Rotherweird Review
Hello, friends! I am so excited for today's post because this is my first book review for a book that was sent to me by a publisher! I feel like I have reached a milestone as a blogger now, and I am so excited and thankful! 😄 I am working with Quercus books for this review as they sent me Rotherweird in exchange for an honest review! So, with that, onward to the book!
Title: Rotherweird
Author: Andrew Caldecott
Publisher: Quercus
Pages: 452
Publication Date: July 30, 2019
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Synopsis
The town of Rotherweird stands alone - there are no guidebooks, despite the fascinating and diverse architectural styles cramming the narrow streets, the avant garde science and offbeat customs. Cast adrift from the rest of England by Elizabeth I, Rotherweird's independence is subject to one disturbing condition: nobody, but nobody, studies the town or its history.
For beneath the enchanting surface lurks a secret so dark that it must never be rediscovered, still less reused.
But secrets have a way of leaking out.
Two inquisitive outsiders have just arrived: Jonah Oblong, to teach modern history at the Rotherweird school (nothing local and nothing before 1800), and the sinister billionaire Sir Veronal Slickstone who has somehow got permission to renovate the town's long-derelict Manor House.
Slickstone and Oblong, though driven by conflicting motives, both strive to connect past and present, until they and their allies are drawn into a race against time - and each other. The consequences will be lethal and apocalyptic.
Welcome to Rotherweird!
My Thoughts
This is the first book in a fantasy trilogy, and I thought that it was a pretty solid first book. I enjoyed the story, I didn't guess the mystery, and I feel like I have a good understanding of the world. Overall, I really enjoyed this book! However, I had to give it 4 stars because while I enjoyed my time reading it, it just didn't blow me away. I didn't have those five star butterflies in my stomach while reading it. But, it was definitely a solid read, and I would recommend it for someone looking for a unique mystery!
I'll start with the things that I did like about it. First, I think this is an awesome, unique world. It truly blows my mind how authors can think up a world like this, have so many story lines happening that eventually all lead into one another, AND be able to write it in a way that makes sense. Like seriously, how do you do that?? And I feel like Andrew Caldecott did a good job of that in Rotherweird! The world was unlike any that I have read before, I feel like I really understood the story lines and history weaving together, and I didn't guess how all of these separate characters and story lines would come together!
I also really liked that the story was broken up into months and that each section ended with Old History. Breaking it up into months really helped me to keep up with the time line, and I always used the Old History at the end as a reward to keep reading. I loved the history included in the novel! I felt like the history was actually my favorite part, and I loved that the author took the time to come up with such an interesting history for this little town with all its casts of characters.
I also really enjoyed the writing style of this book. The beginning was a little slow and confusing, I didn't really know what was happening until about page 100, but something about the writing style was so intriguing. I didn't really even mind that I was lost because I just wanted to keep reading anyway because something about the way this author writes just sucked me in from the beginning!
Now, as I said, I really enjoyed my time reading this book, but there were a couple things that kept me from giving it more than 4 stars. First, I'm still not really sure what time period this is set in? I couldn't ever get a good grasp as to what year this was suppose to be in. At times, I felt like it was early 1900s, but then other times I thought maybe it was modern day. I'm still not really sure.
Second, I didn't really care about the characters personally. I knew all of the characters, and I felt like they were each individual and their own person, but I didn't really care about them. I did have some favorite characters which were Professor Bolitho, Orelia, and Ferensen. I just really enjoyed the professor and Orelia, and I thought that Ferensen's character was just so complex and interesting. However, I wasn't super invested in all of their personal stories or following them, it felt more like the characters were just all pawns in this big mystery that was unfolding throughout the book. I cared more about the secrets they revealed to figure out this mystery than them themselves as characters. While that may have been the authors intent, personally I just enjoy a book where I can really root for and care about the characters.
Finally, I felt like the book was a little long and dense. I enjoyed the story, but at times it was a little exhausting to keep reading. Instead of wanting to marathon and stay up for hours reading, I found myself exhausted after 50 pages or so and needing a break. Some of this was due to just the huge amount of information needed to build this world, this mystery, and bring all of the strings together in the end, but I also felt like some parts were unneeded. I found myself wishing that more information would reveal itself at a time rather than one or two small bits coming from each big chapter or event that happened. It just got a little long for me by the end of it, and I was ready to just know what was going on.
Although there were a few flaws in my opinion that kept me from giving this book 5 stars, I still thought this was a solid first installment in the trilogy. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dry humor, a unique mystery, and a large cast of characters! The ending did leave us with some big questions, so I am curious to continue with the series at some point and find out what is really going on in Lost Acre.
Thank you so much to Quercus publishing for sending me this book for review, I really enjoyed my time reading it! Thank you for reading, and I will talk to you in my next post!
I'll start with the things that I did like about it. First, I think this is an awesome, unique world. It truly blows my mind how authors can think up a world like this, have so many story lines happening that eventually all lead into one another, AND be able to write it in a way that makes sense. Like seriously, how do you do that?? And I feel like Andrew Caldecott did a good job of that in Rotherweird! The world was unlike any that I have read before, I feel like I really understood the story lines and history weaving together, and I didn't guess how all of these separate characters and story lines would come together!
I also really liked that the story was broken up into months and that each section ended with Old History. Breaking it up into months really helped me to keep up with the time line, and I always used the Old History at the end as a reward to keep reading. I loved the history included in the novel! I felt like the history was actually my favorite part, and I loved that the author took the time to come up with such an interesting history for this little town with all its casts of characters.
I also really enjoyed the writing style of this book. The beginning was a little slow and confusing, I didn't really know what was happening until about page 100, but something about the writing style was so intriguing. I didn't really even mind that I was lost because I just wanted to keep reading anyway because something about the way this author writes just sucked me in from the beginning!
Now, as I said, I really enjoyed my time reading this book, but there were a couple things that kept me from giving it more than 4 stars. First, I'm still not really sure what time period this is set in? I couldn't ever get a good grasp as to what year this was suppose to be in. At times, I felt like it was early 1900s, but then other times I thought maybe it was modern day. I'm still not really sure.
Second, I didn't really care about the characters personally. I knew all of the characters, and I felt like they were each individual and their own person, but I didn't really care about them. I did have some favorite characters which were Professor Bolitho, Orelia, and Ferensen. I just really enjoyed the professor and Orelia, and I thought that Ferensen's character was just so complex and interesting. However, I wasn't super invested in all of their personal stories or following them, it felt more like the characters were just all pawns in this big mystery that was unfolding throughout the book. I cared more about the secrets they revealed to figure out this mystery than them themselves as characters. While that may have been the authors intent, personally I just enjoy a book where I can really root for and care about the characters.
Finally, I felt like the book was a little long and dense. I enjoyed the story, but at times it was a little exhausting to keep reading. Instead of wanting to marathon and stay up for hours reading, I found myself exhausted after 50 pages or so and needing a break. Some of this was due to just the huge amount of information needed to build this world, this mystery, and bring all of the strings together in the end, but I also felt like some parts were unneeded. I found myself wishing that more information would reveal itself at a time rather than one or two small bits coming from each big chapter or event that happened. It just got a little long for me by the end of it, and I was ready to just know what was going on.
Although there were a few flaws in my opinion that kept me from giving this book 5 stars, I still thought this was a solid first installment in the trilogy. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dry humor, a unique mystery, and a large cast of characters! The ending did leave us with some big questions, so I am curious to continue with the series at some point and find out what is really going on in Lost Acre.
Let's Chat
Have you heard about or read Rotherweird? Is it on your TBR? I would love to know your thoughts in the comments below!
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