Helpful Score: 1
Marshall Becker drowns his problems and alcohol and is always irate and angry. When the opportunity comes up to help renovate a castle in France, his friend implores him to take it. He can take is anger out on that and maybe it will help motivate him to begin living again.
When he gets there though, strange things begin to happen. The nanny, Jade, befriends Becker and the two start a precarious relationship, but alongside the present storyline, is the past from fifty years ago. The manor house used to be where they gave birth to babies for the Reich. The time period is richly detailed, but the connection between the two times isn't introduced until much later in the book. Neither is Becker's past, the reason why he is like he is. At that point though, I didn't like him at all and even with his past introduced, I couldn't go back and like him even an inch. Too little, too late.
While the book had an interesting premise and the writing was spot on, there was something missing for me. I wanted more of the past and less of the present day shadows. I wanted to find a connection with the characters, and that was lacking for me. If you like history, romance and mystery, you may enjoy Tangled Ashes - for me it was just so-so.
When he gets there though, strange things begin to happen. The nanny, Jade, befriends Becker and the two start a precarious relationship, but alongside the present storyline, is the past from fifty years ago. The manor house used to be where they gave birth to babies for the Reich. The time period is richly detailed, but the connection between the two times isn't introduced until much later in the book. Neither is Becker's past, the reason why he is like he is. At that point though, I didn't like him at all and even with his past introduced, I couldn't go back and like him even an inch. Too little, too late.
While the book had an interesting premise and the writing was spot on, there was something missing for me. I wanted more of the past and less of the present day shadows. I wanted to find a connection with the characters, and that was lacking for me. If you like history, romance and mystery, you may enjoy Tangled Ashes - for me it was just so-so.
Architect Marshall Becker is sent to renovate a castle in France, where he meets several interesting people and learns of the castle's history, including Nazi occupation of the area.
I thought this book was okay. The World War II aspect appealed to me, but only part of the story is told in the past. The bulk of the story is told in the present, and I wasn't impressed with the main characters, Becker and Jade. Becker has a lot of faults but doesn't seem to learn much during the book. I felt like I didn't know Jade at all. I was glad to see that the secrets hinted at early in the story were revealed for the most part, however, I thought the ending could have been better.
I thought this book was okay. The World War II aspect appealed to me, but only part of the story is told in the past. The bulk of the story is told in the present, and I wasn't impressed with the main characters, Becker and Jade. Becker has a lot of faults but doesn't seem to learn much during the book. I felt like I didn't know Jade at all. I was glad to see that the secrets hinted at early in the story were revealed for the most part, however, I thought the ending could have been better.
