Tuesday 27 August 2013

Review: The Wishing Thread - Lisa van Allen

The Van Ripper women have been the talk of Tarrytown, New York, for centuries. Some say they’re angels; some say they’re crooks. In their tumbledown “Stitchery,” not far from the stomping grounds of the legendary Headless Horseman, the Van Ripper sisters—Aubrey, Bitty, and Meggie—are said to knit people’s most ardent wishes into beautiful scarves and mittens, granting them health, success, or even a blossoming romance. But for the magic to work, sacrifices must be made—and no one knows that better than the Van Rippers.

When the Stitchery matriarch, Mariah, dies, she leaves the yarn shop to her three nieces. Aubrey, shy and reliable, has dedicated her life to weaving spells for the community, though her sisters have long stayed away. Bitty, pragmatic and persistent, has always been skeptical of magic and wants her children to have a normal, nonmagical life. Meggie, restless and free-spirited, follows her own set of rules. Now, after Mariah’s death forces a reunion, the sisters must reassess the state of their lives even as they decide the fate of the Stitchery. But their relationships with one another—and their beliefs in magic—are put to the test. Will the threads hold?

My thoughts:
Something was not quite right. Sometimes I blame it on ebooks. And it might be the problem that I had this time. I never felt connected to the characters, or the book itself. Sometimes ebooks just loose the magic that books hold for me. Because the book itself was good or was it...? And just not for me this time.

The magic, was there magic at all? I like magical realism cos the magic is just embedded in the story. It feels normal or real. Here I never even knew if there was any magic at all and there it lost the magical realism for me.

The book is about 3 sisters and a knitting magic. They knit, people's wishes come true, sometimes. But the sisters have scattered and only lonely Audrey is left. Meggie is the wandered who comes back, and Bitty is the one who married rich but is still unhappy. They all have their problems to deal with and paths to find.

Conclusion:
The story is good, save the neighborhood, the house, themselves. There is a hint of romance too. But in the end, I was on the outside looking in and mostly got stressed cos I had to return the e-reader and the book took 2 weeks to finish.

Cover
Good


ebook, 400 pages
Published August 27th 2013 by Ballantine Books
Fiction
From netgalley

39 comments:

  1. Hmm, I agree sometimes reading ebooks for certain kinds can take some of it out

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    1. Maybe it was all that, but it felt so, and yes the book was just meh

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  2. Oh, I get the same feeling sometimes about ebooks. I'm expecting a paper galley of this one so I wonder if I'll feel differently. I'll let you know :)

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    1. I do hope that you will like it more than I

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    2. Sadly it didn't hook me. I just couldn't get into it :(

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    3. :/ I know the feeling, honestly I rated it ok but I never even liked it

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  3. Too bad it wasn't connecting for you. I also like magical realism but if you just didn't connect then it probably was the story. Although I do know what you mean. If it is badly formatted, it will draw me out of the story.

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    1. I am sure it was the story itself, but the truth is, I always like ebooks slightly less for some reason. I can't connect, they are not fast enough for me. I get bored easily.

      But here the main problem was just that the story was not doing anything for me

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  4. I just love the synopsis and the cover is very pretty. I'm gonna have to give this one a go - maybe in print form though =)

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    1. I am sure it was just me and ebooks, but I am sure print would have been bad for me too. Still I am sure many will love it

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  5. I'm sorry you had problems with this one. I guess it can depend on the format of the ebook. I usually read mostly ebooks, but sometimes the formatting isn't that great and makes it hard to read.

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    1. I am sure I just tried to find something to blame, cos the premise was just so awesome so I wanted to like it

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  6. At least for me, ereaders are only good for short books. Sorry this one was disappointing.

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  7. What... you blame it on an ebook? I read almost everything in ebook and I don't see the difference?

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    1. Well I wanted to blame something, do you rather want me to say the book sucked? :/

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  8. What a shame. The whole sisters knitting and magic premise sounds so good.

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  9. this sounds so cute too bad you never connected.

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  10. I know what you mean. Every time I read an e-book it feels like something is missing.

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  11. It's too easy skip ahead with ebooks and I can't concentrate enough to get really into the book.

    Synopsis sounded good and I'm sorry to hear it didn't hold that.

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  12. So no real magic? No spells, no witchcraft, or something? Not a book for me then. I want clearity in my books and not being hinted at and make up your own mind. If you have a story to tell, tell it.

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    1. Yep, nothing at all. I like it being vague sometimes, but there was just eh all of it

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  13. the cover is very beautiful, too bad it didn't totally live up to expectations.

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  14. Ah, pooh. Too bad it lacked magic.

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  15. Sounds like it's a bit similar (magic style) to The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry and Solstice Woods by Patricia McKillip

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    Replies
    1. I loved the Lace Reader, that one was so much better

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  16. Bummer! I love magical realism and I love that cover.

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  17. Bummer! I love magical realism and I love that cover.

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  18. It's too bad this one didn't work for you. It sure sounds like one I would like and I hadn't heard of it before. I like reading books to do with knitting. Anyhow the cover was what first caught my attention. I like it.

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    1. I love love the cover, but the inside.. sighs

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