My Rating
Blog Tour
Thank you Kallie Townsend @kalliereads and Penguin Michael Joseph for the BLOG TOUR opportunity
Yuppie… my turn for the BLOG TOUR of THE BIRDCAGE by EVE CHASE
Eve Chase’s The Birdcage is a story that sweeps you off your feet, the writing by the author so magical that it transports you to the lazy summers of a house called Rock Point in Cornwall. It is not just the dual timeline story that grabs the reader’s attention but sewing together a quilt thru the eyes of the three half-sisters in the present times makes for some gripping reading.
Right away, we are made aware of something terrible that has affected the lives of everyone connected to Rock Point, so much that for, 20 years none of them have managed to step back into the place again. Lauren, Flora, and Kat, the three half-sisters are struggling in their respective lives but are unable to form any sort of sisterly bond or family connection between them. We get to read the perspective of their return thru each of their POVs but the past, specifically the August of 1999 when an eclipse had occurred is narrated thru the eyes of Lauren, the youngest of the trio.
Dysfunctional takes on a new meaning in this family as everyone caters to the famous artist father Charlie Finch and his lifestyle. Eve Chase unveils the complex web at a steady pace as each interaction between the members of the family brings to light the dynamics inside it and the undercurrent of something unsaid lying dormant. The African Grey talking parrot, Bertha is the highlight of the novel and I was in awe with how the parrot and its cage Berthington Palace became a focal point in the story, Lauren’s anxiety connected to the talking parrot and birds in general causes unease in the reader every time Bertha repeats certain things in perfect mimicry with the voice of the speaker.
Eve Chase explores the complicated relationships wonderfully and the face each of the sisters presents to the world and returning to Rock Point is as much a relief as coming to terms with their individuality, reconnecting them to their roots. The characterization of all of them is perfectly flawed, and more grey than white, the careless father, the grandparents trying their best with the children to form a cohesive unit, and Angie, the au pair who becomes a part of their past and present, Gemma and her mother Viv, Pete and Jonah, a whole host of characters that was sketched so beautifully. The sense of place is an advantage as Rock Point on the cliffs, the abandoned huts, the moors, and rocky outcroppings are vividly captured. The mystery element of the story is not hard to guess for seasoned readers and I did surmise the twists right from the beginning though by no means did it spoil the reading experience.
A remarkable journey to Cornwall and to the lives of a family that has to relearn to trust and forgive each other, The Birdcage is a thoroughly engrossing read.
Many thanks to Net Galley, Penguin Michael Joseph, and the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.
Kat, Flossie and Lauren are half-sisters who share a famous artist father – and a terrible secret.
Each has found their way of burying it. Over the years they’ve grown apart, and into wildly different lives. But an invitation to Rock Point, the Cornish cliff house where they once sat for their father’s most celebrated painting, Girls with Birdcage, reunites them.
Rock Point is a beautiful, windswept place, thick with secrets, electrically charged with the one subject the family daren’t discuss. And there is someone in the shadows watching the house, their every move. Someone who remembers the girls in the painting. What they did.
The sisters must unlock the truth to set themselves free – and find each other again.
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Cornwall is a great setting and I might need to add this book to my TBR list. I don’t know whether to thank you for the review or curse you for adding yet another book to my list!
LOL, You cannot curse me…🤣🤣🤣
I believe you will love the setting of this Noelle, it has a that ‘being transported into the place’ quality and honestly, any story set in Cornwall gets an additional rating from me….😄