Win Once Upon A River Formulated By Diane Setterfield Released As Hardcover

Setterfield's bestselling novel "The Thirteenth Tale" was made into a recent television drama and this wonderfully crafted book "Once Upon A River" is her third and latest fabulous offering.
I haven't read anything by this author before but I will be seeking out her previous books, after absolutely devouring and loving this compelling story based on folklore, romance and suspense.
Magic realism at its best!
As I started to read this hugely atmospheric tale, I honestly felt I was sitting by a roaring open fire in an ancient inn and being told the tale for myself, just like the characters were relaying tales in the opening of the story.

The characters are truly wonderful too and you really do engage with them all, Each one tells his or her story with intrigue, that makes you really feel a part of, whether it's sharing sympathy or joy.

The story is slow but rich in description and like the river the tale is based on, it meanders along, gently curving and lapping at the literary shores.

This beautifully printed book is charmingly delightful and is exquisitely written with flair, talent and imagination, Every so often a special book comes along that sweeps you off your feet and this is one of them.
It will stay with me for a very long time and if I never read another book again I can retire from reading very happy.
A superbly feelgood story that oozes genuine emotion, one minute making you smile, the next feeling empathy for the character's distress and I was very saddened when the story ended as I could of kept on reading it forever.

I can't recommend the spellbinding "Once Upon a River" enough or this talented author and I wish her every success with hopefully another well deserved bestseller.


plus and highly recommend, Storytelling perfection!

I have read nothing like Once Upon a River, A more modern fairy tale Quite a bit of suspense and mysteryand wonderand charm

Once Upon a River takes place in a historic ancient inn on the River Thames in England.
This inn is famous for its storytelling and its storytellers, and in fact, when a mysterious stranger with obvious physical injuries incoherently bursts into the inn with a commotion, stories are in the midst of being told.
The stranger eventually passes out, but not before the body of a dead young girl is removed from his arms.


But shes not dead, She comes back to life, Was she ever dead Questioning miracles, science in the age of Darwin, and magical powers which one caused the girl to be alive again

I felt like Diane Setterfield was sitting by the fire in an ancient English inn telling me a story.
Ive never heard her voice, but Ive imagined it, She followed me on Twitter, which has me majorly star struck, I must say, especially when she tells stories this way.
Ahhh!

Sitting by that roaring fire, I snuggled right up into this book, There was something warm about it, a touch dark, romantic, tense, mystical, and every one of those things added up to a book I quite simply adored.


This is another one of those novels that requires patience on the part of the reader, While it reads smoothly, its a chunk of a book, and its one you will savor, So much imagination and inventiveness went into this gem, and its worth every extra minute of investment to get to the heart of the full story.
In other words: I give this one my highest recommendation, If you can be patient, that is,

Thanks to Atria Books for the complimentary copy, All opinions are my own,

My reviews can also be found on my blog: sitelinkwww, jennifertarheelreader. com I'll keep it short, because it was a difficult book for me to rate the writing was so beautiful, but I didn't feel as enthralled by the story as I thought I would.


Pros: the magical realism, the lyrical and beautiful writing, the historical setting, the mystery around the little girl.


Cons: too long descriptions, pace too slow, not enough endearing characters except Mr Armstrong, who really touched me by his kindness towards animals and his love for his family.


I know I'm in the minority with my rating, but I don't regret reading it, so do not hesitate to give it a try! The Swann is an ancient Inn, along the Thames where lots of storytelling is done there.
On a dark night someone was telling a story the door opened and a newcomer came in, They were trying to make sense of what they were seeing, They thought it might of been a monster from a folk tale, Once there senses came togethor, they noticed in his arms was a puppet with a face and limbs and painted hair.


The man was unconscious and they put him on a

table, They thought he was dead, Margot, the owner of the inn, laid a feather in his lips and it moved, He was breathing. No one knew him.

Jonathaon put the puppet on his lap, He noticed that the puppets hair was made with real hair and it's ears looked so real, He gave it a shake and the arm swung from its shoulder, Then he noticed it was a little girl, She wouldn't wake up. They thought she drowned and was dead, Rita thought she was four years old, She had no pulse and wasn't breathing, The girl was dead before she went into the water, There was no sign on how she died, After some time the corpse opened her eyes, The girls head moved. Her eyes closed again and they noticed her chest was moving, She was breathing in and out,

What made this girl come alive again Who does she belong to Is it a miracle or is it magic Did it have anything to do with the winter solstice

This book was so beautifully written.
You could just get lost in the prose, I just loved the atmosphere, I love this author and loved The Thirteenth Tale by her, so I just had to read this one.
I loved it just as much, I thought this was a character driven novel and thought the characters were well done, I just loved Rita. The book needs to be read slow, there was a little confusion for me, but then all the peices came together and it then becomes a mystery.
It is a thought provoking novel, It really makes you think, I thought it was very enchanting and it was very well crafted,

The book is part historical fiction, a little fantasy, magical realism, and mystery, Just a little something for everyone, Even though it has a slow burn to it, I suggest to keep reading it because it gets a lot better.
I am so happy that I stuck with it, I love this author. I highly recommend it, if you don't mind a slow burn,

I want to thank Atria/Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley for the copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.
I was attracted to something that I read about this book which describes an inn where people came to tell their stories.
The thought of that reminded me of Canterbury Tales, read many, many years ago in college about travelers telling their stories.
There are many stories here to be told and I was drawn in from the beginning by the descriptive writing of the River Thames, the characters.
I was on the river, at the inn and in the lives of this cast of characters, I always hesitate to use the word atmospheric because its used so often, but in this case its the best word I can come up with to describe the feel of this novel.


Something happens at the inn known for story telling, the Swann at Radcot when an injured man and a little girl appearing to be dead show up.
Shortly after, Rita, the nurse who could easily be a doctor, is examining the little girl and then shes not really dead anymore.
This is not just the story of the girl, who mesmerizes anyone who sees her, While she is an attraction to many people, she also represents hope to others who have lost a little girl, wanting her to be theirs.
Is she the Vaughns missing daughter Amelia or is she the Armstrongs granddaughter Alice or is she Lily Whites little sister Ann who has been missing or will she belong to Rita, who it seems has brought her back to life Does she belong to anyone There is mystery and magical realism and the fairy tale like quality of the girl was reminiscent for me of The Snow Child.
I needed to be patient with this one because I felt it was slow at times and maybe a little long.
Having said that, the writing is lovely and there are a number of characters to connect with, I loved the ending.

This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, .