Friday, September 5, 2014

Season of Storms by Susanna Kearsley

Standalone
512 p.
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Published: 9/2/14
Source: NetGalley and Publisher for review
In the early 1900s, in the elegant, isolated villa Il Piacere, the playwright Galeazzo D'Ascanio lived for Celia Sands. She was his muse and his mistress, his most enduring obsession. And she was the inspiration for his most stunning and original play. But the night before she was to take the stage in the leading role, Celia disappeared. Now, decades later, in a theatre on the grounds of Il Piacere, Alessandro D'Ascanio is preparing to stage the first performance of his grandfather's masterpiece. A promising young actress - who shares Celia Sands' name, but not her blood - has agreed to star. She is instantly drawn to the mysteries surrounding the play - and to her compelling, compassionate employer. And even though she knows she should let the past go, in the dark - in her dreams - it comes back.
My thoughts:
This book is part ghost story and mystery with romance thrown in for good measure. The story starts out by alternating 2 time periods. In one period you were with the playright Glaeazzo and Celia Sand in the early 1900s; then you switched to a much later time with his grandson and a young actress named Celia Sand (no relation) in the quest to put on a play that had never been seen on stage. The beginning of the book is a bit slow but it does start to pick up and get interesting the more you are absorbed in the mystery in what happened and in what is going on presently in the villa.

While I finally got into the book and the mysteries, I have to say that some of the contemporary mystery seemed a bit forced and thrown in to heighten the suspense. I didn't hate it, but it also just didn't seem to connect to everything that had gone on in the past. I did like the romance but I also wanted a bit more connection to the relationship. It still read well enough and I did root for the couple. The ghosts and the mystery of Celia's (the first one) disappearance was well played out. I did enjoy that part and I really liked the characters including most of the secondary characters. The ones I didn't like, I wasn't supposed to like so it worked out well. :)

I give this book 3 stars. This is a book I would recommend to those that enjoy historical fiction, ghost stories and mystery.

21 comments:

  1. I never liked stories that jumo between two timelines, but then came Vicious by Victoria Schwab and changed my mind completely. It's odd that the mystery was so poorly constructed. I'm very nitpicky when it comes to these things.
    Great review, Mel!

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    1. The past mystery was very well done though! :) It still was a good read.

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  2. oh ghosts? that's nice! And I love stories during this period. I think I saw the image on the cover on another book, I want to know which one lol.

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    1. I think you will like this one. These covers of hers do look alike. :)

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  3. That sounds interesting. I'm a little iffy on the time switches like that but am up for giving them a try now and again :). Glad to see it was a pretty enjoyable read.

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    1. You might really enjoy this one. It wasn't bad in terms of the switches. It wasn't confusing.

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  4. Hm. I've read a couple books lately that have had split timelines and I really struggled with them. I'm not sure why, but I just found myself wanting to be in one of the timelines rather than alternating between both. I think I might feel the same in this one, especially if the contemporary mystery feels a touch forced. Lovely review though Melissa!

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    1. It wasn't confusing so you might like this one. I don't think you'll struggle with that at all.

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  5. Sorry to hear that some of the mystery seemed forced

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  6. Hmmm... from your review I gather that this book had potential, but unfortunately the author failed on the overall delivery. Forced mystery, and a so-so relationship aren't a good combo IMO. Thanks for the heads up!

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    1. Yep. It wasn't a bad book just didn't quite get to that potential.

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  7. I have heard so many great things about this author, but I haven't tried her yet. Sounds like it had a lot of promise, and I am sorry it feel flat.

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    1. I have a couple of her other books on the tbr. I am curious about those now.

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  8. I've enjoyed a couple of this author's previous work but I haven't heard much of this one and I know that her titles vary in excellence, in large part due to their length I suspect. Glad you still managed to like this one despite a few issues. Amazing review, Melissa! :)

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  9. If I'm going to read a 500 page book, then I want it to be fabulous. lol. Don't know if I could take this one on.

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  10. I do enjoy her books...yup all of them, so in the end I am sure I'd enjoy this one too :)

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  11. Sometimes the two story lines work really well and others are just ok. I am not sure about this, although I do think I have other books by this author on my Nook.

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  12. I love the cover of this one so much but the legnth kind of intimidates me (although I just finished Heir of Fire and that was 600 pages somaybe i shouldn't be talking lol)

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  13. I got a copy of this one from the publisher and was curious what others thought of it. I do like the ghost story and romance, but the mystery has me a bit worried. I'll still give it ago since you enjoyed it overall.

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  14. Sounds like a great read. I love mysteries.

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