The Lemon Grove

This started really well; the set-up was interesting, the characters seemed mysterious, the setting was easily imaginable. However, very quickly, I became bored and tired of the repetitive nature of the plot and the weaknesses of the characters.

I've read lots of reviews for books that talk about the minor characters being underdeveloped and I usually think to myself, “what? The minor characters are minor for a reason!” But in this novel, it seemed that all the characters were minor because the two most important ones had little to no backstory and seemed very flat at times.

Having said that, I did enjoy the writing style and the plot was fascinating. There was a lot of strategic vagueness used to emphasize the tension between the characters which I thought was very clever. In no way is this a bad book, but it's not great. It's a quick read and I think it would be perfect for beach holidays.

Also, five thousand stars to the last page. What a way to the end the story.

I would have given this book only one star. I gave it two only out of respect for the talent in the writing. The author does a masterful job of describing setting, smells, micro-expressions and painting the picture of this story so delicately that I can close my mind and envision all characters and setting. It was a book that took you travelling with it. As the mother of a teen boy I could not get past the basic content. I know just how YOUNG a boy if that age is. Despite the title character calling him a man and reading into his actions. This all struck me as distasteful at best and smacks of pedophile actions at worst. The main idea around which the entire novel is built was simply a hurdle that no great writing could make up for. If the young man were even a few years older it would have made a difference in my review.