This book... well it wasn't my favorite. It did get a wee bit better as it went along, at least? Idk, I am grasping at straws here, because I wanted so desperately to like it. And tons of people did, from what I can tell on Goodreads! So as always, opinions vary!
The Things I Liked:
- •The sibling bond. The sibling story that the story was rooted in was great. They experienced a lot together, and they then had to navigate their relationships back in the "real" world. It felt really honest that they were so tight-knit, but then drifted apart after they all went through such a huge, life changing experience.
- •The time period/setting. I am an absolute sucker for a historical fiction, plus the English countryside is just fabulous! The author also did a really great job of nailing the time period and atmosphere of the setting- it felt very authentic.
- •The writing was lovely. I will absolutely try the author again, because her prose was downright lovely.
- •When the story reaches Phillipa's POV, it picks up a tad. I cared much more for Phillipa's point of view than Evelyn's. While I felt a sadness and sympathy for Evelyn, I had a much easier time connecting with Phillipa's story.
The Things I Didn't:
- •Honestly? The biggest thing was that I was just really, really bored. It's such a hard thing to explain with any sort of eloquence, I'm afraid. The story started out slowly, for sure. And that isn't even always a problem for me. I think that when the slowness combined with a character that I just couldn't find myself caring too much for (Evelyn), it lead to me having a hard time staying invested. Even by the time Phillipa came along, I was really only marginally more invested. There was just so much repetition: Evelyn is sad. Phillipa feels bad about leaving Evelyn. And over and over and over.
- •Evelyn felt annoyingly one-dimensional. Honestly, the only thing I knew about her was "misses
Narniathe Woodlands". To be honest, I have no idea why she missed it even. (I'll go into that in the next bullet point.) After her millionth time brooding about how much she hated the real world I just... didn't care anymore. Also, while I liked the character of her romantic interest, it really pissed me off that he was repeatedly described as "tethering me to the world". Look, I know she's probably experiencing some legit mental illness here, but she has family and friends who love her, but only a dude can help? Hard pass. - •The Woodlands is just... I don't get the appeal? Guys, this world seems awful. Lots of fighting and killing and messiness. I get that they'd come from WWII era London but like. Is Narnia really any better? We did get some flashbacks of the siblings' time in the Woodlands, but it really didn't convince me at all. I couldn't get a decent picture in my head of this place; it seemed a little generic-fantasy to me. And a pretty brutal place to spend your formidable years, tbh.
- •Pretty healthy dose of Parent-In-YA-Syndrome. There is finally some discussion about the parents being MIA, but if you ask me, it's too little too late. Especially because their "reasons" were crappy at best. Harmful, obviously, at worst.
Bottom Line: While I didn't love the story itself, it certainly had some positive points. And lots of people did love it, so check those out too of course!