'The Miniaturist' was a satisfying and weird historical fiction set in 17th century Amsterdam. Nella Oortman is the new wife of Johannes Brandt, but her life is not what she expected it to be. Her sister-in-law dictates everything in the household and Nella feels that her life is more restricted her...
Historical fiction isn’t my typical genre but we chose this one for our local book group because it sounded mysterious. And boy was it ever mysterious! It wasn’t perfect but it was full of darkness and secrets that come back to haunt and those are always my favorite things to read.Set in Amsterdam w...
When Nella moves to Amsterdam to live with her new husband, she soon discovers that things are not what they seem. Set in the 17th century, Jessie Burton’s debut novel received immediate acclaim. You can read if I agree with their assessment in my review here. https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2017/12/02/...
Full review on my blog, Caffeinated Bibliophile.I went into this with fairly high expectations, but unfortunately I wasn’t as enthralled as many people seem to be.I found most of the characters difficult to like or sympathize with, and I only really liked Cornelia and Hanna. Johannes was a character...
In 1600s Amsterdam, Nella agrees to marry a rich merchant. She looks forward to living in the city and being a wife and mother. However, when she gets to Amsterdam, she discovers that her husband wants nothing to do with her. He’s rarely home, and he leaves Nella in the care of his ultra-religious s...
Read by Kim A - Story of 19 year old Nella sent to Holland to be married to a wealthy gay merchant. Taboos and secrets throughout the family. The miniaturist of the title is sending eerily accurate and prescient items for Nella's wedding gift - a replica of their home. Nella holds the family togethe...
The book starts with the funeral of an unnamed but, according to the narrator, unpopular person as observed by an unnamed woman who, after other attendees have left, leaves a miniature of a house at the grave before deciding she has to leave. When the story proper start it is 1686, about three mon...
This could have been another The Crimson Petal and the White, but for the lazy storytelling. The writing itself is, in my opinion, good; up until the middle of the novel I believed I would give it solid four stars, if not more - Ms. Burton knows how to create a sense of mystery, and I was convinced ...
It was difficult for me to get into this as I felt the writing didn't flow all that well in the beginning, but once I reached the end of part one I was sold. I became more immersed in the story and more invested in the principal characters, the members of the Brandt household. Unfortunately the titu...
I haven't been on this website in a long while, woa. That being said, I want to try picking it up again as I do enjoy it. My shelves are not up to date anymore and I haven't written a review for all the books I've read since the last time I posted. But I figured I'll just write a review sort of t...
Important: Our sites use cookies.
We use the information stored using cookies and similar technologies for advertising and statistics purposes.
Stored data allow us to tailor the websites to individual user's interests.
Cookies may be also used by third parties cooperating with BookLikes, like advertisers, research companies and providers of multimedia applications.
You can choose how cookies are handled by your device via your browser settings.
If you choose not to receive cookies at any time, BookLikes will not function properly and certain services will not be provided.
For more information, please go to our Privacy Policy.
Log in with Facebook 
