could do at the time.
I will say their initial interactions in the book were a bit awkward for me since it seemed like they were both always smirking or trying to one up each other, but they were chuckle-worthy as well. Their relationship conflicts were not entirely internal either which was very nice. Most of the book is reading about their growing affections, so there is not any necessary drama.
I also want to mention that there are some prominent side characters. They might not have been as fleshed out as they could be, but I appreciated the conversations between Lucinda and Penelope that had nothing to do with men or crushes.
My biggest problems with the book were the switching the point of view without notice and the time and setting not always being clear. I think some of this might be the ARC issues though and formatting will put in clearer divides. Perhaps this would also help make it clearer when a significant amount of time has passed.
I recommend this one to those who like historical novels and may be looking for a cleaner or less intense romance.