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I'm a little disappointed in this novel, and I really hoped I wouldn't be because I can't afford a weekend away let alone a two week cruise down the Nile so I planned on living vicariously through it. Unfortunately I just found myself becoming increasingly irritated by it so I'm sharing my thoughts before I even finish it. #1. If you've never read a book with English grammar it might trip you up a bit. At first I thought there were just an obscene number of typo's.#2. I just couldn't remain exci...
A tiny bottle with an ancient Egyptian curse. A modern-day story with a yet-to-read diary belonging to a great-great grandmother. Flashbacks. And a forbidden love story. All of that sounded good and entertaining, but...There were several characters that were just annoying. Really annoying. And there was too much repetition, and no resolution. For example, main character sees haunting apparition. She trembles and screams. Nothing happens to resolve. Next chapter...repeat. As a matter of fact, eve...
Typical timeslip snooze that annoyed me like a runny nose in allergy season. Tepid, cardboard characters (how many attractive young divorcees can one genre hold?) blended with a lame Scooby Doo mystery & sprinkled with obnoxiously obvious infodumps = yawn. (N.B.: Hope Lady of Hay is better. At least that one promises some entertainment, what with the '80s ripper echoes sending so many reviewers into a tailspin o' disgust.)
At best, I found this book uneven. Thought the parts read from the Victorian diary very interesting, but the contemporary narrative, not so much. Aside from the fact that most the characters acted like they were still in high school, I found the 'cursed perfume bottle' storyline a bit absurd, along with the 'magic snake'. And really, just what was all the fuss with the 2 ancient priests feuding over it anyway? It seemed much ado about nothing.However, I loved the Egyptian setting and the author
This is the first book by Barbara Erskine that I have read (although I do own several others) and on paper it sounded like the sort of thing I would really enjoy. Having finished it, I can say that I quite liked it but I certainly didn't love it. I thought the descriptions of Egypt were fantastic, really rich and evocative, and I liked how Ancient Egyptian mythology and religion was woven into the story. The central mystery was also quite intriguing. However, there were a couple of areas where t...
Excellent story but irritating ending
For the love of god. Let me save you some time:Most of the plot revolves around two different men on an Egyptian cruise coming up to Anna, the heroine, every other chapter and asking if they can buy her a drink. Whoever loses in the moment pouts and sulks and stomps away. We get it, she's HAWT.There's also two horrible spirits terrifying her because of a haunted bottle that's been in her family. How will it be resolved?? Oh no! Keep reading to find out.No, sorry. There's literally no resolution
This was the first Barbara Erskine novel I read and I LOVED it. It was my first delve into paranormal and I had a great time playing catch-up with Erskine's other titles.
I think this is my favourite Barbara Erskine book so far :) still dreaming if going to Egypt one day.
This was an interesting read. I found myself googling the sites to enable me to picture them properly. I liked how the two lives entwined. Looking forward to reading more of this author.
Anna Fox needs a break from London and the ex-husband, and decides to journey to Egypt and retrace the trip along the Nile taken by her great-great-grandmother Louisa . On a whim, she also decides to bring along an ancient scent bottle Louisa had brought back with her - and there's a big mystery surrounding the bottle as it seems to take on a life of its own. Anna has a single cabin on board ship, but *people* sure do seem to come and go as well as things going bump in the night - is someone on
This story started out with the hope of a beautiful enriching adventurous tale! It had twists ... But the same ones over and over ... The repetition was obnoxious, but the compulsion in me to finish made me press on to the end! I had no reprieve and it led to another unending cycle and no clear or even decent open ended conclusion! It was as if the author was lazy and decided to end it abruptly! The only explanation was the authors after note which gave a pathetic excuse that it could be compare...
I think this has been the worst book of this year for me. I wonder how much of that attributes to a bad Lithuanian translation.. But still. Guys, read something else.
I read 'The Lady of Hay' at the instigation of a colleague a couple of years ago, but wasn't obviously encouraged to try another novel by the same author.Earlier this year I bought this novel from a charity shop (I had tucked the receipt in the book!) and I started reading it at work as my lunch read as the book I had with me finished more quickly than I thought it would do.I really enjoyed it, I almost raced through it once I picked it up. Anna is divorced and stripped of her confidence after a...