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A review by laural27
The Guestbook by Holly Martin
5.0
Where to start?!
This book was just fantastic. I haven’t seen such a unique and well executed idea in this genre for a very long time. The aptly titled, The Guestbook, is made to read like a holiday cottage guestbook, full of different guests thoughts, feelings and comments about the gorgeous Willow Cottage.
Willow Cottage is situated in a gorgeous seaside village and is owned by the widowed Annie Butterworth. A multitude of eclectic guests walk through the front door of Willow Cottage and whether they stay for one night or seven, they all make an entry in the guestbook. Without any kind of formal narrative, we are able to learn about each of the characters through their interactions with the others in the guestbook. Annie’s brother in law, Oliver, is a regular visitor and we see his and Annie’s friendship strengthen and blossom over the course of the novel. We are also privy to the thoughts of the cleaning lady, Sophia. The majority of the guests who stay in Willow Cottage are using it as an escape from their problems and we get to find out all about the lives that they lead, whether they are ill, pregnant, on the verge of divorce and everything in-between!
The range of emotions I went through whilst reading this book was vast. I laughed, I smiled, I gasped and at points I even felt sad but the overall feeling of this book was one of joy. As I turned the last page, I grinned widely and felt everything was just perfect!
The main character Annie developed beautifully over the novel; she went from a seemingly lonely widow to a woman who didn’t want to waste another moment of her life living in the past which was a really fantastic thing to see. I loved Olly, Annie’s brother in law; he provided some fantastic comical moments and was also really protective over Annie and her cottage.
The one thing I particularly loved about this book was the plethora of fonts used throughout. It made it instantly clear who was writing in the guest book because each character had their individual font. This also meant I didn’t have to keep flicking to the end of each guestbook entry to see who was talking. It gave it a very realistic feel. I felt quite naughty sitting there reading through all these entries as if I’d sneakily stolen the guest book and was reading through it all: that was a really great feeling. I love books than can make you feel like you’re really sneaky for reading it!
Holly is a really fantastic writer and she managed to give rich descriptions of the location and characters without breaking the theme of the book. There were no added descriptions between entries; everything you learn about the location and characters is gathered through the guestbook entries. It is so very clever!
This book would be the perfect holiday read and beware of reading it when you’re not on holiday because it will make you want to pack a bag and head off to your very own holiday cottage!
A beautifully clever book exploring the complexities of human relationships set against a backdrop of a holiday cottage, a three legged goat and a blackcurrant stain underneath the rug in the spare bedroom.
This book was just fantastic. I haven’t seen such a unique and well executed idea in this genre for a very long time. The aptly titled, The Guestbook, is made to read like a holiday cottage guestbook, full of different guests thoughts, feelings and comments about the gorgeous Willow Cottage.
Willow Cottage is situated in a gorgeous seaside village and is owned by the widowed Annie Butterworth. A multitude of eclectic guests walk through the front door of Willow Cottage and whether they stay for one night or seven, they all make an entry in the guestbook. Without any kind of formal narrative, we are able to learn about each of the characters through their interactions with the others in the guestbook. Annie’s brother in law, Oliver, is a regular visitor and we see his and Annie’s friendship strengthen and blossom over the course of the novel. We are also privy to the thoughts of the cleaning lady, Sophia. The majority of the guests who stay in Willow Cottage are using it as an escape from their problems and we get to find out all about the lives that they lead, whether they are ill, pregnant, on the verge of divorce and everything in-between!
The range of emotions I went through whilst reading this book was vast. I laughed, I smiled, I gasped and at points I even felt sad but the overall feeling of this book was one of joy. As I turned the last page, I grinned widely and felt everything was just perfect!
The main character Annie developed beautifully over the novel; she went from a seemingly lonely widow to a woman who didn’t want to waste another moment of her life living in the past which was a really fantastic thing to see. I loved Olly, Annie’s brother in law; he provided some fantastic comical moments and was also really protective over Annie and her cottage.
The one thing I particularly loved about this book was the plethora of fonts used throughout. It made it instantly clear who was writing in the guest book because each character had their individual font. This also meant I didn’t have to keep flicking to the end of each guestbook entry to see who was talking. It gave it a very realistic feel. I felt quite naughty sitting there reading through all these entries as if I’d sneakily stolen the guest book and was reading through it all: that was a really great feeling. I love books than can make you feel like you’re really sneaky for reading it!
Holly is a really fantastic writer and she managed to give rich descriptions of the location and characters without breaking the theme of the book. There were no added descriptions between entries; everything you learn about the location and characters is gathered through the guestbook entries. It is so very clever!
This book would be the perfect holiday read and beware of reading it when you’re not on holiday because it will make you want to pack a bag and head off to your very own holiday cottage!
A beautifully clever book exploring the complexities of human relationships set against a backdrop of a holiday cottage, a three legged goat and a blackcurrant stain underneath the rug in the spare bedroom.