I enjoyed the book. It wasn't a quick page turner and didn't keep me up at night but I found the writing to be beautiful and the imagery was great. There was a religious theme with the miracles and references to biblical stories and characters that might be a turn off for some.

Wow,

The book itself was a journey and with the discussion, we really learned a lot about each other and our own personal journeys. I did find parts of the book somewhat confusing but the jist of it was her seeking to get in touch with her authentic self. Kate has played many roles in her life and now is the time to find out what her next journey entails into herself...

I found the book extremely gripping although I fought reading it every since it came out. I typically stay away from the bestseller bays at the store I work in as they usually are so predictable and "safe" but I'm happy someone recommended this for our book club and everyone loved it...We found Jacob's character endearing, especially as an old man even though he was crotchedy, we felt he deserved to be as he'd earned it with his 90 something years on earth...Marlena's characther was a little flat but Rosie came through with a personality like no other. I now have a respect for elephants I didn't have before. I like to think of her smiling :)

I've not read any of Sarah Waters and have heard she is a great writer. We chose her newest book for my book club because most had already read Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith. I liked it as I've have never read a ghost story nor a Victorian novel before so it was a new and different experience for me. I think it was a little long and hard to get through being that I'm also in 2 other book clubs but I did enjoy the descriptive writing about the mansion, the furniture, the grounds and character's clothing etc. I like Caroline's character and found her independent and strong nature appealing. I tired of Dr. Faraday's need to be needed and what I would call co-dependence. At first I thought his motives were genuine compassion but it seemed toward the end to be selfish and needy. The hauntings were the best part of the book as I didn't know what to expect however they were few and far between with a lot of somewhat boring details in between.

I found this book highly interesting on two counts. First, I'm a bookseller and have always dreamed of owning my own quaint book store that serves as a meeting place for the community as I feel we're missing that "third place" it seems. Second, I believed in her mission to provide a "safe place" for women to convene as men have always had their "boys night" and there are fewer and fewer places strictly for women to converse and share ideas and dreams.