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erincaitlin97's review
4.0
A little slow at the start, but once you start making connections it is a beautiful story. I loved the ending so much.
pheebs1776's review
2.0
I love stories that combine history and modern day, especially stories that have two intertwining story lines that weave together right at the very end. Stories like this keep the reader guessing and interested in the plot and characters. The Many Lives of John Stone was not one of these books.
First things first, the characters were no where near interesting and never described. It took about 300 pages for the author to finally announce that the main character, Stella Park (or Spark for short *eye-roll*) was blonde. 300 PAGES! The other characters were just stereotypes rolled into stereotypes and I was bored quite quickly.
Second, the love plot felt like it was added only because the author felt like she was forced to add it. It made no sense to the main story whatsoever, and the characters were never around each other enough in order for the chemistry between Ludo and Spark to heat up. Literally she just looks at him and she's entranced but does not see him until the very end of the book and suddenly the author expects us to care about their relationship.
Third, the mystery? Girl, what Mystery?! There was nothing that was revealed in the end that made the whole book worth the read. Something intriguing would be brought up and then two pages later it would be revealed to the reader, but maybe not the main characters. The only mystery I haven't solved yet is why I kept reading.
Fourth, the history made no sense. I love history especially when multiple centuries get tied together but only one time period was reported on, and even still, not that accurately. Even when other time periods were brought in they were only lightly touched upon and given in a pedestrian way. Example: the sounds of bombs during the London Blitz. Everyone knows there were bombs, give me something more!
Fifth, no consistency within the book whatsoever. The characters change personalities constantly and important facts were never brought up again. However, the main mystery of the story is easily guessed by the summary on the back cover.
Finally, the two intertwining story lines made no sense together! I understand that John Stone wanted to account his early life, but none of the characters that were introduced in the present-day story line were ever talked about in the past. Martha's and Jacob's stories are never told and we NEVER learn the backstory of Therese, but don't worry we learn all about John and his troubles with the court of Louis XIV. I just felt like the story that should have been told wasn't and the "mystery" was never there for me.
It failed, so much missed opportunity with this story...
First things first, the characters were no where near interesting and never described. It took about 300 pages for the author to finally announce that the main character, Stella Park (or Spark for short *eye-roll*) was blonde. 300 PAGES! The other characters were just stereotypes rolled into stereotypes and I was bored quite quickly.
Second, the love plot felt like it was added only because the author felt like she was forced to add it. It made no sense to the main story whatsoever, and the characters were never around each other enough in order for the chemistry between Ludo and Spark to heat up. Literally she just looks at him and she's entranced but does not see him until the very end of the book and suddenly the author expects us to care about their relationship.
Third, the mystery? Girl, what Mystery?! There was nothing that was revealed in the end that made the whole book worth the read. Something intriguing would be brought up and then two pages later it would be revealed to the reader, but maybe not the main characters. The only mystery I haven't solved yet is why I kept reading.
Fourth, the history made no sense. I love history especially when multiple centuries get tied together but only one time period was reported on, and even still, not that accurately. Even when other time periods were brought in they were only lightly touched upon and given in a pedestrian way. Example: the sounds of bombs during the London Blitz. Everyone knows there were bombs, give me something more!
Fifth, no consistency within the book whatsoever. The characters change personalities constantly and important facts were never brought up again. However, the main mystery of the story is easily guessed by the summary on the back cover.
Finally, the two intertwining story lines made no sense together! I understand that John Stone wanted to account his early life, but none of the characters that were introduced in the present-day story line were ever talked about in the past. Martha's and Jacob's stories are never told and we NEVER learn the backstory of Therese, but don't worry we learn all about John and his troubles with the court of Louis XIV. I just felt like the story that should have been told wasn't and the "mystery" was never there for me.
It failed, so much missed opportunity with this story...
hijinx_abound's review
2.0
I was not able to engage with the characters in the beginning of the novel. DNF'd it
julia_rhys's review against another edition
5.0
Very nice
I liked the difference in how things were presented in this book and the exploration of an idea of immorality. The ending is a bit sad, but what we were expecting the entire book. Definitely read if you like emotional turmoil and sweet thoughts.
I liked the difference in how things were presented in this book and the exploration of an idea of immorality. The ending is a bit sad, but what we were expecting the entire book. Definitely read if you like emotional turmoil and sweet thoughts.
emdoux's review
4.0
this book was slow, and incredible, and not at all what it seemed, and haunting.
foreveryoungadult's review
Graded By: Brian
Cover Story: Tommy, Can You Hear Me?
Drinking Buddy: Santé!
Testosterone Level: Do I Have a Run in My Hose?
Talky Talk: Time Goes By So Slowly...
Bonus Factor: The Perils of Longevity
Bromance Status: Tedious Friend
Read the full book report here.
Cover Story: Tommy, Can You Hear Me?
Drinking Buddy: Santé!
Testosterone Level: Do I Have a Run in My Hose?
Talky Talk: Time Goes By So Slowly...
Bonus Factor: The Perils of Longevity
Bromance Status: Tedious Friend
Read the full book report here.
pagesfullofstars's review against another edition
4.0
Review to come as soon as I manage to gather my thoughts about the book! :)
ruthsic's review against another edition
2.0
Stella Park (Spark for short) has found summer work cataloging historical archives in John Stone’s remote and beautiful house in Suffolk, England. She wasn’t quite sure what to expect, and her uncertainty about living at Stowney House only increases upon arriving: what kind of people live in the twenty-first century without using electricity, telephones, or even a washing machine? Additionally, the notebooks she’s organizing span centuries—they begin in the court of Louis XIV in Versailles—but are written in the same hand. Something strange is going on for sure, and Spark’s questions are piling up. Who exactly is John Stone? What connection does he have to these notebooks? And more importantly, why did he hire her in the first place?
First of all, this is not a time travel book and that blurb is misleading with regards to plot. Considering genres and blurbs are what usually get me into a book, I was a bit miffed on this point. Had I not known of this before going into the book, could my experience have been different? I doubt it. The plot revolves around John Stone, so much so that even in third person account, his full name John Stone is used in every sentence. I get it - it was the anglicized version of his French name, but it was a bit discomforting to the eye. So John aka Jean-Pierre, lived in the court of The Sun King, a time when being morally upstanding was perhaps not the best in a court full of manipulations. John being what he is (I will refrain from spoiling readers), he is considered an anomaly, but a curious one - something to keep as part of a collection. Most of the book chronicles his time in the court - which hardly has anything much to do with the current era, plot-wise. See, Jean was taught to keep his existence a secret, so he keeps it even in the current age, living with two other people of his kind, in seclusion, somewhere in Suffolk.
He is Monsieur Broody - that's how exhausting his recollection of his 'lives' have been (another way the title is misleading, along with the cover!). He hires Stella as an intern to organize his archives, but actually wants her to be their Friend, a confidant, based on the fact that he suspects she is his dead wife's daughter. And while he is on a deadline, he takes his own sweet time to letting her know of her heritage, rather than, I don't know - letting her de-crypt the archives and find out herself. No, she gets that at the end of the book, in the form of the notebooks which we read throughout the book. So while there could have been more interesting stories as to his 'family' pasts so that she can understand them better, he regales her with a long saga of his first love and time at the glorious court of Henry XIV.
And what was more frustrating was the slow pace of the book - I was constantly looking at the progress bar to see when it will end. There wasn't much in way of conflict, and the thing about the assassin was never resolved. Why exactly did the assassin strike? I thought there would be contemporary repercussions to it, but nada. The only conflict was a stubborn man's pride and unwillingness to depend on those close to him, but miraculously that is all resolved in a matter of sentences at the end of the book. Basically, this was exhausting for me to read.
Received a free galley from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers via Edelweiss; this does not influence my opinions or review.
First of all, this is not a time travel book and that blurb is misleading with regards to plot. Considering genres and blurbs are what usually get me into a book, I was a bit miffed on this point. Had I not known of this before going into the book, could my experience have been different? I doubt it. The plot revolves around John Stone, so much so that even in third person account, his full name John Stone is used in every sentence. I get it - it was the anglicized version of his French name, but it was a bit discomforting to the eye. So John aka Jean-Pierre, lived in the court of The Sun King, a time when being morally upstanding was perhaps not the best in a court full of manipulations. John being what he is (I will refrain from spoiling readers), he is considered an anomaly, but a curious one - something to keep as part of a collection. Most of the book chronicles his time in the court - which hardly has anything much to do with the current era, plot-wise. See, Jean was taught to keep his existence a secret, so he keeps it even in the current age, living with two other people of his kind, in seclusion, somewhere in Suffolk.
He is Monsieur Broody - that's how exhausting his recollection of his 'lives' have been (another way the title is misleading, along with the cover!). He hires Stella as an intern to organize his archives, but actually wants her to be their Friend, a confidant, based on the fact that he suspects she is his dead wife's daughter. And while he is on a deadline, he takes his own sweet time to letting her know of her heritage, rather than, I don't know - letting her de-crypt the archives and find out herself. No, she gets that at the end of the book, in the form of the notebooks which we read throughout the book. So while there could have been more interesting stories as to his 'family' pasts so that she can understand them better, he regales her with a long saga of his first love and time at the glorious court of Henry XIV.
And what was more frustrating was the slow pace of the book - I was constantly looking at the progress bar to see when it will end. There wasn't much in way of conflict, and the thing about the assassin was never resolved. Why exactly did the assassin strike? I thought there would be contemporary repercussions to it, but nada. The only conflict was a stubborn man's pride and unwillingness to depend on those close to him, but miraculously that is all resolved in a matter of sentences at the end of the book. Basically, this was exhausting for me to read.
Received a free galley from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers via Edelweiss; this does not influence my opinions or review.