Bristol House

Ah, this book. Bristol House and I never really meshed, sadly. Despite my best efforts to immerse myself in Annie Kendall's story, I never felt that committed to it. Truth be told, this book got set aside more than once while I was reading through it.

Now, I find it necessary to mention that I'm still dipping my toes into the waters of historical fiction. What most caught my eye about Bristol House, was that there was a paranormal bend to it. Stories that interlace the past and the present fascinate me. Add in the fact that this was set in England, and you had my attention. If only I had been able to fall in love with Annie as a character, I might have honestly enjoyed this more.

See, Annie is a bit of a prickly character. Although Swerling definitely lays out what Annie might not be quick to let others in, it never felt exactly right. When Geoff was set in her path, quite coincidentally I might add, that aspect of her personality became even more glaring. I admit, I was happy that there was no instalove here. However that didn't drown out the fact that Geoff was just too convenient of a character. There was little to no tension, and really little to no relationship growth. It made the two of them dull, in my opinion, and I wasn't interested in following along with them.

What I did enjoy most of all though, were the flashback scenes to the life of Annie's ghostly visitor. Dom Justin's life was full of intrigue, and danger. His chapters would catch me up in their vivid descriptions, and have me eager for more. I suppose that's most likely why Annie's chapters felt so much flatter. Dom Justin's life was just so much more interesting that anything Annie was involved in.

I don't know what else to say, really. It just all felt too convenient when it came to the mystery here. Clues that fell perfectly into place, and were somehow laid out expertly despite the fact that they were from an entire other time period. Geoff, with his much too perfect characterization falling right into Annie's path at the right time. Never mind the fact that the had all the hookups that Annie needed to accomplish her task. Even Annie's backstory, while I appreciated the fact that she wasn't a pushover, felt contrived.

Thus, the three star rating. I'm on the fence, and I know that this is more of a “It's not you, it's me.” situation when it comes to this book. There is definitely a group of readers out there who will love this. Bristol House does do an excellent job of weaving together two time periods, and sharing a healthy dose of Jewish history with the reader. I just wanted much more than I was offered in this story.