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The Vintage Girl (2014)

by Hester Browne(Favorite Author)

3.78 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1782065652 (ISBN13: 9781782065654)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Quercus UK

review 1: Swept Off Her Feet was a novel I put down so many times, I honestly lost count. I NEEDED mental breaks from sniveling, self-important protagonist Evie. A 'protagonist' is supposed to be the character who changes the most, learns the most, or has the most to lose during a story's events... and the person who fit this description was Alice, Evie's neurotic (and way more fascinating) sister.There are just so many times that our 'hero' can speak badly of the other women in the story or make snide comments about other people's dating habits- all while she really does nothing useful, kind, genuine, or supportive- before you want to backhand her into a snow bank. I especially love when Evie remarks "well, I would never steal another girl's boyfriend" after she's spent the WHOLE B... moreOOK pining for HER OWN SISTER'S nearly-fiancé! It also gave me a rub that Evie was so naïve at age 30 that it simply began to ring false. IS she that dumb? IS she that childish? IS she that blind to her own shortcomings?I had no idea why everyone was so taken with Evie. Basically, she showed up at the story's setting. This was the only criteria necessary for the family, neighbors, and possible suitors to fall all over themselves about her.As for me, I missed Alice. Funny, panic-stricken, elusive Alice. I wondered where she was? What trouble she was in? What were her fears? How did she become this way? I really wish the story had AT LEAST been divided equally between the sisters.What garners the 3 Stars are the sadly-neglected Alice, and the fantastic Hester Browne's writing style.
review 2: A fun, escapist, romance at the top end of "chick lit" writing. I could relate so much to Evie's love of antiques, of her fascination with collecting, in discovering objects linked with ancestors and her visions of life in an earlier age (at a society level of course not in the scullery!). But I must admit in the early chapters I was irritated by the author's picture of the Scottish Borders. I live there, and to me it was not the Scottish Borders, but the somewhat cliched Highlands that was depicted. Even the names were not Border names but Highland ones - McAndrew, Duncan, Dougal, Angus. But putting that aside, I soon was captivated by the characters, the description of the castle in the snow; the excitement at finding the memorabilia of Violetta's life, and the scene between Evie and Robert in the empty ballroom was beautifully and movingly told. Yes, perhaps the episodes on Evie learning to dance the reels were a bit prolonged but they conveyed so much the thrills of dancing, and the issue of Catriona was too easily wrapped up. But overall a very entertaining read. less

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