A good page turner

• Book: Exquisite
• Location: Grasmere
• Author: Sarah Stovell

Review Author: [email protected]

I really liked this pacey story. Bo and Alice are interesting characters, whose love of writing and abused childhoods draw them together. Bo is the successful one, a famous writer with a beautiful home in the Lake District and a stable family life. Alice’s life is a mess but she’s determined to make something of herself and looks to Bo as her mentor, a role that Bo at first seems only too willing to fill. As their characters are revealed, however, the relationship becomes complicated and toxic, threatening both women’s happiness. Whose version of it should we believe?
I read this quite quickly enjoying trying to work out who was the unreliable narrator. The ending was clever and very filmic. I imagine the author may be hoping to sell the film rights! I thought she created a feeling of claustrophobia that suited her theme very well. The book was well written although I felt that the sense of location could have been stronger but that didn’t spoil it for me.

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