Author: Robert Dinsdale
My Rating: 3*
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication Date: 05/11/20
Genre(s): Fantasy, Magical Realism, Romance
Pages: 480
Format Read: Hardback
Goodreads: Every city has its own magic...
Every night on their long journey to Paris from their troubled homeland, Levon’s grandmother has read to them from a very special book. Called The Nocturne, it is a book full of fairy stories and the heroic adventures of their people who generations before chose to live by starlight.
And with every story that Levon’s grandmother tells them in their new home, the desire to live as their ancestors did grows. And that is when the magic begins…
Nobody can explain why nocturnal water dogs start appearing at the heels of every citizen of Paris-by-Starlight like the loyal retainers they once were. There are suddenly night finches in the skies and the city is transforming: the Eiffel Tower lit up by strange ethereal flowers that drink in the light of the moon.
But not everyone in Paris is won over by the spectacle of Paris-by-Starlight. There are always those that fear the other, the unexplained, the strangers in our midst. How long can the magic of night rub up against the ordinariness of day? How long can two worlds occupy the same streets and squares before there is an outright war?
This is #TsundokuSquad's second group book and we chose Paris by Starlight by Robert Dinsdale. Again, we split it up and read about 25% each week with a discussion on Saturday nights. Here is what we thought:
Group rating: 3*
My rating: 3*
This book started off really well and we loved the magical descriptions of the flowers and the views of Paris. However, none of us really liked the relationship between Isabelle and Levon as everything seemed to move too quick and when conflict began Levon didn't stand up to it and stay by her side which didn't seem right. We loved the Grandma's personality and her belief in the stories and the old country was special.
The story was a bit confusing in some places and we couldn't grasp the timeline but reading as a group definitely helped because if one of us had a question or didn't understand something, someone else had the answer!
As the story went on there was continuous paragraphs all on the descriptions of the city and while it did sound beautiful it began to get a little repetitive and boring for many of us. The story was also quite slow moving until roughly the 3rd book which made it a struggle for us to pick up the book and keep reading.
The action did pick up in book 3, there is a lot more racial tension with the reveal of Paris New Resistance and there is a terrorist attack on The People which changes the lives of Isabelle and Levon.
There were also tiny sections at the start of each book about a little girl overlooking Paris by Starlight which were interesting to read but at the end there wasn't anything to connect it to so what was the point of it being there?
We all loved the stories from the Nocturne and wish we got more from them or perhaps a whole separate book for the Nocturne?
Overall the book started well and we really wanted to like this book but there was too much description and a very slow start and we found that the end of the book was very anticlimactic!
Remember this review is just our thoughts on the book and we don't want to deter anyone from reading it! Just because we didn't enjoy it doesn't mean you won't either.
Our March book is The Islanders by S.V Leonard so keep a look out for our review next month!
No comments:
Post a Comment