Victoria S

Well written and the subject matter is what drew me to the story, but the characterization lacked substance and ultimately failed. I might have found this a more compelling read if the author had provided more than the one-dimensional outlines of the other women, especially Rita and Bailey, whom I found far more interesting than that of the milk toast, main character in whose head we spend the majority of the story.

While she may represent women of the time who didn't have agency over their lives, she felt aimless and empty, much like the story. When she falls prey to a mysterious woman whose attention she desperately craves, I felt the story would finally take off. This was the only reason I continued to read, but instead the story just ebbed along providing a monotonous recounting of endless days by the pool, culminating in gin-soaked nights at the casino. There was no climax to the story, only a fizzling out. This was not a book I was ever keen to return to and ended up disappointed at the lost opportunity for a really good story.

This is a remarkable debut, beautifully written and heart achingly rendered. I enjoy family stories—the dynamic between mothers and daughters, the tension that lies at the fringes of even the most loving relationships—and this did not disappoint. The characters were fully fleshed in all of their frustrating and loving glory with the house at the center as a character in itself. The author also did a splendid job writing multiple timelines and weaving them into the narrative. So often different time periods can feel jarring as we settle into one and then are hurled into another, but in this novel they flowed seamlessly.

That said, while I enjoyed this novel and appreciated how the story unfolded, I almost abandoned it. The writing felt detached, a bit too much MFA polish perhaps, and it wasn't until almost a third in that I became invested. From there, the writing and story found their footing as did I. All in all, a fine debut and I look forward to seeing what this author writes next.

An easy read with some flaws. The plot was what intrigued me, but a number of elements didn't quite feel fleshed out and the ending was nonsensical. In characterization, the children were the most well-developed—though I've grown weary of the precocious child trope—with the adult characters never fully realized, especially the main character. I didn't get a true sense of who this woman was (how did being Welsh serve the character or narrative?) and her motivations still elude me. And while the writing was straightforward, it could have been more descriptive. I never got a true sense of place, the setting could have been any rundown motel property, anywhere, instead of a lush island paradise.

As the author's first foray into adult fiction, it's logical that the children's characters would be the most fully formed and the writing style, simplistic, but the comparison to Where'd You Go, Bernadette is a stretch as it lacked the cleverness, humor and, especially, the pluckiest of heroines. Overall, this story felt like a grab bag of ideas that needed a little more work to mesh into a whole.