Wisteria Cottage

Spoilers

TW: Rape

The book is a complete snooze-fest for the first 150 pages which is sad because the edition I have is only 194 pages long. The cover art is absolutely stunning on the edition I own. The ending was the highlight of the story and even then it wasn't mind blowing. I would give this book 1 star but it's saving grace was the ending, the idea of the general plot and the beautiful cover.

I have a particular issue with the scene where Richard rapes Elinor on the beach. It was shocking to see the way the author portrayed Elinor after the altercation. I'm not sure most women if not all would offer “kissing lessons” to their rapist. The way the female characters are described is a bit sexist to say the least but I'm not sure that's the author's ideologies or written that way on purpose to show Richard's misogyny.

Either way, the book is old and outdated. I received it in a subscription box which is the only reason I have it. I can see myself donating it in the near future.