Review: The Girl in the Photograph

Title: The Girl in the Photograph
Author: Kate Riordan
Publisher: Penguin Books
Year published: 2015
How I got this book: Borrowed it from my cousin when she told me to read it
My rating: 3 stars

Goodreads synopsis:
In the summer of 1933, Alice Eveleigh has arrived at Fiercombe Manor in disgrace. The beautiful house becomes her sanctuary, a place to hide her shame from society in the care of the housekeeper, Mrs Jelphs. But the manor also becomes a place of suspicion, one of secrecy.

Something isn't right.

Someone is watching.

There are secrets that the manor house seems determined to keep. Tragedy haunts the empty rooms and foreboding hangs heavy in the stifling heat. Traces of the previous occupant, Elizabeth Stanton, are everywhere and soon Alice discovers Elizabeth's life eerily mirrors the path she herself is on.

My thoughts:
This book wasn't bad or good, it was just okay. Okay in the sense that I don't regret reading it, but I doubt I'll pick up another book by Kate Riordan. However, I think a lot of people will enjoy this book, especially someone who likes adult fiction more than me. I usually stick to YA or NA, and therefore I'm not used to reading books like this.

We follow two different people in this book, from two different perspectives. We have our main character, Alice, and her story in 1934. And then we have Elizabeth, and her story takes place in 1898. Though most of the story, about 2/3, are from Alice's perspective, I enjoyed reading from Elizabeth's POV a lot more. 

I have to say, I really struggled to get into this book. I didn't feel really connected to the characters or the story, and I had to tell myself to pick the book up and read, because I did want to finish it. However, the last 1/4 of the book, I finally got into it. 

One of the reasons I couldn't quite get into it was the length of the chapters. I prefer shorter chapters, because that way it's easier to pick up the book and start reading. When you know one chapter is about 40 pages, it's quite intimidating to pick up. I only put down books at the end of chapters, and therefore it was a time commitment every time I picked up the book. And to make matters worse, the only chapters that weren't long were the chapters from Elizabeth's POV.

This book did get 3 stars from me though, so it wasn't all bad. The story itself is a good story, I just didn't enjoy it as much as I wish I had. My cousin had praised it, so my expectations were quite high. I probably won't recommend this to a lot of people, unless I know they like books like this. My mother is going to read it after me, and I think she will enjoy it more than I did. 

To wrap it up, I would say that this is a good book. If you like historical fiction, this is definitely a book you will enjoy. 

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