Author: Claire KingOriginally Published: July 28, 2016
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 372
Source: Giveaway
Series: N/A
Price: £14.88 (Hardback from Amazon)
Paperback not yet available
£10.04 (Kindle Edition)
About the book (Taken from the blurb):
Baptiste Molino had devoted his life to other people's happiness. Moored on his houseboat on the edge of Toulouse, he helps his clients navigate the waters of contentment, yet remains careful never to make waves of his own.
Baptise is more concerned with his past than his future: particularly the mysterious circumstances of his birth and the identity of his birth mother. But Sophie, the young waitress in his local bar, believes it is time for Baptiste to rediscover passion, and leads him into the world on his doorstep that he has long tried to avoid.
However, it is Baptiste's new client who may end up being the one to change his perspective. Elegant and enigmatic, Amandine Rousseau is fast becoming a puzzle he longs to solve. As tensions rise on the streets of the city, Baptiste's determination to avoid both the highs and lows of love begins to waver. And when his mother's legacy finally reveals itself, he finds himself torn between pursuing his own happiness and safeguarding that of the ones he loves.
My review:
This is a tricky review to write. Don't get me wrong, it was a charming story that made me intrigued. But I feel like it was lacking something. And what annoys me the most is that I can't put my finger on what it's lacking...
It's got alternating chapter points of view... which isn't my favourite. If you've read any of my other posts I make it painfully obvious. Sorry. But what I hate more than this is when it isn't made clear from the start whose point of view it's from. Because then my imagination becomes too active and that's not good for anything. I'd be reading and thinking maybe it's the chair! Maybe it's the house! Maybe it's the ghost of a random dog that died in 1732! Yeah, not good. At one point I genuinely thought Baptiste was having sex with an owl. As I said before, not good. And what made it worst was the fact that it took me about 150 pages to be sure on who it was. Which may have been me being stupid, or may have been purposely left a bit of a mystery, or maybe both? I'm not sure but if you do come to read this book, please let me know if you too thought that he had sex with an owl. I'm not crazy, I swear.
However, the writing nearer the end of the book got a lot better and was actually really clever! It made me start to ask questions to myself similar to the way Baptiste does at the start of the book. And I loved every second of it. I felt a lot closer to Baptiste in the second half of the book compared to the first, which is a shame really because if the writing in the first half was as good as it was in the second it could have been a lot better than it was.
But, to be fair, I think this book was written for people a lot older than me. I've never been in love, sadly. Well, unless you count books, or iced coffee, or my dogs, or Mistah J. Because if those are included then I've been in love loads of times. But I've never loved another human, apart from Mistah J, but even he's not real. So I couldn't relate to the book as much as I would have liked.
To conclude, 'Everything love is' is a charming little story but it left me feeling, sort of...meh. The ending didn't really have the impact that it could have had, which left me a tad deflated. But, I think this book was written for people 30+, not 16 like me, so that the reader could relate to it more, which makes you more attached to the characters. At the end of the day, though, I did enjoy reading it and it was perfect for lounging around the pool. So, I would recommend it, just not to people my age. Therefore, 4 stars fits it perfectly.
Have you read this book yet? Did you think Baptise was getting it on with an owl? Enjoyed any other works by Claire King? Let me know!
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