Jillian CantorReviews
Author of Margot
Reviews
Emma is a flawed character and she also admits that she knows what her struggles are. She works on them and pushes herself.
The first third was a bit slow but it quickly picked up speed from there.
If you like light contemporary with a message, The Code for Love and Heartbreak would be a great pick.
Rating: 5/5
Crude Language: N/A
Romance: 5/5
Spiritual: N/A
Violence: N/A
*I received a copy from the publisher. A positive review was not required and all thoughts are my own.
Writer Olivia Fitzgerald is having a bad year. After the success of her first novel, her second novel (a retelling of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca) doesn't sell well at all. Her live-in boyfriend moves out, and her editor is not excited about her next effort.
Her editor says that billionaire and People's Sexiest Man Alive Ash Asherwood has requested that Olivia ghost-write a book with him about his grandmother and her relationship with Daphne du Maurier. The money is too good to turn down, so off Olivia goes to Malibu.
Ash is a widower, his wife perished in a car accident (was it an accident?) and he is reclusive. His housekeeper seems to be very attached to him and is hostile to Olivia.
While Olivia is becoming accustomed to life in Ash's beautiful ocean front home, Ash is pulling her more into his orbit. But when Olivia tries to get down to work discovering what exactly his grandmother and Daphne du Maurier's secret is, Ash becomes cagey and puts her off.
Olivia decides to investigate on her own, and discovers that Ash has not been truthful with her. What is he hiding and what is his real purpose for bringing Olivia to Malibu?
Fans of Rebecca will enjoy The Fiction Writer on a deeper level, and the controversy around Daphne du Maurier's novel (other people claimed that she stole their story) adds an interesting aspect to the story. Pairing a nice copy of Rebecca with The Fiction Writer would make a great gift for the classic literature lover on your holiday list.
Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on their Fall 2023 Blog Tours.
The novel is deliberately confusing with inner monologue of unidentified characters which only add to the confusion. Interspersed between many chapters is an excerpt from a novel by an unknown author called “The Wife.” While the information provided in these excerpts is useful to fill in the blanks the actual novel omits, these excerpts are intrusive and the missing information could have been provided in other ways.
The ending was inane and ridiculous. The story did not end in a manner consistent to the rest of the story. And the ending was all wrapped up in just a few paragraphs. One page covered a year of time as the author simply told the reader what happened to the characters over the next year, rather than showing us as had been done throughout the book. Obviously, someone was behind on their deadline to finish the book and just wrapped it up in a single chapter.
I was not impressed by this book at all and it took me forever to finish reading it. I do not recommend it whatsoever.
Olivia isn't sure whether to believe the story that Daphne Du Maurier plagiarised the story of Rebecca, and that the 'original' story was a first person account written by Ash's ancestor.
Readers familiar with the plot of Rebecca should fall in love with The Fiction Writer by Jillian Cantor. We have multiple 'book within a book' references with a little of Olivia's Rebecca re-telling making its way into the novel, along with the story that inspired the original Rebecca novel that somehow seems to mirror Ash's life.
In this way, the book becomes a little like Inception with a layered plot containing multitudes of Rebecca references making The Fiction Writer novel itself seem like another gothic mystery in the making.
That said, some of the descriptions gave me pause for all of the wrong reasons, like this one:
"As I walked in the sand, staring off at the gray mist encapsulating the water, I grew more determined to focus on work, on the project today." Page 72
Last I checked, mist can't enclose the water or it ceases to be mist and these moments distracted me from the story at hand.
Olivia's work situation and attraction to Ash reminded me a little of Verity by Colleen Hoover, in that a writer is staying at their employer's house in their personal space with attraction sizzling and a growing sense of unease building.
The Fiction Writer by Jillian Cantor is definitely recommended for fans of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, which I enjoyed back in 2019 as much as this modern offering.
* Copy courtesy of Simon & Schuster *
Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2023/12/the-fiction-writer.html
Reviewed for NetGalley and a publisher’s blog tour.
Charley called Olivia with this great idea for a book in hopes that Olivia would jump at the chance to take it since her most recent book was a flop.
Olivia was skeptical, but flew to California to meet Mr. Asherwood in his mansion.
When she got there, he was very vague about what he wanted her to write and kept stalling.
As she met with him, things went a different way than research for the book.
I didn't like Ash or trust him. Was he reliving the book Rebecca with Olivia.
Would he follow through with the story line?
Very clever story line, but THE FICTION WRITER was confusing and a bit on the slow burn side, but I couldn't stop reading because I needed to find out what really was going on and who the unidentified narrator was. 3/5
Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
The novel is a contemporary retelling of Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca," with a mix of psychological twists and a focus on the intricacies of storytelling. The protagonist, Olivia Fitzgerald, is a struggling author who takes on a ghostwriting opportunity that leads her into a complex web of obsession, secrets, and stolen manuscripts.
Even with its many twists and turns, I found the story awkward with characters that were not relatable. Those who enjoy books within books and stories about authors would probably enjoy this book.
I received an advance copy of the book. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
This story started out pretty strong. Then it slowed down a good bit. I kept expecting it to pick up. It did, it was just too close to the end. I wanted more to happen in the middle. That being said, I did enjoy the setting of the California coast. And lord have mercy…Ash is a weird character. He would be someone that would set off alarm bells to any woman!
Need a twisted tale…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
Olivia Fitzgerald's last book, Becky, based on Daphne du Maurier’s classic Rebecca, was an adjunct failure so she is surprised when her agent calls to tell her that reclusive, handsome, mega-billionaire Henry (Ash) Asherwood wants to hire her for a writing job. The money is good so she flies to Malibu to meet with him and learn the details before signing an NDA. Ash claims that du Maurier actually stole his late grandmother's story. He has read her diary which was written in French before Rebecca was published and he wants Olivia to tell her story. Then it all gets rather dicey because he's not seriously discussing business or having his people get down to business. Olivia "finds herself drawn into a tangled web of obsession, marital secrets, and stolen manuscripts."
Where this succeeds is as a Gothic mystery, based on Rebecca. Metatextuality is clearly on display when, interspersed between Olivia's chapters about her trip, are excerpts from a book titled The Wife, which seems to be another retelling of Rebecca. It all seems a bit too much, even if you appreciate the idea Cantor is pursuing.
This plot is very slow moving and requires all manner of suspension of disbelief almost immediately, especially since a compelling reason to keep reading past the thirty percent mark is missing. Even if you need the money, most people would suspect something odd right away and make Ash discuss business, not his cooking abilities. Olivia is there to do a job and she needs the information to do so. Once it becomes clear that the handsome rich guy is not providing the information, then it is time to go home and wait for him to get the papers in order, not hang around and drink too much.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Park Row Books via NetGalley.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2023/11/the-fiction-writer.html
When she learns that Henry Asherwood III a.k.a. Ash wants her to write the story of his grandmother Emilia's life, she's intrigued but skeptical. Ash is convinced the Daphne du Maurier novel Rebecca was stolen from his grandmother since it is the story of her life. He says that he wants Olivia to write the story because he read her second novel Becky which was also a retelling of Rebecca.
Olivia soon finds herself in her own retelling of Rebecca complete with a mysterious hero who might or might not have murdered his wife and who is very reluctant to answer questions about his grandmother's life and why he thinks du Maurier stole her story. There is also a mysterious housekeeper who has an agenda of her own and who was Ash's deceased wife's cousin.
This was one twisty sort of thriller that takes a woman from a very unhappy state and transforms her. Olivia, though initially dazzled by Ash, manages to regain her independence and confidence as this story advances. She's helped by old friend Noah who has loved her from afar since their college days.
Fans of meta fiction would be the best audience for this one.
I read The Great Gatsby so long ago only the name Daisy Buchanan rang a bell and of course Jay Gatsby.
I really enjoyed this book about Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker and Catherine McCoy in the 1920s. They were three strong women in their own way. Daisy and Jordan were best friends since they were little and almost like sisters. They had their own lives and I really got caught up in Daisy's life with Jay Gatsby and then Tom Buchanan. Jordan was a strong woman also like Daisy and was a woman golfer which was unusual in those days.
Catherine came into the picture with Daisy and Jordan late in the book but there were chapters about her also. Her sister Myrtle was also in the book and how she also got involved in everyone's lives, starting with Jay and then Tom eventually.
What a tangled web we weave and how it played out was interesting.
Well, I love Jane Austen and I love reimaginings so I had high hopes.
Sadly this didn't quite deliver for me. I think the story itself was somewhat engaging and I didn't hate the characters themselves. Unfortunately, I thought that the writing was verging on middle school reader level and was overly explainy. The dialogue felt very unnatural for teenagers too. It is a very wholesome romance so I do think it will have a place in a high school library but more for NZ Year 9 Readers. A light romance with some satisfying character development and undoubtedly this is another case of 'just not for me'.
Hanna and Max meet by happenstance as he enters the auditorium where she practices her violin. They quickly fall in love and dream about spending their life together. Hanna, a young woman who happens to be Jewish and Max, a Christian begin a love affair that will alter their lives.
There is an interesting turn of events in the story that I am still unsure how I feel about. It seems like an odd way to add sci-fi to a historical fiction genre book and it left the ending a little rushed and unsatisfying.
I was very hesitant to read this book. I have considered Anne Frank my hero since I was ten years old and know her story well. I wasn't sure that such a topic should be explored and what areas of Margot's life would be included.
I have read other Jillian Cantor novels and knew that she would handle the topic with respect and grace which is ultimately why I chose to finally read the book. That being said, it is not a book I would read again. While the life Cantor imagined is a lovely one and the thoughts Margot went through made sense, it is just too difficult for me to consider.
LibraryThing Author
Jillian Cantor is a LibraryThing Author, an author who lists their personal library on LibraryThing.
Early Reviewers
Past Offerings
- In Another Time (October 2018)
- The Transformation of Things (October 2010)
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Trigger warnings: Hospitalisation of a child and death and murder of a partner from a gun shot and other people in the past mentioned, gun violence, blood, grief and loss depiction, physical assault and injury, near-death experience
Score: Six out of ten.
I own this book. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
Well that was a bizarre book. I got Searching for Sky by Jillian Cantor from a library giveaway, and I glanced at the blurb, which made it seem intriguing, but I headed in with low expectations considering the equally low ratings. When I closed the final page, it was only okay, and could've been better.
It starts with River (who has no last name) and Sky, living on a place called Island some distance away from American Samoa in the Pacific Ocean (which they call Ocean) in the opening pages. Everything looks typical until they end up in California, which is new to them. I liked the concept of people arriving at a new place, but the execution had so many flaws I didn't know where to begin. The pacing was slow for a story under 300 pages, which made me disconnect from it at times, and Cantor didn't write the characters well, so I didn't feel any chemistry between Sky and River. Sky only had two attributes: she wasn't afraid to hunt and new to California and River's only trait is the unwillingness to hunt.
The writing style was strange, substituting some words like bathroom tree instead of toilet, which disengaged me from Searching for Sky. Perhaps avoiding word replacement would've improved the reading experience. The flashback of the time Sky found it easy to swim but River didn't was filler and the narrative could do without it, and so was the mystery behind the deaths of some characters in the past. The worldbuilding was lacklustre since it mentioned 'the accident' without going into detail. Putting more detail and answering worldbuilding questions would've made Searching for Sky more enjoyable. The conclusion was unrealistic as some people suddenly appeared and killed River, finishing the fictional work on a low note.