Nine Coaches Waiting

I'm sad that this didn't resonate with me, since so many people love it so much. But for me it was a slow slog till about 60% of the way in, and even when I was engaged with the story, I found the characters troubling.

First, I acknowledge that the descriptions of the settings are amazing, and if you're totally enchanted by all that, the extremely slow plot advancement early on may not be a problem. I would have done with a bit more plot zing to carry me through.

As far as the characters, the main thing is that Linda is somehow smart, courageous, and confident, and simultaneously an insecure, silly idiot. I mean, maybe I just defined being in love when you're in your 20s? But if it is, I'm immune as a crusty 40-something. I actually really loved the passages where Linda held her own, especially as she supported and defended Philippe. But her relationship with Raoul is forked up. The "romantic" climax has her absolutely debasing herself (not to mention seriously, stupidly endangering herself), apologizing for suspecting that he was a murderer when she had very good reasons to suspect he was a murderer! (fine, attempted murderer). Reasons that wouldn't sensibly be counterbalanced by what, a few hours of time spent together and some hormones? Also, Raoul is an asshole. I want to rewrite this where he actually is in on the plot and she winds up with William Blake.

Also, I had a big problem with the “morally upright” hero of our story being incredibly nice and sympathetic to A woman who had just confessed to trying to murder a child - multiple times! Was Heloise pathetic and having a breakdown? Sure. But the appropriate reaction in my opinion is more along the lines of "That's a normal consquence of TRYING TO MURDER A CHILD - have fun with that emotional upset, you monster!"

So all that added up to a really unsatisfying ending for me. At least there was some scenery to enjoy along the way, and now I want to visit some charming villages in France in the springtime.