Review; The Au Pair, by Emma Rous
Penguin Random House Audio - 2019
Audiobook - 11 hours, 31 minutes
Narrated by Elizabeth Sastre and Nicola Barber
Narrated by Elizabeth Sastre and Nicola Barber
My Rating (out of 5)
⭐⭐⭐
I liked this book well enough, but to say I loved it would be a stretch.The book has a strong storyline, but something about it feels like it didn't quite meet it's full potential.
This story had a fairly large cast of characters - which was at times difficult to keep straight, but was told through two characters in alternating points of view and time lines. Seraphine in present day and Laura in 1992.
The story begins as Seraphine is at Summerbourne - the family estate, mourning the recent loss of her father - her mother having thrown herself from the nearby cliffs mere hours after Seraphine and her twin brother Danny were born.
They find a picture of her mother taken on the day Seraphine and her twin brother were born - but she is only holding one baby. Why did the picture appear to be celebrating just one child? Where is the other baby when this picture is taken? Growing up, the local children used to taunt her with the legend of the summerbourne curse which said that Summerbourne could never keep its twins, and teased her by saying she was not a real Summberbourne, but a changeling. Now seeing this picture, Seraphine sets off on a mission to uncover the secrets that summerbourne has kept since that fateful day..
All in all, I did enjoy the book, but I just couldn't connect with Seraphine. To me she came off at times as spoiled and selfish and lacking in emotional maturity.
As for the conclusion (trying very hard to not use any spoilers here) I found it just shy of hitting the mark - almost, but not quite believable. Of course, when you enjoy fiction, you have to be able to suspend reality somewhat, but still it came off as "good but not great" for me.
The book was narrated by Elizabeth Sastre and Nicola Barber who both did a wonderful job. Clear and with good cadence and very good range of emotion and character.
This was an enjoyable listen, but not one that will be particularly memorable for me.
I liked this book well enough, but to say I loved it would be a stretch.The book has a strong storyline, but something about it feels like it didn't quite meet it's full potential.
This story had a fairly large cast of characters - which was at times difficult to keep straight, but was told through two characters in alternating points of view and time lines. Seraphine in present day and Laura in 1992.
The story begins as Seraphine is at Summerbourne - the family estate, mourning the recent loss of her father - her mother having thrown herself from the nearby cliffs mere hours after Seraphine and her twin brother Danny were born.
They find a picture of her mother taken on the day Seraphine and her twin brother were born - but she is only holding one baby. Why did the picture appear to be celebrating just one child? Where is the other baby when this picture is taken? Growing up, the local children used to taunt her with the legend of the summerbourne curse which said that Summerbourne could never keep its twins, and teased her by saying she was not a real Summberbourne, but a changeling. Now seeing this picture, Seraphine sets off on a mission to uncover the secrets that summerbourne has kept since that fateful day..
All in all, I did enjoy the book, but I just couldn't connect with Seraphine. To me she came off at times as spoiled and selfish and lacking in emotional maturity.
As for the conclusion (trying very hard to not use any spoilers here) I found it just shy of hitting the mark - almost, but not quite believable. Of course, when you enjoy fiction, you have to be able to suspend reality somewhat, but still it came off as "good but not great" for me.
The book was narrated by Elizabeth Sastre and Nicola Barber who both did a wonderful job. Clear and with good cadence and very good range of emotion and character.
This was an enjoyable listen, but not one that will be particularly memorable for me.
Happy Reading,
Christine
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