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Post by Claire on May 14, 2011 19:45:45 GMT 1
Hi all, our next reading circle choice is Paradise House which is the new book by K. M. Peyton. Its available from Amazon, altho I know a lot of you have already got a copy. Or you can scrounge borrow a copy from some kind soul on here As a few of us have already read it we can start the discussion a bit earlier than usual. If you haven't read it yet and need to catch up please let me know and we will wait for you.
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2011 20:23:35 GMT 1
I've only just ordered mine a few days ago so it should be on it's way. But I don't mind, if others don't either, if you want to start
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Post by haffyfan on May 21, 2011 15:53:02 GMT 1
just wondered if people have read it yet?
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Post by Claire on May 21, 2011 16:18:11 GMT 1
I've read it and I think one or 2 others may have so we can start the discussion whenever.
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2011 17:22:30 GMT 1
I'll be finished reading it this evening
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2011 20:15:27 GMT 1
Read it!
Well I voted average. It was O.K., a bit of a comfort read I suppose but I was slightly disappointed. Blind Beauty it 'aint!
I did like the historical side of it though.
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Post by haffyfan on May 21, 2011 21:01:22 GMT 1
I voted average too. I found it a bit weak and lacking substance compared to her usual stuff and was a bit dissapointed I guess. I also wan't expecting it to be historical and thought it might be another blind beauty/darkling which probably made it worse.
Somewheer else someone made the point would they still like it if it wasn't K M peyton? In all honesty my answer would be I wouldn't have bought it in the first place. It was readable but not one i'd pick up again...too happy ever after for me, the same/similiar ideas/plot but set in more modern times (with real emotion!) could have been breath taking!
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Post by Claire on May 21, 2011 22:26:49 GMT 1
I like historical ones so I enjoyed that aspect of it. It seems thats the way KMP is going with her last ones also being historical (the Gains and Roman Pony series).
As ever it was very readable and kept you page turning but I too was a tad disappointed with it. I'm not sure if its the first of a series but it certainly seemed that way, more of a build up to a story rather than a plot itself. Also it was too short.
I would have preferred the heroine to be a bit older, I think the books where she has older teen heroines are the best and more meatier. Also I missed the usual crush that KMP's heroines always seem to have on someone.
The horse element was also lacking a bit - I would have liked to have seen more of the racing or stud element, and less of the family bit, or at least an equal amount. I have a feeling tho that its the only way that these authors can get horse stories published in today's climate is to wrap the pony story up in something else, could be why her latest books have been historical - could be classed under that genre.
In summary, well written, easy to read but needed a bit more meat on the bones. Perhaps if there are sequels the story will get a bit juicier and there will be more horse content.
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2011 7:31:18 GMT 1
Yes I thought that too. Pity if it's the case that the ponies have to take a back seat otherwise the book might not be published!
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Post by Claire on May 22, 2011 11:33:35 GMT 1
Yes I thought that too. Pity if it's the case that the ponies have to take a back seat otherwise the book might not be published! Well not sure if this is the case but I do wonder, as KMP is the one of the few serious writers of pony books for older children still being published in this country. The rest of the stuff, like Pony Camp Diaries, etc are for little kids.
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Post by sarah on May 22, 2011 17:21:17 GMT 1
I wish I hadn't just read Blind Beauty again before reading this as my expectations were way too high. I suppose it was written for younger children but I definitely felt like it was lacking in substance - like you said Claire - the bones of the story. Also I felt that any issues/questions seem to be resolved very quickly - often in the next chapter and problems were overcome very quickly without too much difficulty. Although it was a historical story - I didn't feel there was a huge amount of detail in the story. Take out a few small bits and it could have been modern day era. (P.s. I read it when it first came out and wrote this from memory of my impressions then - as I seem to have a brain like a sieve at the moment I may have misremembered (is that a word) some things.
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Post by darkhorse on May 22, 2011 21:56:45 GMT 1
I enjoyed it. I liked the historical setting and the characters. I enjoyed the way that the author brought illegitmacy into the story as I am sure today's children will not understand just how much of a stigma it was in those days. But I agree with the above opinions that they was not enough of the horse plot and that the problems were all solved too easily. The sub-plot involving the stallion possibly being shot just fizzled out entirely when it could have dominated the whole story.
I also agree that it seemed a bit like part 1 of a series.
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vera
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Post by vera on Jun 7, 2011 3:29:44 GMT 1
Good thing we don't operate by due dates here; this book won't be released in Australia until december. So from the reviews it's one to borrow rather than buy?
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Post by Claire on Jun 7, 2011 11:17:12 GMT 1
Interesting to hear its not out in Australia for a while, coincidentally just sold my copy on ebay to someone over there!
Its not up there with Blind Beauty and Darkling etc, but its still a well written readable book which is more than you can say for a lot of pony books being published at the mo! I think its probably because she is normally so good that we have all been slightly disappointed.
I've been thinking about it and how short it is and I wonder if it has been the victim of editorial cuts to keep it at a similar length to other modern pony books. This could explain why there is less depth to the book, problems resolved more quickly, etc, than in say Small Gains which is also a historical book with a horse theme. Small Gains is about double the length and it has a much more meaty story. I do recommend that one to people who havent read it yet.
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Post by fizz on Jun 7, 2011 18:49:45 GMT 1
What time is it set in?
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Post by haffyfan on Jun 7, 2011 21:08:43 GMT 1
Couldn't figure that out myself Fizz - Victorian maybe?
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Post by Claire on Jun 7, 2011 23:11:07 GMT 1
I would probably say Victorian too, tho I would have to read the book again to double check.
The Small Gains books are set earlier possibly the late 17th to early 18th century. Coincidentally the Gains books also dealt with the theme of illegitimate children. There was a lot more horse stuff in them, (or at least in the 1st book, the 2nd wasnt as horsy or as good) about the (I assume) Norfolk Trotters and the long distance trotting races which was very interesting.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2011 6:29:19 GMT 1
My first impression was Victorian too.
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vera
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Post by vera on Feb 29, 2012 11:13:10 GMT 1
Well I finally acquired a copy. My first impression was that the book was written for slow readers and therefore had to move quickly. I liked the plot outlines and intimations of character development but they never happened. everything is hinted at and you can imagine the rest, which is not a bad way. I liked Alice hanging on to Goldie; I had one of those myself! A nice comfort read; not challenging!
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Post by trixiepony on Mar 31, 2012 11:51:51 GMT 1
A ok book nice anuff story, I think I like her books for a older child better.
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