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Liked It “Great story” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “A rather confusing story of the great-great-grandson of Mary Alsworthy and Lord Vaughn from the Pink Carnation Series. Spouse swapping, drugs, & other forms of excess lead to one cousin marrying another’s spouse & raising their children as her own, leave the grandchildren’s generation confuse &...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“A rather confusing story of the great-great-grandson of Mary Alsworthy and Lord Vaughn from the Pink Carnation Series. Spouse swapping, drugs, & other forms of excess lead to one cousin marrying another’s spouse & raising their children as her own, leave the grandchildren’s generation confuse & looking for questions.
Celtic_Witch wrote this review 12 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Not nearly as good as the Pink Carnation Series.
”“Great story”
Nicole C wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This novel is Willig's first stand-alone, unrelated to her PINK CARNATION series. She is so good at the latter that I admit to having had some trepidation at the thought of her branching out. My fears, however, were totally unfounded. This was a wonderful book, about two cousins, Addie and Bea, who have a lifetime connection of submission on Addie's part and manipulative control on Bea's part. The girls grow up in Edwardian England; the focus shifts to Addie's granddaughter, Clementine, and then back to the 1920s. Addie is in love with Bea's husband, and she takes a trip from London to Kenya to visit them on their coffee farm. Bea subsequently vanishes, presumed dead, while on safari, and Addie ends up marrying Frederick, Bea's husband. The novel keeps you guessing about Bea's true fate until the end. Willig did a fantastic job of delving into the 1920s expatriate community of English aristocrats in Kenya, blending seamlessly with Clemmie's modern-day NYC tale. Fantastic display; I'm excited for Willig's next stand-alone.”
Alethea wrote this review Sunday, April 21, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Wow, was all I could think as, with a sigh, I closed the Kindle. What a wonderful story.
Julie G Hughes wrote this review Sunday, April 14, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
It's 1926 and Addie has just arrived in Kenya to visit her cousin, Bea; Bea's husband, Frederick; and their two daughters. Immediately, it's obvious that all is not right between Addie and Bea, or Frederick and Bea. Or Addie and Frederick.
Jump to 1999 and Addie's ninety-ninth birthday. Late, newly unengaged, and frazzled, Clementine is shocked to see how much her Granny Addie has changed. But not as shocked as when, confused and disoriented, Addie calls her Bea; a name Clemmie has never heard before.
From here, we move back and forth between the two women's lives. It's an intense, emotional ride. And was almost impossible to put down.
I love losing myself in a great story. Rarely, however, do I get so utterly absorbed in the lives of fictional characters. The immediacy and intimacy of the writing completely pulled me in. I simply had to know what had happened.
The Ashford Affair took me places I've never been, and brought people into my imagination who will live there a long time.
On the down side, my ARC was an uncorrected galley and, as such, had more than a few typos and other errors. Not enough to ruin the riveting story and impressive writing. Just annoyances that, periodically, interrupted a wonderful journey.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary electronic galley of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.com [...] professional readers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
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“Quite morose in tone, however I was drawn into this family drama of a novel that travels smoothly between the early 20th century and the last decade of that same century. Very emotionally involving, although certain characters were hard to feel sympathy for. Recommended to readers who are interested in the WW1 years and the 1920s.
Danielle The Book Huntress wrote this review Monday, March 4, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Reviewed for Affaire de Coeur Magazine in the April issue. http://affairedecoeur.com”
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