*I am reviewing this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own. *
Title: The Illumination of Ursula Flight
Author: Anna Marie Crowhurst
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Source: ReadersFirst
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Book Summary:
Born on the night of an ill-auguring comet just before Charles II's Restoration, Ursula Flight has a difficult future written in the stars.
Against the custom of the age she begins an education with her father, who fosters in her a love of reading, writing and astrology.
Following a surprise meeting with an actress, Ursula yearns for the theatre and thus begins her quest to become a playwright despite scoundrels, bounders, bad luck and heartbreak.
Against the custom of the age she begins an education with her father, who fosters in her a love of reading, writing and astrology.
Following a surprise meeting with an actress, Ursula yearns for the theatre and thus begins her quest to become a playwright despite scoundrels, bounders, bad luck and heartbreak.
Book Review:
I was extremely excited to read this book partly due to the cover because let's face it is really amazing. This book did not disappoint being an entertaining and heartfelt story which was a great debut.
I really adored Ursula as a character. She is core to this story and if you could not connect with her then this would be a massive problem. Seeing her grow through the book was great as she matures into an amazing adult who really holds her own and I think in that sense it is at its core a coming of age story. She was also deeply funny and I loved how we got a sense of her character through diary entries and plays which do play for to her interesting.
Including this allowed me to see where the plot would go and I did love where the plot went but I do feel like this occurred much later in the book than I expected. I therefore definitely loved the first part and last part of this book a lot. The writing was good, it was so well developed but I did feel like the book dragged a little in the middle. This was, therefore, a little problem but it didn't affect my overall experience of the book.
I also really loved the historical aspect of this book. It is basically as a historical fiction book and a coming of age together which makes a great combo. I often don't reach for historical fiction but I really loved this one and I think this means that I should reach for more. It also covers issues at the time, some of which I literally had no idea about so this was interesting to read about.
The Verdict:
Overall, there is a lot to love in this book. Ursula is amazing, the plot is well executed but a little slow at time and the characters that she interacts with are also good and well developed. The Illumination of Ursula Flight is just a good time.
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