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graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Beatrice: The Untold Story of a Legendary Woman of Mystery in Books

Feb 15, 2019

Beatrice Turner was an enigma. Brought up in polite society by strict parents, she spent her life painting, writing in her journal, and watching the world change while she still wore Victorian garb. Considered an eccentric by her peers and then again by future generations, not many really knew who she was until after her death. In this slim volume, Beatrice's story is told through her surviving journals, self-portraits, sketches and other paintings. But through it all, there are still unanswered questions, so she remains a mystery to this day.

The book itself is basically good, Beatrice must have been a fascinating woman. She kept to herself but her journal reveals that she was a woman ahead of her time and I wish they hadn't burned her works, even if there were thousands of them. I guess it's a sign of the times, no one appreciated her or considered her a real artist, they just decided that because she was different, she's an outcast. The author writes well, but my biggest complaint was that there were too many unnecessary backgrounds told of people who didn't really matter to the story. Some of them I can see how it was needed but other than those few exceptions, it was just padding. Not that it's completely surprising since little is known about Beatrice, but those parts were pointless to the book as a whole. I'd stil say this is a worthwhile book that is fascinating, quick to read, and features many of Beatrice's paintings.

5 stars for Beatrice herself, 3 stars for the book, so a 4 average.

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Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated The Gates of Evangeline in Books

Apr 9, 2019

Charlotte Cates has started having dreams about young children now that her son has passed away. She is not sure what these dreams mean, but when they start to come to fruition, she sees that she may have a gift she may not really want. Sent to Louisiana to write a book about the abduction of young Gabriel Deveau, she believes she knows what has happened to him from one of her dreams. Will she be able to find out what happened to this boy? What other dreams will she have before she gets the answers she is looking for?

I started this book and at first I couldn't get into it. I put it down for a couple of weeks and then picked it back up. I'm so glad that I did. While some parts of this book were a little bit predictable, this was an overall good read. I was invested in the story and I was desperate to know what was going to happen to Charlotte, or Charlie as she likes to be called.

After the death of her own child, she was lost and unsure about how to continue her life. She wasn't really into her job and then came the opportunity arose for her to write about something, she thought she had first hand knowledge about. Leaving her home in Connecticut to live at Evangeline, the estate where Gabriel went missing, she uncovers a lot about the Deveau family that she never knew was possible.

At 75% I literally felt my heart begin to race. And it was difficult to put the book down from then on. Highly recommended.

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Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated World Without End in Books

Feb 4, 2020

World Without End

Ken Follett | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics

9.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Contains spoilers, click to show

World Without End takes place in the same town of Kingsbridge, two centuries after the townspeople finished building the exquisite Gothic cathedral that was at the heart of The Pillars of the Earth. The cathedral and the priory are again at the center of a web of love and hate, greed and pride, ambition and revenge, but this sequel stands on its own. This time the men and women of an extraordinary cast of characters find themselves at a crossroads of new ideas—about medicine, commerce, architecture, and justice. In a world where proponents of the old ways fiercely battle those with progressive minds, the intrigue and tension quickly reach a boiling point against the devastating backdrop of the greatest natural disaster ever to strike the human race—the Black Death.

Back to Kingsbridge., Following the lives of the children from pillars of the earth. I loved this book so much even more than the first! Ken Follett has a way of dragging you into this world and just making you believe it's now and you seeing it all unfold. Caris is inspirational watching her fight her way through to be exactly who he wants be and letting noone stand in her way despite what they try and do! Gwenda has fought for absolutely everything in her life, her man , her work her children. Ralph is just absolutely vile never have I read about a character I despise more! Well philmore comes bloody close. So many lives to follow and lose yourself in. Highly recommended these books are just brilliant!!
Kingsbridge survives the plague so what's next??

The cathedral is still the centre of it all