Hiya book lovers With Christmas being just around the corner, I thought I’d highlight some South African reads that should go on your TBR pile. We have so many phenomenal SA authors that deserve to be celebrated , and because this list will be an extensive one, I am splitting this post and making it a series. I know it won’t be possible to include every single South African author, but I am going to try to highlight books from every genre and make it as diverse as possible (so, with respect, please don’t ask me why so and so isn’t on the list – there’s more to come). First up: 1. Sing Down the Stars by Nerine Dorman A book I recently received for review ( thanks you NB publishers ) and am super excited about diving into is Sing Down the Stars. I was first introduced to Nerine’s writing years ago, when I read one of her first books, What Sweet Music They Make (Would 100% still love to see more of that). Over the years, I ’ve come to know Nerine as well and she’s not ...
Welcome to another mini book reviews edition of my blog. For this section of my blog, I usually feature reviews of books that don’t really require them – books bought, books I’ve borrowed from friends and books I’ve taken out at the library.
Because they’re not must-review books, my format of these mini reviews differ in that I don’t work the summary into my review in my own words; instead, I feature the Goodreads summary, followed by a few thoughts on my reading experience.
In today’s mini reviews feature, I share my brief thoughts on Glimpse by Kendra Leighton.
Because they’re not must-review books, my format of these mini reviews differ in that I don’t work the summary into my review in my own words; instead, I feature the Goodreads summary, followed by a few thoughts on my reading experience.
In today’s mini reviews feature, I share my brief thoughts on Glimpse by Kendra Leighton.
Glimpse summary from Goodreads (published in 2014, by Much-in-Little, an imprint of Constable & Robinson)
Liz just wants to be normal. Her life is anything but.
Seven years ago Liz lost her mother and ten years' worth of memories. When she inherits the infamous Highwayman Inn, she hopes the move will be a fresh start. Then she meets Zachary.
Zachary who haunts her by night and in dreams; who makes her question everything she is and wants to be; who seems scarcely real - yet makes her feel so alive.
Inspired by Alfred Noyes' classic poem 'The Highwayman', Glimpse is a ghost story, a love story, and a story of a girl fighting for her future by confronting her terrible past.
My thoughts:
Ok, so after initially finding this book intriguing, I'm very disappointed to say that everything else that followed ended up being one huge disappointment for me.
The Highway Man is one of my all-time favourite poems - I love the haunting imagery, the prose of the poem and the air of tragedy that embodies it.
So, it stands to reason that while I didn't expect a blow-by-blow adaptation of it, I did hope and expect that the book would at least capture the essence of the poem.
Unfortunately, I think the book really failed at this.
The ghostly aspects didn't haunt, the protagonist was just another overly done character trope and I just didn't connect with her or the events that unfolded in the story.
Oh and the almost love story and how it was resolved in the end? For me (and I'm once again sorry to say this) it felt like an absolute cop-out; one that I just didn't buy, especially given the fact that I already wasn't sold on the idea of Liz and Zachary as a couple in the first place.
I think the main problem with retellings (and this is by no means any author's fault) is that we as the readers, demand so much from it.
We expect either the same versions with better endings, or something better than the original product. And sometimes it's this that results in us failing to separate our visions of what it should be from the picture that is presented to us.
Which is exactly what happened to me with Glimpse.
Over all, I don't think it's a completely horrible read - I just wouldn't go out of my way to purchase a copy of the book; if you're going to read it, get it from the library.
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