The Sleeping Beauties by Lucy Ashe
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Web ID: 198762064 reviews
Stunning emotional story with great depth!
This is a wonderful book with a beautifully crafted storyline interweaving so many themes, characters, and emotions. It's set in 1930s and 1940s and immediately hooks us with a mysterious ethereal garden scene showing Ashe's mood building skills before switching to a seemingly innocent post-war train encounter between the two main characters which sparks the start of a gripping story. Ashe's writing style is easy yet highly descriptive and instantly transports you directly to pre- and post-war UK. Clearly a lot of reaseach has been done, but the story flows smoothly with so many fascinating facts expertly sprinkled in to add depth to the lives of the characters and the settings they are contending with. As the perspectives change between the characters we learn about the demands and joys of ballet life, the risks the Ballet Company had to take during the war, society's expectations, how grief and loss leads to jealousy and obsession, and the impacts of friendship, family, and motherhood. It's a book with many complex themes and emotions, but draws you in so easily with the wonderful writing, heart-wrenching moments, and sensational ending! I loved it as much as her previous book, I highly recommended both!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Perfect read for fans of dance!
Rosamund Caradon is sad the remaining four evacuees she has been looking after at Gittisham Manor, in Devonshire are returning home after six years and Rosamund decides she and her daughter Jasmine will travel with them to London and check on the family flat in Chelsea. Aboard the same train is Briar Woods, she asks to share the carriage with Rosamund and the children and she tells them about her career as a ballet dancer with Sadler’s Wells, and both Julia and Jasmine hang on her every word. Rosamund doesn’t believe it was a chance encounter at all, she has seen Briar before, she can't remember where and there's something about her that seems fake and she annoys Rosamund and she doesn’t trust her. Briar thinks her performance for Rosamund might be her best yet, she invites them to watch her dance, and how can Rosamund say no to Jasmine despite her misgivings and all young girls dream of being a ballerina. Set in 1945, the story looks back at the lives of Rosamund and Briar and what happened to them prior and during The Second World War. The narrative explores motherhood and the ballet The Sleeping Beauty, love, friendship, lies, regret, making amends for past mistakes and how far a mother would go to protect her daughter. Three stars from me, I enjoyed reading about ballet training, how Sadler’s Wells in now the Royal Ballet Company, I’m sorry but I didn’t care for either Rosamund’s or Briar’s characters, so I found it difficult to connect with them and this novel might appeal more to ballet and dance fans.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Beautifully written and engrossing
I loved this book on every level. Covering the years of World War I until just after World War II It is beautifully written. Ashe’s lyrical and elegant writing style is a joy to read, and her descriptions make the characters and their backdrop easy to visualise. The story is gripping. It was very hard to put down. I found all the characters realistic, and could see how their past experiences were causing their present actions. The book is rich in historical detail, which adds much to the depth and scope of the novel. The theme of motherhood weaves through it, and the ending of the book has a powerful message. The book would be ideal for a book group. Although one of the settings is the world of ballet, the reader does not need to know anything about ballet to be able to relate to the novel. I highly recommend this book.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Highly recommend - a lovely book
From the rolling Devon hills and the tranquillity of a picnic by the river in Cambridge, to the traumas of London in the Second World War and the Nazi invasion of Holland, this excellently written novel explores the joys and dangers of ambition, the complexities of motherhood, and the physical and emotional challenges of ballet. This book took me on a journey where the past and the present are inextricably linked and I was left reflecting on the challenges of forgiveness and starting again. It is historical fiction set in real events which have clearly been well researched and the descriptions of place vividly took me into the heart of each scene. I loved every page and can highly recommend this wonderful book.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com