As a long-time Maeve Binchy reader, FIREFLY SUMMER was in my TBR pile waiting to be read for many years, so I was glad to finally pick it up for a potluck activity in my online book club, The Reading Cove.
Unfortunately, it's downhill from there.
I know to expect a leisurely pace from a 650-page Maeve Binchy book, but this one wasn't leisurely - it was plodding and painfully slow. The narrative felt like it had nowhere to go but all day to get there.
The premise of a handsome American moving to Mountfern and shaking things up should've been engaging, but the characters and sloooow-moving events didn't hold my interest.
So after reading all of Part 1 and some of Part 2, I just had to give up and move on to another book - there are so many waiting for me.
FIREFLY SUMMER was definitely not one of Maeve Binchy's better books, it's a DNF for me. I cannot recommend it. But I do recommend others, like THE GLASS LAKE, CIRCLE OF FRIENDS, TARA ROAD, LIGHT A PENNY CANDLE, and HEART AND SOUL.
Unfortunately, it's downhill from there.
I know to expect a leisurely pace from a 650-page Maeve Binchy book, but this one wasn't leisurely - it was plodding and painfully slow. The narrative felt like it had nowhere to go but all day to get there.
The premise of a handsome American moving to Mountfern and shaking things up should've been engaging, but the characters and sloooow-moving events didn't hold my interest.
So after reading all of Part 1 and some of Part 2, I just had to give up and move on to another book - there are so many waiting for me.
FIREFLY SUMMER was definitely not one of Maeve Binchy's better books, it's a DNF for me. I cannot recommend it. But I do recommend others, like THE GLASS LAKE, CIRCLE OF FRIENDS, TARA ROAD, LIGHT A PENNY CANDLE, and HEART AND SOUL.
