Was anyone confused by the difference in the timelines?

I enjoyed this book very much as it was very different from the novels or mysteries I usually read. Having been to Ireland several times it seems to me they are great story tellers.

There were times when I became confused by the story Anna tells and Sarah's desire to go back in time.

After reading the book, I was tempted to re-read the book going through the Anna sections and then the Sarah ones. I realized that the two timelines connected at points, and helped to enrich the Sarah timeline. I felt that the Anna story thread was richer than Sarah's.

I did find I had to remind myself of which story I was in. I felt like the Anna story dominated and when it switched back to Sarah I tended to lose track.

The use of separate stories and timelines in novels is quite common, I found this one very easy to distinguish between the two threads.

Not at all. I read numerous books with different time.ines. It doesn’t always work, but for this story it was necessary to understand the place and those who live and lived there.

I thought the author's use of the two timelines made for an excellent story, when I did get confused I just went back just to see I got things straight. There were times I got a little ocnfused, but was able to work myself out of the issue.

No, I thought they needed each other to embrace the connection between the two stories. Telling one without the other would not have embodied the connection between two rather ordinary characters with extraordinary tales to share.

Having just read The Lost Bookshop I was familiar with this writing style. I also think that having Sarah discover Anna's diary was paramount to her learning to grieve for her daughter and beginning to find herself.

Yes. And I think the author could have done a far better job keeping the time lines straight. On the whole, I was disappointed in this book - perhaps it should be positioned as YA, but as an adult read, I found it very superficial.,.

No. Since they were in separate chapters, it was very easy to keep track of each story line.

Confused, yes often I needed to go back and get the time lines straight. I realized these timelines were needed in order to tell Anna's and Sarah's plights. I also feel it seems to be a style of storytelling quite popular at this time.

I gree with cathyoc--the author used the alternating timelines fluidly. This did not interupt the storyline at all.

Sometimes I was confused until I figured out who was the speaker. Can't books use different print whne changing timelines and/or speakers??

Although there are similar feelings by main characters in the duel timelines, each time period is clearly labeled for each chapter. I did think the diary entries from 1910-1911 were very elaborate, much like the text in the remainder of the novel.

I felt both storylines were easy to follow since most of the chapters were dated or had a character’s name on them.

I have read other books with chapters written from differing individual's perspectives and time periods, and this book was not the worst. However, I still prefer a book written chronologically with a third person narration, just to make it easier to keep up with!

No, I was able to folow they story line.

no. Evie Woods stories were seamless. I had no trouble remembering or tracking the two stories.

I tend to read a lot of historical fiction, which more times than not have dual timelines. Once I got all the characters set in my head, I found this one easy to follow.

I was somewhat confused. The timelines often blurred when 2010 Sarah was reading about 1910 Anna.

I was not confused and thought the technique of two time lines was very effective in telling this story. This technique of duel time lines seems to be a trend of historical fiction writers lately. Some authors do it better than others.

I thought that the duel timeline was good. This one was pretty easy to follow most of the time.

I did not find the timeline confusing or difficult to follow. It was well done.

No. I didn't find it difficult at all. Both stories were distinct and held my interest.

Not at all. I love stories with multiple timelines and I agree with others who said that this was was well done.

Not at all, the alternating chapters were quite clear and the characters and time so distinct that it was easy to navigate.

I thought it was well done, too, and didn't have a problem keeping them straight.

Not at all! I thought they were two distinct stories and made sure to look at the year at the beginning of each chapter to make sure I could keep them separate.

Not at all. It was easy to tell when you were reading Anna's diary and when you were "in the present day" with Sarah. It seems most modern novels have the story coming in from different eras, different character perspectives, or different locales. Authors do not seem to write linear stories anymore. Sometimes, that frustrates me.

I read this book in fits & starts (a wedding, travel & a new puppy) so it was difficult to get into the rhythm but I found if I backed up a few pages to get the essence I could then proceed with no confusion & I did look at the chapter heading time lines often. So many books I've read lately have used this technique - guess it's the thing currently.

I have read lots of books with dual timelines. They don't bother me and it was clearly identified in the story which timeline you were reading at any given point, so I had no problem keeping track of where I was.