Author: Samantha Sotto
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Year: 2017
Genre(s): romance, historical fiction, sci-fi
Part of a Series: No
Rating:
Why I Read it: Once Upon a Book Club selection
Summary: Andrea is a musical prodigy with a secret—when she plays a certain song, she can open a hole in her wall. On the other side is Isaac Newton, the man who will make several scientific and mathematical discoveries. As she grows up, she continues to chase after the man behind her wall and falls in love with him. She searches for a way to join him just as he searches for a way to be with her. But does Andrea really belong in the 18th century…or has she been ignoring a love that’s been beside her the whole time?
Review: As you can tell by the rating, I was not fond of this story. I did finish it, but it’s very rare that I abandon a book. I’m going to try to keep this review from being completely negative but it might be hard.
My main problem is with the main character, Andrea Louviere. She really isn’t a character…almost like a Bella Swan. Andrea just seems to exist to be in the relationship with Isaac. We’re told she’s a musical genius on the cello but the music is just a means to get to Isaac. It doesn’t even seem like she enjoys it all that much. She actually doesn’t seem to have much by way of likes and dislikes. Everything about her character is centered around Isaac for most of the book. She starts to develop more later but once again, it’s still all about Isaac.
Isaac, though, has a better character but he’s still mostly driven by Andrea. However, we see him with his math and science as well as with his family. So he comes across as a bit more fleshed out, though not by much.
I think the character who is best fleshed out is Nate, Andrea’s best friend and other love interest. He’s a musician like her but enjoys it, doing everything to make living with his drum skills. He also talks about his mother’s mental illness and it colors how he reacts to Andrea’s claims about seeing Isaac Newton behind a crack in her wall. Nate, however, is loyal and willing to do anything for her—no matter how many times she hurts him.
Another reason I think the characters aren’t very fleshed out is that the story only really skims the surface. I felt like there was a lot of telling rather than showings, where Sotto didn’t really allow herself to dive into the emotional states of her characters. We just always seemed to stay on the surface and I think that could’ve helped with connecting better with the characters.
Let’s deal with a positive…Sotto clearly did her research and has a passion for Isaac Newton. It showed in her writing and how she was able to write about his life, from childhood until death. She also came up with a creative plot. I just think the execution could’ve been much better.
Bottom line: An interesting concept that needed some more work.
Sex: Mentions of it.
Moonlight Musing
If you could meet a historical figure, who would it be?
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