I will provide a synopsis from either the publisher, author, or Amazon.com site for your review and a couple sentences why I didn't finish these books despite my normal penchant for finishing everything I read.
1. Gold Dust on His Shirt by Irene Howard
Gold Dust on His Shirt is an evocative telling of the experience of a Scandinavian immigrant family of hard-rock miners at the turn of the century and up to World War II. Based on fascinating historical research, these are tales of arriving in ‘Amerika,’ blasting the Grand Trunk Pacific railway, work in the mines, and domestic life and labour struggles in company towns throughout British Columbia.
While initially the prologue drew me in with the writer's inspiration for writing the book, I soon discovered a more textbook-like writing style in the subsequent chapters, which were too dry for me to continue. Although I am sure this book contains some great historical information about the immigrant experience of miners, I was not as interested in the subject matter as I had hoped.
2. Little Stories by Jeff Roberts
Little Stories takes a critical look at the inevitable moments of betrayal and loneliness in our awkward quest to love and be loved, but the reader will discover the value - and even joy - to be had by looking backward and facing the past. This brilliant collection of tales should not be missed.
I found the dialogue in the first story to be pedestrian, and I didn't feel a connection to the characters. With a compilation of short stories, it is difficult to connect with characters in those stories, but some collections do better than others. Unfortunately, this was not one of those collections for me.
3. The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer
In The Reluctant Widow, Eleanor Rochdale, a young woman of good birth but straitened circumstances, sets out to accept a position as a governess and ends up plunged into a tangle of foreign intrigue instead.
Georgette Heyer has received great reviews from other bloggers in the blogosphere, but for some reason The Reluctant Widow failed to hold my attention on more than on occasion.
4. Loving Mr. Darcy by Sharon Lathan
9 comments:
Sorry these didn't work for you. I liked Gold Dust on His Shirt; I didn't find it textbook. I have that Heyer book but haven't read it yet.
--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric
It sounds like you gave these a fair shot.
Oh, sad, I really like The Reluctant Widow! But I know she's hard to get into with her language and her clothing descriptions. Good effort, regardless!
I always feel guilty when I don't finish a book, I don't know why...
I love DNF posts. It's always so fun to read things the equivalent of "I prefer a plot" etc.! Sorry they didn't work out, but fun post anyway! :--)
Thanks everyone for checking out these books. I hope that the winners of the giveaway will enjoy them. And besides I can make room for books I will enjoy!
I tried to read Little Stories and couldn't finish, either.
I've been feeling some guilt today about a book that I'm setting aside. *sigh*
Life is just to short, but especially with review copies I feel an obligation to finish.
I don't think I'd like any of these either! Oh well! :-)
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