Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted here at Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out-of-print, etc. Everyone is welcome to join in at any time! So this is a book I've spent a lot of time talking about. Chances are, if you've hung around these parts, you've heard me push it. But I actually read it for the first time way back in the olden days before the blog was, well, what it is now. I read it shortly after it was first published, back in 2007, when I was writing monthly posts, mere collections of mini-reviews. So Song of the Sparrow got shortchanged. I decided to address that situation today. The fun thing is lots of friends have read (and reviewed) it since, and so I was able to trip through their lovely thoughts and remember my own. When I heard about a retelling of Tennyson's " Lady of Shalott ," I was so in. I mean, I'...
That's the perfect image of Brisbane! I love the background as well.
ReplyDeleteAnd congrats cqueen2!
I just finished reading the first in this series and I really liked it! :D
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree about the picture, she did a great job!!
Li, the background is great, isn't it? *love*
ReplyDeleteSamantha, yay! I'm so happy to hear that. What were your favorite parts? ;)
I think I really enjoyed Raybourn's prose more than any one scene. It was very fluid and I liked Julia's reflections about everything that was going on around her. She was open-minded but still very much like a young lady of the time. I hate it when characters feel like they're from the 21st Century when they aren't. Raybourn did a great job mixing her "eccentric" upbringing with what it must have been like growing up during Queen Victoria's rule. Even Brisbane remarks how she's not like most of the women he knows. ;)
ReplyDeleteI loved the characters, too! :)
Her siblings are great. From Belmont to Val (even little things, like the exchange between the two sisters when Portia brings her dog to Julia's house had me laughing out loud).
I have the next one on order from the library, so hopefully I'll be catching up soon.
I went to the author's website and it says her next book is not part of the Julia Grey series, so I'm excited to see what direction she goes while we wait for Julia's next adventure.