Bought yet a few others books from Scholastic - my book heaven! It had been such a looong time since my last book review.
"I felt as if the world was vanishing around me. There was only Fred and me. I could have stood there with him forever. NOTHING ELSE MATTERED."
When Penelope Fitzsimmons arrives at Langdown Manor to live with relatives she's never met, she feels desperately alone and unwanted - until she meets Fred. They are two of a kind: restless, unconventional and daring - wanting more from life than what's expected of them. But she's an upper-class girl and he's a servant. How can they ever be together when society keeps them apart?
I admit that I had high hopes on this book when I ordered it and I was so happy when it arrived. But I'm sad to say that it did not match my expectations at all, not even a little. ;_; In fact, it was worse than I thought and the plot was predictable. It was a too fast paced romance novel and I feel like Fred and Penelope doesn't spend that much time developing their love than they should have - Penelope was awfully quick to fall for Fred.
Maybe it was contributed to the fact that the book only has 200+ pages, but it lacked the fizzling love atmosphere and if I were Penelope, I wouldn't decide to be with Fred so quickly.
You might wanna try it out - you might like it - but its just too unstable for my taste. :/ I liked a part though, just that one paragraph that managed to make me smile a little, which was when Penelope tilted Fred's head and said something.
So, for the ceremonious page-turning, I shall be turning to 3 random pages and write out a chosen paragraph. And again, I'll try not to expose spoilers!
Page 20:
"I don't know who Sh-Shamala is, miss, but I have to get you up and dressed. Dinner's in half an hour." It didn't sound like Shamala. I rolled over and opened my eyes. I was still drowsily expecting to see an Indian face peering anxiously at me from behind a mosquito net. Instead I found myself staring into the face of a girl I'd never seen before. She was looking at me nervously - as if she wasn't sure what I'd do or say next.
Page 68:
"There's still some grass on you, miss," he said. Oh, so that was why he was looking at me. I was a mess. "On your back," he said. "Here, let me." I felt his fingers on my back, gently but firmly brushing away the grass. "I'm not hurting you, am I?" he asked.
Page 126:
We went inside to take off our wet things. my feet felt so heavy - as if they'd hardly carry me up stairs. I sat down on the bed. I wouldn't let him know how I felt. I'd never forgive him. Never! All the time he had had a girlfriend. All that stuff about a gulf between us when he'd just found it too awkward to cope with two girls at once. He had made his choice now. And he'd chosen her, that housemaid. That girl who shouted at me. What a fool I had been. I felt my cheeks grow hot.
Look out for more book reviews!
