If you’ve been here long enough, you know I like a bit of mystical fiction, and I certainly don’t shy away from it. I read Matt Haig’s earlier novel The Midnight Library, which I really enjoyed at the time so was excited to see what his other novels might be like.
Grace Winters is a retired math teacher who leaves a very plain (some might say stilted) life. There are very few surprises in Grace’s life, so imagine her shock when she’s left a house in the Mediterranean by a friend she lost contact with years ago, who has died suspiciously and unexpectedly. In an uncharacteristic move, Grace decides to visit the island and the house to find out more about her friend, but ends up discovering something much bigger and mystical than she ever expected.
There were parts of the book that I liked and parts that I found funny, but I’m afraid there wasn’t a point that I really felt drawn into the book. The characters were fine, the plot was fine, the story was fine, but I was ready to be finished and move onto the next thing. A lot of the book focuses on the power and magic of nature, and how important it is for us to protect it, which are all things I stand by, but it felt very preachy towards the end. I just wasn’t grabbed by anything in particular. Maybe I had the bar set too high with The Midnight Library, but I was left feeling a bit underwhelmed on this one.
2% Rating: 5/10
Recommend? Not likely
Re-Read? Nope
Time: 1:28