This was fine, except for the author creating a six year-old who lied about being raped. Like, what?

136

So many twists with this one. A good drama with an interesting lot of characters. Scandal, ghosts, treachery and a bit of redemption. The family tree continues on & looking forward to the next book!

This was my first dip into trying Philippa Carr (or Victoria Holt, for that matter), and it was hit and miss for me. On one hand, I enjoyed the characters and the historical element--it felt a bit like a predecessor to VC Andrews, who I used to read in high school, if a more mature version in some ways. At the same time, a lot of the drama felt forced and manufactured in a way that took away from the believability of it, even given the expected melodrama, and there were more than a few times when I couldn't help rolling my eyes at the characters' behavior or the way the plot progressed.

So, for what it is, I enjoyed it well enough, but it was something I had to be in the mood to pick up, and it was rarely the page-turner I'd been led to expect the author's works to be. I imagine I'll try another at some point--I've got a whole stack that a friend gave me--but it might be a while.

“The Changeling” is a refreshing change after the continual use of repeated themes in the past few books in the Daughters of England series. We don’t get the adulterous affairs, and the love story – which is usually the focal point – is a subplot. Family relationships are more prominent in this novel, largely owing to the main character Rebecca being a child when the story opens.

One thing this author was very good at was creating child characters, and Lucie & Belinda are believable and vivid, as is the young Rebecca. I like these three characters and Oliver the most.

This author, including her works as Victoria Holt, has a tendency to have her heroines refer to one of the male characters by both names, which really irritates me. This novel has several characters referred to by both names, as shown is the quoted dialogue exchange below:

“Oh … ups and downs,” said Justin Cartwright. “I am sure you know as much about the mining world as I do … only I suppose tin isn’t gold.”
“There must be a difference,” said Benedict Lansdon. “But my close connection with all that ended long ago.”
“Ah, yes, of course,” replied Justin Cartwright.
“I’m going into politics again,” said Benedict Lansdon, looking at my mother.

Most annoying of all is the number of times Oliver Gerson is referred to by his full name. No other character’s first name is Oliver, & no other character’s surname is Gerson, so why not call him by one title or the other? Really bugs me!

Another of this author's annoying traits is the overuse of reported speech:

>“How did the wedding go?”
I told them that all had gone according to plan.<

Reported speech is passive. Why not make it active by changing it to dialogue?

A few times, the author ruins the suspense with lines like these:

>It was a happy Christmas, even for me … the last I was to know for a long time.<

While lines of this type often make for good novel openers, they fall flat when inserted halfway through a story. It robs all suspense because you know for certain that something will happen.

Also, the author provides her own spoiler with the book’s title. Without giving anything away, the revelation at the end is no surprise to the reader.

Despite the above criticisms, I like the change in direction in this novel compared to its predecessors, and enjoyed it in the most part.

Not as repetitious as some of the previous entries in this series. Plot was predictable. Good character development.

felt this series was getting stuck in a rut of the same story rehashed but the last 2 books have given a fresh boost. hope it continues

book 14

This was an excellent book. Great story and lots of interesting twists!

It is not too difficult to guess who the "changeling" is, but knowing in advance does not spoil the satisfaction of seeing what direction things take. Set in Victorian London and Cornwall.

What a good old English mystery. It had great twists and turns. Some of it was predictable but not the twist at the end. My biggest issue was how long some of the chapters were and how many words per page. My god I am a fast reader and it took me 2 hours to read 63 pages. But a great book.

F Hol