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Invoice2go makes it easy for small business owners to create professional invoices on the go. ...
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Indiamart app assists you to source wide range of products and services from exporters, importers,...
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Once Upon a River in Books
Oct 2, 2020
’A river no more begins at its source than a story begins with the first page.’’
Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield is a story that had the perfect plot potential to be amazing, but it didn’t deliver at all. As a huge fan of storytelling, this was a big disappointment for me, the biggest one so far in 2019.
‘’There are stories that may be told aloud, and stories that must be told in whispers, and there are stories that are never told at all.’’
The story happens in a small city, on the river Thames. It features the pub Swan, where people gather every night, and everyone knows each other, and they all tell stories all night and enjoy their company.
If you have ever been to England, it is so easy to imagine the setting of a pub, warm place, crowded with people laughing and talking loudly, glasses clinking and people singing random songs in the background. A lot of positive noise and enchanting atmosphere.
And one night, the usual setting is being disturbed, when a man enters the pub with a little girl in his arms, and then passes away. The girl appears to not be breathing for a while, and everyone thinks she is dead, but suddenly, she is breathing again. And the man that is with her is not her father.
As the town is used to, they make stories of it. How it happened, who is the father, does she have a family, why was she drowning in the river… The plot entangles when the family is to be found of the little girl, but a few people claim she is their relative.
‘’Something happens and then something else happens and then all sorts of other things happen, expected and unexpected, unusual and ordinary.’’
The storytelling and the writing of the author was beautiful. At times. The beginning was a paradise for book lovers. The best first chapters I read this year. But after the plot opening, everything started going downhill.
It felt like being on this roller coaster, excited, going slowly upwards, slowly reaching the top, ready to fall so fast, ready for an adventure, only for them to tell you that there is a fault, and you have to get back and exit the ride without even making the adventure out of it.
I wanted to love it. The writing at parts was great, and I am including a lot of quotes throughout the review, because I loved those parts. But the chapters and characters were too many, and things were happening too fast and without a purpose, that it was hard for me to pick up the pace. I had to leave the book and pick it up again, and it took me three months to complete it. A hard book to swallow and process.
Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield is a story that had the perfect plot potential to be amazing, but it didn’t deliver at all. As a huge fan of storytelling, this was a big disappointment for me, the biggest one so far in 2019.
‘’There are stories that may be told aloud, and stories that must be told in whispers, and there are stories that are never told at all.’’
The story happens in a small city, on the river Thames. It features the pub Swan, where people gather every night, and everyone knows each other, and they all tell stories all night and enjoy their company.
If you have ever been to England, it is so easy to imagine the setting of a pub, warm place, crowded with people laughing and talking loudly, glasses clinking and people singing random songs in the background. A lot of positive noise and enchanting atmosphere.
And one night, the usual setting is being disturbed, when a man enters the pub with a little girl in his arms, and then passes away. The girl appears to not be breathing for a while, and everyone thinks she is dead, but suddenly, she is breathing again. And the man that is with her is not her father.
As the town is used to, they make stories of it. How it happened, who is the father, does she have a family, why was she drowning in the river… The plot entangles when the family is to be found of the little girl, but a few people claim she is their relative.
‘’Something happens and then something else happens and then all sorts of other things happen, expected and unexpected, unusual and ordinary.’’
The storytelling and the writing of the author was beautiful. At times. The beginning was a paradise for book lovers. The best first chapters I read this year. But after the plot opening, everything started going downhill.
It felt like being on this roller coaster, excited, going slowly upwards, slowly reaching the top, ready to fall so fast, ready for an adventure, only for them to tell you that there is a fault, and you have to get back and exit the ride without even making the adventure out of it.
I wanted to love it. The writing at parts was great, and I am including a lot of quotes throughout the review, because I loved those parts. But the chapters and characters were too many, and things were happening too fast and without a purpose, that it was hard for me to pick up the pace. I had to leave the book and pick it up again, and it took me three months to complete it. A hard book to swallow and process.
How to Cook Everything
Food & Drink and Lifestyle
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This first-of-its-kind app of the bestselling cookbook—How to Cook Everything® from New York...
Runtastic Results Fitness App
Health & Fitness
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Don’t wait for summer to be over, START TODAY! Who cares if it’s not Monday - you can start any...
What would you do if love was a disease? A dangerous thing to be eradicated. The fluttery, nervous feeling in your stomach or overwhelming sensation of warmth just a precursor to death. The final stage of deliria, or succumbing to the deadly disease of love.
Lena is born to a world that believes this. People are cured on their eighteenth birthdays to live a contented, unemotional (but not emotionless) life. Parents don't console their children when they are hurt and kisses are just curt transactions.
Prior to your birthday you are evaluated and matched with four to five possible future husbands. Once ranked, you are paired and will marry after you graduate from University. That is the only pseudo-choice you are given over your own life. Even your University and major are chosen for you.
Lena is afraid. She's afraid to break rules, afraid to even think the wrong thoughts. Sure that those in charge will find out and take her away. That is why when her best friend starts to question, to wonder if the cure is happiness, to explore and to listen to music banned by the government - Lena's world is turned upside down. Through Hana and some trespassing, she meets 19-year-old Alex.
Alex introduces Lena to things she never even knew she wanted. Time ticks down to Lena's cure and she realized that she might not want it anymore. but that's not a choice she is given. The cure is mandatory, so what is she going to do?
The world we are introduced to is much like our own, yet it is a world changed by deliria. The government taps people's phones, regulators and police perform raids during which all rights are forfeit, and your life is chosen for you. The world-building is wonderfully done, allowing us a look into this strangely familiar world through the eyes' of Lena. There are short quotes at the beginning of each chapter that illustrates some of the rules, propaganda, cautionary tales and banned literature that Lena would be familiar with. It gives the novel an extra level of depth that benefits it greatly.
The characters in the novel are varied and realistic. Lena is a normal, ordinary girl - or at least that's the way she thinks of herself, but she makes courageous extraordinary choices. Where will her heart take her? Hana, her best friend is rich and beautiful but she wonders if there's something more. Will she give up her contented life or take the cure? Alex is from another world and different ideals shape his thoughts. Will he alter the girls' perception of their government and lives, or will they choose the cure?
Wonderfully well-written novel that I highly recommend to young adult/teen readers even if they don't normally read dystopian style novels. There are only one or two instances of a curse word being used and no inappropriate scenes detailed. This is a very enjoyable read that will keep you up into the wee hours of the morning.
Lena is born to a world that believes this. People are cured on their eighteenth birthdays to live a contented, unemotional (but not emotionless) life. Parents don't console their children when they are hurt and kisses are just curt transactions.
Prior to your birthday you are evaluated and matched with four to five possible future husbands. Once ranked, you are paired and will marry after you graduate from University. That is the only pseudo-choice you are given over your own life. Even your University and major are chosen for you.
Lena is afraid. She's afraid to break rules, afraid to even think the wrong thoughts. Sure that those in charge will find out and take her away. That is why when her best friend starts to question, to wonder if the cure is happiness, to explore and to listen to music banned by the government - Lena's world is turned upside down. Through Hana and some trespassing, she meets 19-year-old Alex.
Alex introduces Lena to things she never even knew she wanted. Time ticks down to Lena's cure and she realized that she might not want it anymore. but that's not a choice she is given. The cure is mandatory, so what is she going to do?
The world we are introduced to is much like our own, yet it is a world changed by deliria. The government taps people's phones, regulators and police perform raids during which all rights are forfeit, and your life is chosen for you. The world-building is wonderfully done, allowing us a look into this strangely familiar world through the eyes' of Lena. There are short quotes at the beginning of each chapter that illustrates some of the rules, propaganda, cautionary tales and banned literature that Lena would be familiar with. It gives the novel an extra level of depth that benefits it greatly.
The characters in the novel are varied and realistic. Lena is a normal, ordinary girl - or at least that's the way she thinks of herself, but she makes courageous extraordinary choices. Where will her heart take her? Hana, her best friend is rich and beautiful but she wonders if there's something more. Will she give up her contented life or take the cure? Alex is from another world and different ideals shape his thoughts. Will he alter the girls' perception of their government and lives, or will they choose the cure?
Wonderfully well-written novel that I highly recommend to young adult/teen readers even if they don't normally read dystopian style novels. There are only one or two instances of a curse word being used and no inappropriate scenes detailed. This is a very enjoyable read that will keep you up into the wee hours of the morning.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Our Little Secret in Books
Apr 12, 2018
Excellent, well-written suspense novel from debut author
"All love stories are crime stories and all crime stories, love. If you say that's not true, you're not looking properly. Perhaps when two people join, it's inevitable, the things they'll damage in each other." ~Angela to Novak*
Angela is being held for interrogation at the police station. Detective Novak wants only thing from her--to know where Saskia is. But Angela cannot comply; instead, she tells Detective Novak a story, one starting with her senior year, when she fell in love with a boy named HP. As she tells her tale, it becomes clear it is one of love, sadness, betrayal, and anger. Does Angela know where Saskia is? And can we trust her?
This was a really fascinating and different book, and it was so refreshing to read something that felt original and unlike so many of the suspense novels I've read lately. I will say upfront: Nay is an excellent storyteller, and I found this novel to be wonderfully written. Parts of this story actually hurt me to read, because it was so vividly told. I could so clearly picture the events unfolding and visualize this tale of teen love gone wrong.
I loved the idea that our entire book is Angela, trapped at the police station, telling the story of the last several years of her life to Detective Novak. It seems unconventional, and it is, but it worked well for me. It took the unreliable narrator trope to a different level, and it was so much better than the drunken, rambling, angry unreliable narrator that we see so often. Angela tells her tale of woe and bitterness to the Detective, with only minor interruptions as he provides some pieces of new evidence that occasionally cast doubt upon her viewpoints. As such, we are left to guess how truthful she is being with all of us. Every statement she makes is charged with double meaning. I found the entire thing to be incredibly compelling and oddly fascinating. I was completely hooked, madly flipping the pages to find out what happened next. Even more, I was amazed at how Nay created sympathy toward a character who wasn't all that likeable at times. I was rooting for her, even when I knew I probably shouldn't.
I felt this faltered only a little near the end, where I wasn't quite sure I was on board with everything, but it certainly wasn't enough to diminish my love of the novel. And the actual ending is excellent and basically redeemed it all. Overall, this was an excellent, well-written, suspenseful novel. Angela is a dynamic and complicated character who immediately draws you in with her narration. I was constantly second-guessing her as I read and found the entire novel to be incredibly powerful and satisfying. Apparently this is Nay's first book, which is even more impressive. Can't wait for the next one. Definitely worth a read! 4+ stars.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review (thank you!).
*all quotes from an advanced reader copy and subject to change
Angela is being held for interrogation at the police station. Detective Novak wants only thing from her--to know where Saskia is. But Angela cannot comply; instead, she tells Detective Novak a story, one starting with her senior year, when she fell in love with a boy named HP. As she tells her tale, it becomes clear it is one of love, sadness, betrayal, and anger. Does Angela know where Saskia is? And can we trust her?
This was a really fascinating and different book, and it was so refreshing to read something that felt original and unlike so many of the suspense novels I've read lately. I will say upfront: Nay is an excellent storyteller, and I found this novel to be wonderfully written. Parts of this story actually hurt me to read, because it was so vividly told. I could so clearly picture the events unfolding and visualize this tale of teen love gone wrong.
I loved the idea that our entire book is Angela, trapped at the police station, telling the story of the last several years of her life to Detective Novak. It seems unconventional, and it is, but it worked well for me. It took the unreliable narrator trope to a different level, and it was so much better than the drunken, rambling, angry unreliable narrator that we see so often. Angela tells her tale of woe and bitterness to the Detective, with only minor interruptions as he provides some pieces of new evidence that occasionally cast doubt upon her viewpoints. As such, we are left to guess how truthful she is being with all of us. Every statement she makes is charged with double meaning. I found the entire thing to be incredibly compelling and oddly fascinating. I was completely hooked, madly flipping the pages to find out what happened next. Even more, I was amazed at how Nay created sympathy toward a character who wasn't all that likeable at times. I was rooting for her, even when I knew I probably shouldn't.
I felt this faltered only a little near the end, where I wasn't quite sure I was on board with everything, but it certainly wasn't enough to diminish my love of the novel. And the actual ending is excellent and basically redeemed it all. Overall, this was an excellent, well-written, suspenseful novel. Angela is a dynamic and complicated character who immediately draws you in with her narration. I was constantly second-guessing her as I read and found the entire novel to be incredibly powerful and satisfying. Apparently this is Nay's first book, which is even more impressive. Can't wait for the next one. Definitely worth a read! 4+ stars.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review (thank you!).
*all quotes from an advanced reader copy and subject to change
Global Teams: How the Best Teams Achieve High Performance
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Working for a matrix international organisation, with its ensuing diverse global teams, based in a...
SG Project Sketcher 5
Business and Productivity
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The Simple Genius brand means fresh design thinking for practical project management apps. Designed...