July 2020 book of the month club

[verna davies]

1. How would you rate the book on a scale of 1 to 5 *****

2 stars

2. Who was your favourite character?

I didnt really have a favourite but at a push I would say Alison.

3. Did you have to force yourself to get through the book or were you unable to put it down?

Not force myself but wasnt eager to get back to it.

4. Did you learn anything you didn't know before?

No

5. Did you find the characters believable?

Yes, I have met people with similar charactors.

6. Is there any part of the book you would change?

Maybe a sharper dialogue in some places to get to the point quicker.

7. Were there any points of view you felt the author had that you disagreed with?

No

8. Alison is excited that her fiance David's home on Nantucket can be a place where their newly blended family can grow closer. Do you have any long standing traditions in your family or have you ever started a new trend.?

No none, we are not really a follower of ttraditions.

9. Cynthia, the wife of one of Noah's colleagues tells Felicity of Noah's affair with Ingrid. Do you agree with the course of action?

Yes

11. Poppy clearly struggles with her father's impending nuptials, not to mention the future of English Garden Creams. When David tells her he plans to include Alison, her daughters and her grandchildren, she is appalled. Do you think her action is justified?

No not at all. I feel she failed to look at it from everyone elses point of view and particularly her fathers. She only had her situation in mind.

12. At the end of the novel Felicity and Noah are still at impasse. She says she is free to change, she could leave Noah but doesn't want to. What do you think is in store for their marriage going forward?

If she had any sense, she would get a divorce and lead her life the way she wants to and not the way Noah wants her to.

 

[rubysmama]

Finally finished this last night. I was surprised when I had 60 pages left to go, that the last 20 or so, were extras, so the book itself ended sooner than I expected.

1. How would you rate the book on a scale of 1 to 5 *****?

probably about 3 stars ***

2. Who was your favourite character?

Considering most of the characters were unlikable, that leaves only Allison or David. Or one of the kids.

3. Did you have to force yourself to get through the book or were you unable to put it down?

Somewhere in the middle. I didn't have to force myself to read it, but neither was it a page turner I couldn't put down. It was a fast read though.

4. Did you learn anything you didn't know before?

I've read quite a few novels set in Nantucket, and this one seemed to have the least information about the island. So no, not really. Well, except for the stuff about Wales. That hike sounded scary, though the geography sounded beautiful. The Welsh language sounds interesting too.

5. Did you find the characters believable?

Believable, not really. Likable, not all all. I can't believe the author managed to create so many horrible characters. Almost everyone of them was annoying.

6. Is there any part of the book you would change?

Not make almost every character annoying. And maybe cut down on some of the characters. With all the spouses and kids, and extras, it was really hard to keep track of everyone.

And stop saying when someone was going to take a shower. If you made a drinking game out of that, all the readers would be drunk after just a few chapters!

7. Were there any points of view you felt the author had that you disagreed with?

Not sure if it was the author's point of view or not, but as a vegetarian, I was offended with the way she had Felicity act as though not eating meat was a horrible hardship. I realize it was Noah's influence/pressure that had their family eating a plant based diet, but, even if the author had had Felicity still crave meat, I think it would have be realistic for one of the kids, probably Alice, to want to stick to the non-meat foods, assuming it was all she'd eaten her entire life. Also, if I remember correctly, I think the family still ate fish, so not vegetarian anyway.

A few questions specific to this book

8. Alison is excited that her fiance David's home on Nantucket can be a place where their newly blended family can grow closer. Do you have any long standing traditions in your family or have you ever started a new trend.?

My mom and grandmother had birthdays a couple days apart, so every year we'd have a joint birthday party for them. Both have passed now, but we do still remember their birthdays by taking flowers to the cemetery each year.

9. Cynthia, the wife of one of Noah's colleagues tells Felicity of Noah's affair with Ingrid. Do you agree with the course of action?

As shocking as it probably would be to learn the news, I think it would be worse not knowing.

10. Felicity notes that it is 'awkward' watching Poppy discipline Luke but brushes off her remark for the sake of remaining cordial. Think of Felicity and Poppy's parenting styles, how would you think their personalities dictate the way they approach parenting?

Felicity's style of parenting was so shaped by her husband's views, that I don't think her personalty played into it very much. Poppy's not sure. She was just whiny all the time.

11. Poppy clearly struggles with her father's impending nuptials, not to mention the future of English Garden Creams. When David tells her he plans to include Alison, her daughters and her grandchildren, she is appalled. Do you think her action is justified?

Though I was not a fan of Poppy, I think I could understand her feelings about her father making so many changes. And I'm sure it's something that happens in many families when there's a 2nd marriage. It's probably more distressing when there's a family business, and lots of money at stake, as in the case here.

12. At the end of the novel Felicity and Noah are still at impasse. She says she is free to change, she could leave Noah but doesn't want to. What do you think is in store for their marriage going forward?

I don't think Felicity and Noah will be celebrating their golden wedding anniversary, in fact I doubt they'll make it to the silver one. But I could see Felicity staying with him till the kids are in college, especially if she finds her new job working with the children fulfilling. Though Noah will probably cause the end of their marriage sooner, by making more thoughtless demands or through his hurtful actions.

 

[verna davies]

rubysmama . I have climbed Snowden and it was spectacular, the views from the top are unbelievable. The path I took was one of the easiest but the one Scott took was the hardest, a narrow path with sheer drops either side and when the wind is blowing its scary but from the description of Scott's character, I doubt an easy route would have even been considered.

 

[rubysmama]

Just Googled, and the pics are stunning! How long did your hike take?

 

[verna davies]

About 3 hours going up which included a stop for lunch and about 2.5 hours coming down. There is a train that takes you to the summit but thats cheating.

 

[rubysmama]

Sounds like a workout, for sure. I'm not terribly outdoorsy, so probably would convince myself that the train was part of the adventure, and not cheating at all.

 

[rubysmama]

Any last thoughts on this book?

Which of the 2 sisters did you like the best? (I know, difficult choice )

 

[pearl99]

Finally getting back:

Generic questions we post every month

2. Who was your favourite character? I think Alison, kind of a free spirit IMO.

4. Did you learn anything you didn't know before? Not really.

5. Did you find the characters believable? Mostly, the characteristics anyway.

6. Is there any part of the book you would change? I'd want more descriptions of Nantucket. I thought there weren't enough detail except how everything was "beautiful" "green" "rain" etc.

7. Were there any points of view you felt the author had that you disagreed with? Not sure of the author's points of view, just events.

A few questions specific to this book

9. Cynthia, the wife of one of Noah's colleagues tells Felicity of Noah's affair with Ingrid. Do you agree with the course of action? Maybe. Felicity was already suspicious, so it really just confirmed.

10. Felicity notes that it is 'awkward' watching Poppy discipline Luke but brushes off her remark for the sake of remaining cordial. Think of Felicity and Poppy's parenting styles, how would you think their personalities dictate the way they approach parenting? Felicity just did what Noah ordered, she didn't really have any say. Now I can't remember Poppy's style, I didn't note that

12. At the end of the novel Felicity and Noah are still at impasse. She says she is free to change, she could leave Noah but doesn't want to. What do you think is in store for their marriage going forward? End of marriage. Noah controls and works all the time and had a fling...sure it takes a lot of time building a business but he could take some time away, it's not going to fail because of that. He's a jerk, and Felicity needs to say "bye!"

 

[verna davies]

pearl99 . Like you I would have liked more on the description of the island. When I googled it, the pictures were stunning and would have translated into dialogue really well.

Any last thoughts on this book?

Which of the 2 sisters did you like the best? (I know, difficult choice )

I think I preferred Jane, Felicity was a bit weak natured for me in accepting and doing everything that Noah wanted.

 

[pearl99]

Any last thoughts on this book?

Which of the 2 sisters did you like the best? (I know, difficult choice )

For me, Jane. She and her husband liked outdoorsy things (like me.)

 

[pearl99]

pearl99 . Like you I would have liked more on the description of the island. When I googled it, the pictures were stunning and would have translated into dialogue really well.

I didn't think of googling the area, will have do that. I want to do a NE vacation and go to Acadia National Park, may have to include Nantucket.

 

[rubysmama]

Which of the 2 sisters did you like the best? (I know, difficult choice )

I think I'd have to go with Felicity, just because it bothered me that Jane nearly cheated on her husband, not to mention was acting like a teenager over her infatuation with, eeek, I've already forgotten his name(!) her soon to be step-brother.

6. Is there any part of the book you would change? I'd want more descriptions of Nantucket. I thought there weren't enough detail except how everything was "beautiful" "green" "rain" etc.

Yes, I found that strange, as usually novels set in Nantucket are written such that you want to visit after you read them. One author who writes a lot of books set in Nantucket is Elin Hilderbrand. So maybe check out her books. Elin Hilderbrand

 

[rubysmama]

Guess that's it for another month.

For August we're going back to a thriller. More info in the monthly thread:
August 2020 book of the month club

Then stay tuned for something a bit different for September. Watch for the thread on August 1st, where all will be revealed.