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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
*I’m always a fan of historical fiction with dual time lines, especially when it’s a past and present timeline. I was hooked right from the beginning, the author really set the tone and atmosphere perfectly and I could feel the desperation and yearning throughout. Which I absolutely loved of course! This story had SO much to offer and the potential to be perfect, it really was so close. I think what threw me off is that at one point I just really started to hate all the characters and I’m a very character based reader. I did really enjoy it though, it kept me guessing the whole way through, I just wish the characters hadn’t soured me so much by the end. The ending was absolutely phenomenal as well, I truly didn’t see it coming and it surprised the heck out of me!
**Thanks to Simon Schuster Canada for the ARC copy, this in no way changes or affects my review.
**Thanks to Simon Schuster Canada for the ARC copy, this in no way changes or affects my review.
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book is told by Sylvia in the 70s and Jess in the present time and it takes place between London and Switzerland. The book has a really good pace, and it is very easy to read as the chapters are just the right length. It has a lot of facts about the women’s rights in Switzerland and how it compares to the rights in the UK.
I really enjoyed reading about Sylvia finding her way in a man’s world, how she stood up for herself and worked hard to be successful at a time where things where even harder than today. I would have loved more of her back story; I found her fascinating and a really strong character with more to say. However, I wasn’t that invested on Jess’ storyline, she was doing and saying things that made me uncomfortable, especially from a nanny perspective. I understand she had some motivation to do so in order to know about her birth but still...
It was an interesting read, a good debut.
I really enjoyed reading about Sylvia finding her way in a man’s world, how she stood up for herself and worked hard to be successful at a time where things where even harder than today. I would have loved more of her back story; I found her fascinating and a really strong character with more to say. However, I wasn’t that invested on Jess’ storyline, she was doing and saying things that made me uncomfortable, especially from a nanny perspective. I understand she had some motivation to do so in order to know about her birth but still...
It was an interesting read, a good debut.
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am a lover of history, but I sometimes find non-fiction too dry and not engaging enough for me to stick with. Stories like this are often a great compromise. With a feminist backdrop and the story being based around the women’s rights movements in both Switzerland and the UK, Jess is seeking answers in the country her mother Sylvia fell in love with as a journalist. Alongside Jess’s journey of discovery, we are also introduced to her mother and her journey to fight for her place in a man’s world, and as her life is unwound, Jess seeks to find the roots to her own existence. Content warnings include mentions of emotional and physical child abuse, TTC, abortion, and family issues.
I can’t really fault this book. I was rooting for both Jess and Sylvia, even though they were far from perfect. Both had a lot of emotional baggage, and I liked that the story focused on the two of them and their respective journeys. As a woman, I could sympathise with the difficulties they faced. Although things are better now than they were, this book proves that while you can change legislation, others’ attitudes may remain unchanged.
It is very easy to romanticise historical fiction, but this book does an excellent job in remaining rooted in its context without taking away from the fiction. Therefore, I would recommend to anyone who would like a fresh perspective on rediscovering a sense of identity later in life, or just a story with a character-focused plot.
[DISCLAIMER: Thank you to Simon and Schuster, Caroline Bishop and Kaleidoscopic tours for my gifted copy. All opinions are my own and I was not influenced to write a positive review.]
I can’t really fault this book. I was rooting for both Jess and Sylvia, even though they were far from perfect. Both had a lot of emotional baggage, and I liked that the story focused on the two of them and their respective journeys. As a woman, I could sympathise with the difficulties they faced. Although things are better now than they were, this book proves that while you can change legislation, others’ attitudes may remain unchanged.
It is very easy to romanticise historical fiction, but this book does an excellent job in remaining rooted in its context without taking away from the fiction. Therefore, I would recommend to anyone who would like a fresh perspective on rediscovering a sense of identity later in life, or just a story with a character-focused plot.
[DISCLAIMER: Thank you to Simon and Schuster, Caroline Bishop and Kaleidoscopic tours for my gifted copy. All opinions are my own and I was not influenced to write a positive review.]
Review will be on my YouTube and Instagram (Books and Bargains)
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
📖 ’𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙞𝙩; 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙈𝙪𝙢 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙄 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨, 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚. 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙨, 𝙞𝙛 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙬𝙖𝙨..’
Jess, a young British born woman, discovers a shocking secret about her birth. She knows her mum went to Switzerland for work to write an article on the Swiss women’s rights movement so Jess travels to Switzerland in search of answers. Was Jess meant to live the life she has lived?
Is Jess brave enough to face the truth? Who will she end up hurting by investigating the past?
💭 This is an intriguing story which uncovers more and more with each page. The story is told from two interweaving narratives - Jess in present day, and her mother in the past in 1976. With this dual narrative you travel from past to present to piece together the story.
Not only does it build up interest and curiosity in the fictional plot, the reader gets a fascinating insight into what it means to be a woman living in the 1970’s where women’s rights were still very limited - for example, women’s right to vote was legalised in 1971, women were granted equal rights in marriage in 1985 which meant before that men had legal authority over their wives and could stop them from working, abortion was legalised in 2002. It’s astonishing to learn how recent these developments are and that more still needs to be done.
⚖️ The book is an exploration of women’s choices in life, that are restricted by societal, political, legal and cultural norms as well as Mother Nature. Life in Switzerland is vividly described too, which makes me want to travel there very soon! A beautifully written and compelling story about motherhood, privilege and feminism.