G749 Book Review of everlasting lies by Barbara Warren
Author: Barbara Warren
ISBN: 9781460227690
Publisher: FriesenPress
Type of book: India, England, 1900s-1920s, cheating, scandals, marriage of convenience, lovers, WWI, making life, secrets, family life
Year it was published: 2016
Summary:
The novel is about lying Charles Vernon and promiscuous Edina Vernon in a story that spans the years from when Victoria was Queen to 1920. It describes northern England, the soldier's hardships in the trenches, and life with servants in Imperial India. Relationships explode on the pages of this novel. They are real, hurtful, and explicit. The characters are strong, believable and the dialogue convincing. Because of this, Barbara's first novel is animated and provocative. A real page-turner! Both Edina and Charles are living lies. They hurt other people as well themselves. Will they be able to reconcile and trust each other again? The novel shows the hardships yet opportunities for the brave and strong, both males and females of that time. Shows the major changes in the two main characters Charles and Edina. The ending of the story will leave you begging for more!
Characters:
Particularly, there are three important characters; that of Charles (Alfie) Alfred Vernon who comes from a big family and makes a decision to try to better his life and go against his father's wishes. He is best described as hotheaded, resourceful, extremely misogynistic towards his wife and children and also a coward. Edina, at first, is naive, blinded by love, sort of a prisoner to the society, but she is also sneaky, resourceful and someone who becomes more cultured. There is also Bill, Edina's friend and lover who is the antithesis to Charles and someone whom many readers will love.
Theme:
Some human beings cannot remain monogamous
Plot:
The story is in third person narrative from Charles' and Edina's point of view, although most of the story focuses a lot on Edina. I thought the story might start in the middle and then move on to beginning, but it started in beginning with Charles Vernon and then moved on. While the tone and the characters were engaging, I do have to say that the character of Charles Vernon isn't very fleshed as Edina's was and Charles Vernon felt more of an outline rather than a person. I do have to say good job to the author for doing a good job in creating a hated character that any woman will dislike. I also feel as if the change in the said character is not very believable and after reading how horrible this person was, I had a difficult time reconciling what I knew of the character at the start versus how I saw this character in the end. I also feel as if the scenery in India could use a bit more work because unlike England, it felt an outline.
Author Information:
(From iRead Book Tours)
Barbara Warren always has the pedal to the metal. Born in England and educated at a convent, she left school at sixteen and was selling encyclopedias in the roughest part of London at eighteen. She married and emigrated to Canada when she was twenty-three, had three charming daughters, went to university when she was thirty-six and retired from teaching in her mid fifties.
Then she pursued her passion for the arts and for travel. She and her husband rode camels in India, elephants in Nepal and horses in Montana. They hitchhiked in Norway, cycled across Denmark and snorkeled on the Great Barrier Reef. Barbara’s paintings grace homes in Canada, USA and Mexico and she designs her own clothes. She spends the winters in Mexico and the summers in the bible belt of southern Alberta.
Her first novel, Everlasting Lies, tells the story of her grandparents’ love affairs with each other and with others. They struggle to survive in the last years of Victorian England and the horrors of WW1 and then start a new life with four children in Imperial India.
Connect with the author: Website ~ Facebook
Buy the Book: Author Website (has links to all retail sites where book is sold)
Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Chapters Indigo
Opinion:
Probably like other readers, I have one question to ask: what happens next? Seriously, the author cannot just leave at the most interesting end and not go on further. The writing is both simplistic yet engaging and the reader is hooked to see what happens next to Charles and Edina Vernon. I have to say that out of all the books I've read so far, this definitely is the most unconventional relationship I came across upon. I do feel that towards the end the story does become a bit weak and in relation to certain character maturity unbelievable, especially when the first 75 percent or so of the book is spent as building this character up someone who has earned ire of many women, yet in the last part of the book I am supposed to like this particular character and trust their words and promises?
This is for iRead Book Tours
TOUR SCHEDULE:
Sept 12 - The Pen and Muse Book Reviews - book spotlight / interview / giveaway
Sept 12 - Working Mommy Journal - review / giveaway
Sept 12 - FLY HIGH! - book spotlight / giveaway
Sept 13 - Cheryl's Book Nook - review / giveaway
Sept 14 - The Cheshire Cat's Looking Glass - book spotlight / giveaway
Sept 15 - Jaquo Lifestyle Magazine - review
Sept 16 - Elizabeth McKenna Romance Author - book spotlight / giveawy
Sept 19 - Bound 4 Escape - review / giveaway
Sept 19 - Lukten av trykksverte - review / giveaway
Sept 20 - Corinne Rodrigues - review / giveaway
Sept 20 - Tragically Dull Adventures of an Almost Librarian - review / giveaway
Sept 21 - The Autistic Gamer - review
Sept 21 - Laura's Interests - review / giveaway
Sept 22 - Olio By Marilyn - review / interview / giveaway
Sept 23 - Jaquo Lifestyle Magazine - guest post
Sept 23 - Library of Clean Reads - review / giveaway
Sept 26 - Readers Muse - review
Sept 27 - The World As I See It - review / giveaway
Sept 28 - The Silver Dagger Scriptorium - review / guest post / giveaway
Sept 29 - Svetlana's Reads and Views - review
TBD - XoXo Book Blog - book spotlight / giveaway
4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
Thank you for your observations, especially on Charles,the character women hate.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your review and the way you reviewed the plot, characters, and gave your own summary of the story.
If you could post this review on Amazon, Goodreads I would very much appreciate this. Thank you for taking the time to review my first novel.
Charles Vernon does sound like an awful person! So, he suddenly changes his ways in the end? Seems a little abrupt and perhaps could have been handled more realistically.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment :) I will post the review on Amazon and goodreads during the weekend. Charles is not an easy person to like. Lol seems like he has little redeeming qualities through out he whole book.
ReplyDelete@read diverse reads: that was my opinion. One minute he is despicable and someone that I would want to shake and hurt. Then with little warning he tries to have redeeming qualities towards Edina. He doesn't help out at all with housework or children, he constantly belittles Edina, and expects her to do everything. He sees her as an object for his desire more than anything else...
Thank you. Believe me I understand that Charles was difficult to understand. It's funny in my long, long life I have seen jerks be they men or women do a 360 in their attitude...but for how long. Love chatting .
ReplyDelete