Review of Hattie Vavaseur
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Veronica Lobato
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Review of Hattie Vavaseur
[Following is a volunteer review of "Hattie Vavaseur" by M. Rebecca Wildsmith.]
Hattie Vavaseur by M. Rebecca Wildsmith is a cozy mystery about an old English lady sorting through and adapting to a new stage of her life. The story is set in a small town in Europe in the 1920s. It follows Miss Vavaseur as she uncovers the mystery that comes knocking at her door that seems to be related to her and her missing memories, rediscovering herself as she develops relationships with the people trying to help her along her journey.
This book keeps you invested in the story with its endearing characters and cleverly funny story-telling. The mystery was very intelligently planned and accomplished, all the plot points that were set up along the story were carried out in a very smart way, even the ones that were very subtly included came to contribute a great deal to the ending and the story as a whole. None of the storylines were left unattended, and no questions were left unanswered, even the ones corresponding to the secondary characters.
I’m a big fan of character-driven stories, so one of the things I liked most was that the characters were well constructed. It was such a delight to read about Hattie, with her witty sense of humor and stubbornness, every character was relevant to the plot and the relationships they built with each other were as important in the story as the main plot of the mystery, even if Hattie was the protagonist. There is a lovely romance that develops throughout the novel, and even if it is a major plot point, it doesn’t consume the characters involving it, showing the author's respect for her characters, which I really appreciated.
This novel reads like a classic in the best way. The language used in the narrative and dialogue, the descriptions, and even the setting, all reminiscence that of a classic novel, but that doesn’t keep the story from having a light pace, not making it as slow-paced as some classics can be. Hattie Vavaseur is exactly what you could wish for in a cozy mystery story, fulfilling every promise it makes to its readers and I think that is what makes this book really good.
There are pretty much no negative things I could say about this, it was cleverly written, it has great characters, the setting and plot are both interesting and a great choice for the story. It is, simply put, a great book.
The only thing that I think could improve a bit, but might as well be just a personal preference, is about a hidden message. At first glance, it seems like there were just a bunch of errors. There was nowhere within the book that I could notice, outside of the description, that gives you a clue as to lead you to try to uncover the message. You need to pay very close attention to the notice in the description and keep it very present throughout your whole reading, or it could easily fly over your head as you read, which happened to me.
I give this book 4 out of 4 stars. This book was fantastic, there was nothing in it that I didn’t like as far as story, plot, and characters go. I truly enjoyed reading this book, and I particularly like the detail of the hidden message, because if that doesn’t give a mystery book an extra spark I don’t know what does.
I recommend it for people looking for a cozy mystery, as it fills that category perfectly, people who enjoy classics, a good mystery, and a fun read, and for people who appreciate a character-driven story with a strong female lead.
******
Hattie Vavaseur
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Hattie Vavaseur by M. Rebecca Wildsmith is a cozy mystery about an old English lady sorting through and adapting to a new stage of her life. The story is set in a small town in Europe in the 1920s. It follows Miss Vavaseur as she uncovers the mystery that comes knocking at her door that seems to be related to her and her missing memories, rediscovering herself as she develops relationships with the people trying to help her along her journey.
This book keeps you invested in the story with its endearing characters and cleverly funny story-telling. The mystery was very intelligently planned and accomplished, all the plot points that were set up along the story were carried out in a very smart way, even the ones that were very subtly included came to contribute a great deal to the ending and the story as a whole. None of the storylines were left unattended, and no questions were left unanswered, even the ones corresponding to the secondary characters.
I’m a big fan of character-driven stories, so one of the things I liked most was that the characters were well constructed. It was such a delight to read about Hattie, with her witty sense of humor and stubbornness, every character was relevant to the plot and the relationships they built with each other were as important in the story as the main plot of the mystery, even if Hattie was the protagonist. There is a lovely romance that develops throughout the novel, and even if it is a major plot point, it doesn’t consume the characters involving it, showing the author's respect for her characters, which I really appreciated.
This novel reads like a classic in the best way. The language used in the narrative and dialogue, the descriptions, and even the setting, all reminiscence that of a classic novel, but that doesn’t keep the story from having a light pace, not making it as slow-paced as some classics can be. Hattie Vavaseur is exactly what you could wish for in a cozy mystery story, fulfilling every promise it makes to its readers and I think that is what makes this book really good.
There are pretty much no negative things I could say about this, it was cleverly written, it has great characters, the setting and plot are both interesting and a great choice for the story. It is, simply put, a great book.
The only thing that I think could improve a bit, but might as well be just a personal preference, is about a hidden message. At first glance, it seems like there were just a bunch of errors. There was nowhere within the book that I could notice, outside of the description, that gives you a clue as to lead you to try to uncover the message. You need to pay very close attention to the notice in the description and keep it very present throughout your whole reading, or it could easily fly over your head as you read, which happened to me.
I give this book 4 out of 4 stars. This book was fantastic, there was nothing in it that I didn’t like as far as story, plot, and characters go. I truly enjoyed reading this book, and I particularly like the detail of the hidden message, because if that doesn’t give a mystery book an extra spark I don’t know what does.
I recommend it for people looking for a cozy mystery, as it fills that category perfectly, people who enjoy classics, a good mystery, and a fun read, and for people who appreciate a character-driven story with a strong female lead.
******
Hattie Vavaseur
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
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Sara Scott
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I really enjoyed reading your review of this book. I felt like it echoed a lot of the same feelings I had toward it. Reading it felt like chatting about a book with a friend, I appreciate your style!
I loved the quirky characters and enjoyed the writing-style, classic-reading but easy-paced.
I completely agree with you about the secret message! At first, I was annoyed with what I assumed was sloppy editing because I'd missed the note about it. I like to say it was because I was so intrigued by the plot that I just had to dive in
Thanks for your review!
I loved the quirky characters and enjoyed the writing-style, classic-reading but easy-paced.
I completely agree with you about the secret message! At first, I was annoyed with what I assumed was sloppy editing because I'd missed the note about it. I like to say it was because I was so intrigued by the plot that I just had to dive in
Thanks for your review!
Latest Review: Killing Abel by Michael Tieman
