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Il Giardino Degli Incontri Segreti (2010)

by Lucinda Riley(Favorite Author)

3.73 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

8809771249 (ISBN13: 9788809771246)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Giunti

review 1: I really wanted to like this book, and I certainly had a hard time putting it down while reading; however, there were some big problems. First, what was with the casual homophobia? I get that this was set at time when being gay wasn't widely accepted like it (kind of) is now, but the scene between Harry and Olivia discussing gay men was--even under the circumstances--too much for me, and I almost put the book down right there. Next, I totally saw the "twist" in Julia's story coming, and was disappointed and annoyed that I guessed correctly (I also found the twist with Alicia to be distracting and pointless, but that wasn't a huge deal). Third, I found both Harry and to a lesser extent, Julia, to be quite unlikeable. I thought Harry in particular was downright unsympathetic... more and jerkish, which of course made the central plot of the novel hard to swallow--who on earth would fall for this selfish creep? Finally, and most problematic, I, as always, found Riley's portrayal of highly emotional scenes utterly unbelievable and cringeworthy. This woman doesn't write drama; she writes melodrama that Susan Lucci would be embarrassed to perform. That said, this book wasn't all bad. The descriptions of place were amazing, with Riley creating a Thailand so lush and verdant I almost want to hop on a plane this minute, and a hothouse so enticingly scented with orchids I can almost smell it. And of course, as I said, the book drew me in. I read it voraciously and couldn't wait to see what happened at the end, I was just frequently irritated along the way and very let down when I got there.
review 2: I enjoyed this historical fiction novel, which was written in a similar fashion to those of Kate Morton. The story jumps back and forth between present day England, and England and Thailand during WWII. A grand estate is the setting, and there are secrets that travel decades in two families. I didn't rate it higher because there was an unnecessary plot twist at the end, which didn't add anything to the story, and was really just frustrating. less

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