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Cons [243] of The Wolf Hall Trilogy, Book 1	Strength
badly written in both products "i thought this book was badly written and a complete load of tosh not really one thing or the other"	74.1%
disliked this book in both products "9 out of the 10 of use disliked this book"	60.5%
could not stop reading in both products "i could not stop reading!"	54.7%
worst written "the story looks great but honestly this is one of the worst written books i've ever attempted to wade through"	99.9%
poor grammar "i was initially wary of buying this book as i'd read the reviews on here talking about it being hard to follow with their accusations of poor grammar"	99.8%
terribly confusing "just couldn't finish it the language is confusing all the "he" references when a group of men are talking makes it terribly confusing"	99.8%
incredibly poorly "the problem though is that it is incredibly poorly written"	99.6%
failure reading "as this can be put down to my own failure reading in a state of tiredness before bed i would advise saving this for a holiday when you can give it the attention it deserves and reap its full reward"	99.2%
extremely boring "as other reviewers have said it is very difficult to follow in places in terms of knowing which character is speaking but in addition to this i just found the whole thing very slow moving and extremely boring"	99.1%
book boring "personally i found the book boring and difficult to follow"	99.1%
rather boring "but i found it rather boring and i had to force myself to keep reading"	99.1%
very disappointed "very disappointed"	99.0%
extremely irritating "her habit of referring to characters by just a pronoun i find extremely irritating"	98.8%
with caution "he copes with the women of the court anne katherine mary and the others that serve them with caution and sometimes confusion seeing them as another problem to solve as well as possible actors in his scenarios"	98.6%
quite bereft "i feel quite bereft now i've reached the end but fortunately there are sequels to come"	98.0%
very confusing "at first the book reads in a very confusing manner cromwell referred to as 'he' throughout the entire book and it is often unclear who is talking and what about"	98.0%
boring boring "boring boring boring what a waste of money next time i will be more careful what i choose to read"	98.0%
these failings "i recommend it despite these failings for anyone who is interested in getting closer to how the tudors operated"	97.6%
clever writers "unless i am missing some clever writers point i just don't get it!"	96.5%
hugely irritating "i found this hugely irritating"	95.3%
extremely badly "extremely badly written incoherent rubbish"	93.5%
monotonous and repetitive "found it qute monotonous and repetitive"	92.7%
terribly boring "i had heard so many good things about this book but i found it terribly boring and gave up reading it about 1 3rd of the way in"	91.9%
quite confusing "the format used is quite confusing and at times difficult to follow"	91.0%
ignorant peasants "an isolated rainy island populated by uncultured aristocrats and ignorant peasants"	90.7%
fell headlong "the very first chapter grabbed me and i fell headlong into the court of henry viii"	90.1%
dull and boring "however i found the book a little dull and boring"	89.5%
skimming unforgivably "before long i began to find the literary style a sort of first person narrative delivered in the third person less interesting than weird and the stately pace of the narrative found me skimming unforgivably"	88.2%
incoherent rubbish "extremely badly written incoherent rubbish"	87.9%
most infuriating thing "the most infuriating thing though is mantel's habit of writing "he says" during a conversation between three or possibly four men meaning that you have no idea who is speaking"	85.8%
seems unclear "why it attracted such extravagant praise and won so many awards seems unclear to me though"	75.0%
wade through "great service but undoubtably the hardest book i have ever had the misfortune to wade through"	75.0%
somewhat unclear "my only minor irritation has already been mentioned by previous reviewers that of the author using the third person present tense throughout the book the term 'he' was somewhat unclear at times particularly in conversation and i'm surprised this was not commented on before permitting publication"	74.9%
very difficult "getting to the end of the book must be something akin to climbing a very difficult mountain and getting to the top"	74.9%
bogged down "it takes its time to get anywhere and sometimes gets bogged down under the weight of its constant thinking reaction and action plotting and planning"	74.9%
pointlessly confusing "mantel's prose is stumbling and repetitive with the pointlessly confusing use of pronouns proving an impediment to the reader's understanding"	74.9%
blatant transgression "this is a book to be grappled with to ignore the blatant transgression from grammatical writing to move on and enjoy the prose never mind the delightful historical inaccuracy"	74.9%
borderline unreadable "i’ve not read any of hilary mantel’s previous books so this may be an unfair judgement but i found this book to be borderline unreadable"	74.9%
adverse reviews "however i bought this despite having read a great many adverse reviews especially in a "oldie magazine" article"	74.9%
no longer bothered "at first i had a bit of a problem with hilary mantel's style of writing this novel but i was soon so captivated by the story that it no longer bothered me"	74.8%
even worse "" so clearly the author is as confused as you are and if it's voluntary for purpose of style it's even worse "	74.8%
very disjointed "at times it felt very disjointed and seemed to jump around"	74.8%
totally confused "everyone appears to be called thomas and i got totally confused"	74.7%
complete mess "the book is a complete mess and how this won the man booker prize is a mystery to me but it doesn't make me want to read any other winners"	74.7%
badly used "i was a little put off by a couple of earlier reviews saying this was hard to follow and pronouns are badly used"	74.6%
very badly "thomas more is very badly done by in htis and if you hate present tense books watch out but it is a great read"	74.6%
very clunky "i enjoyed the content and insight but took me several attempts to read this book and having read it still find the style very clunky"	74.6%
vulnerable characters "thomas cromwell is devious and ambitious but strangely sensitive to some vulnerable characters and aware of his loneliness"	74.6%
lack of experience "the thing is i'm not sure if the writing was meant to give a sense of writing for a different age or was just a sign of the authors lack of experience at the time of writing"	74.6%
absolutely obnoxious "henry is absolutely obnoxious and he and ann deserve each other"	74.5%
double check "i bought the kindle version so it wasn't so easy to flip back to double check i had the right character!"	74.5%
failed grammar "just now and then i completely fail to understand a couple of paragraphs clouded as they are by failed grammar and a failure to complete a thread of logic"	74.5%
missed opportunity "to me this book is a missed opportunity"	74.5%
becomes irrelevant "the length is daunting before beginning but once into it that becomes irrelevant"	74.4%
begin with "to begin with it was almost impossible to fathom out whether wolsey was speaking cromwell or cavendish"	74.4%
negative reviews "i am late in reading wolf hall mainly because i let the negative reviews sway me"	74.3%
overly complicated "the way in which it is written does seem overly complicated"	74.2%
crime drama "sansom's shardlake series which have a good degree of historical interest interspersed amongst an interesting crime drama although i do think the latter books are getting a bit to thin credulity and originality and its probably time to move on"	74.0%
does n't often "this author knows what she's doing i'm pretty sure the booker doesn't often go to people who don't punctuate good and if you take the plunge you'll be gripped"	74.0%
fatal confrontations "cromwell has his measure in this book but remains under no illusions that he must proceed with caution to avoid potentially fatal confrontations"	73.9%
impossible read "i'm a big fan of historical novels but the peculiar idiosyncratic style of 'wolf hall' made it an impossible read for me"	73.9%
turgid tome "i cannot understand what people find so fantastic about this turgid tome"	73.8%
only minor irritation "my only minor irritation has already been mentioned by previous reviewers that of the author using the third person present tense throughout the book the term 'he' was somewhat unclear at times particularly in conversation and i'm surprised this was not commented on before permitting publication"	73.7%
rather contrived "the style of writing is rather contrived and left me wondering if the author was engaging in an academic game as in : "see how cleverly i can weave an historical plot and keep you guessing on the links between the characters""	73.5%
infamous figure "this has raised the standard of historical novel writing and has added substantially to the literature on the life and time of the infamous figure of thomas cromwell"	73.3%
time consuming "recommend this book for avid readers as it is time consuming!"	72.8%
more wrong "however i could not have been more wrong"	72.5%
never laboured "it is written in a very straightforward style with the historical detail and sense of the period worn lightly and never laboured"	72.4%
rather sketchy "cromwell in real life has a rather sketchy history growing up with contradictions and some mystery but as far as can be discerned he served as a mercenary did learn languages and helped to accommodate trade deals"	71.6%
feel traitorous "i feel traitorous giving this book such a low star scores: there are times when i found myself thinking the writing was magnificent a genuine masterpiece that would stand through time"	71.2%
diverse progress "yet it is a human book in its diverse progress the tangents and confusions that we can understand"	71.0%
more horrific "i also feel whilst acknowledging the fact that he was a brilliant mind and a great statesman it glossed over the darker and more horrific outcomes of some of his policies and almost portrayed him as 'misunderstood'"	70.8%
hard and difficult "cromwell is a man with a hard and difficult upbringing who by guile and luck rises in a machiavellian world of wheeling and dealing from a low beginning to a high position at court"	70.5%
lost my enthusiasm for "maybe it would have got better had i persevered with it but i had lost my enthusiasm for it at that point"	70.3%
less pleasant "lack of even basic historical knowledge of the period might make this a less pleasant experience for anyone who doesn't know the history but it would still be a good read"	70.2%
many reviewers "i think that this is a king's clothes type of book and many reviewers are afraid to admit that they didn't enjoy it as it's very 'of the moment'"	70.2%
another problem "he copes with the women of the court anne katherine mary and the others that serve them with caution and sometimes confusion seeing them as another problem to solve as well as possible actors in his scenarios"	70.2%
awful structure "you hardly even know who the author is talking about you always find the awful structure: "he cromwell thought"	69.8%
painful to read "the first chapter was fantastic but then it became too painful to read"	69.3%
less interesting "before long i began to find the literary style a sort of first person narrative delivered in the third person less interesting than weird and the stately pace of the narrative found me skimming unforgivably"	69.2%
biggest problem "the biggest problem i found was the style of writing the continual use of the word "he" when you do not know who is being referred to although usually it was cromwell and the lack of quotation marks so you did not know whether it was speech or an aside"	69.2%
little persperverance "with a little persperverance over the first 100 pages and a supporting role from wikipedia you gain the impression that hilary has channeled thomas cromwell onto the page from a gorge of research tudor history has wavered between being to academic and tiresome to simple and prime time here you feel how history was transformed by a number of powerful characters with commited human agendas"	69.1%
disjointed reading "however it does make for disjointed reading which makes it difficult to give an objective review sorry "	69.1%
have worried "however the next chapter was a flashback that revealed all the missing details and filled in the blanks so i needn't have worried"	69.0%
with irritation "i should have had every reason for not really enjoying this: i don't have patience with long novels i don't particularly like historical fiction nothing principled but they are often stilted and i always find myself obsessing over which bits are real and which extemporised and i don't usually like things written in the present tense coetzee's disgrace had me screaming with irritation "	68.9%
not intimately known "hilary mantel breathes essential life into names that form part of our national heritage but whose characters are not intimately known"	68.9%
convoluted passage "when there's a convoluted passage but no names just 'he' it's just too disruptive to the flow of the dialogue to have to keep referring back a couple of paragraphs to check that the author does in fact mean 'cromwell'"	68.9%
hard backs "i find that paper backs are easier to read in bed than hard backs but in any edition this writer pleases"	68.5%
sometimes difficult "i found the style of writing very irritating and sometimes difficult to follow"	67.9%
unfair judgement "i’ve not read any of hilary mantel’s previous books so this may be an unfair judgement but i found this book to be borderline unreadable"	67.6%
several chapters i gave "after referring constantly back to this for several chapters i gave up"	67.3%
wrong with "my wife enjoyed it but to me that signifies there is something wrong with her not me!"	67.3%
heavy going "however it was heavy going"	67.3%
inept and i lost "to me it seems inept and i lost interest very quickly"	67.2%
difficult to follow "the format used is quite confusing and at times difficult to follow"	67.1%
hardly touched "the whole book rolls inexorably towards the execution of sir thomas more but that when it finally happens is hardly touched on"	66.7%
found difficult "good read though found difficult to follow when only reading a few pages in bed!"	66.6%
very stubborn "it dose give a refreshing new light on all the characters even thomas more who was probably very stubborn"	66.2%
claustrophobic maybe "but it boils down to the lives of 4 main characters which made the book feel a bit claustrophobic maybe this was intentional"	65.5%
paper backs "i find that paper backs are easier to read in bed than hard backs but in any edition this writer pleases"	64.8%
real shame "a real shame as it’s set in such an incredible point in british history"	64.4%
not alone in this "i see i am not alone in this"	64.3%
lost in places "like the previous reviewer i get lost in places"	64.1%
hate leaving books "this book i didn't like hate leaving books as i adore books but this one leaves me cold"	63.6%
muddy impassable roads "the mist on the river dark and dangerous london streets muddy impassable roads are all too real"	63.1%
pages long "650 pages long but very descriptive!"	62.8%
downside the style "only downside the style of writing in parts where you have to 'guess' who the text is about usually its thomas cromwell but it can easily be an exchange of 'conversation' with another character and the two have to be separated "	62.8%
more sorry "it isn't just that ann boleyn is shown as an utter bitch rather than a tragic queen okay most people have already come to that conclusion or that that steadfast man for all seasons sir thomas more sorry st"	62.8%
slow burn others "a reader picking up a book any book is seeking to get engaged some books are a slow burn others arresting from the beginning"	62.2%
ignore the constant "try to ignore the constant and at times confusing use of the word "he" and you'll get along just fine"	62.1%
compulsive reading "i honestly cannot understand the reviews criticising the writing style i have found the novel easy to read and compulsive reading when mantel writes “he said thinks etc” it is referring to cromwell"	62.0%
after several tries "perhaps i am just too dim but i gave up after several tries"	61.8%
much impatience "i await the third book with as much impatience as every other reader"	61.7%
faint hearted "you have to commit to read it it is not for the faint hearted at 600+ pages"	61.6%
little disconcerted "like many of the other reviewers i too felt a little disconcerted when i looked at the preview of the book and saw it was largely written in the present tense"	61.4%
ultimate helplessness "cromwell's service to the monstrous henry viii his strength his intelligence but ultimate helplessness in the face of henry's psychopathic selfishness is chilling fascinating and totally believable "	61.4%
almost nothing "i knew almost nothing about thomas cromwell before reading this but fascinated by him now"	61.3%
unclear prose and number "some have criticised the grammar errors unclear prose and number of incidental characters"	61.3%
missing something here "am i missing something here?"	60.8%
objective review sorry "however it does make for disjointed reading which makes it difficult to give an objective review sorry "	60.6%
writing or poor editing "not sure if this was an intentional "modern" take on writing or poor editing!"	60.3%
does n't know the history "lack of even basic historical knowledge of the period might make this a less pleasant experience for anyone who doesn't know the history but it would still be a good read"	60.2%
minor functionaries "mantel has said that she was keen to look at the events of henry’s reign through other eyes than the wives the king himself the minor functionaries of court"	60.1%
stilted and hard "i found the writing to be a bit stilted and hard to engage with"	60.0%
really concentrate "you need to really concentrate!"	59.5%
your thing "if its not your thing you can just pass the book to a charity shop"	59.3%
wrong way round "i probably read it "the wrong way round" having seen the tv series first but the image of cromwell rang very true and all the historic characters came across as complete people rather than cut outs from history lessons"	58.8%
subtitles were rubbish "i bought this because i was unable to see the tv dramatisation i'm hearing impaired and the subtitles were rubbish "	58.7%
struggled along "i struggled along for forty pages thinking was it me?"	58.7%
more complicated "the writing style is such that concentration is essential as the story becomes more complicated"	58.5%
a hard slog "i gave up very early on trying to figure out who said what to whom and i just went with the flow but it was a hard slog"	58.2%
difficult at times "again difficult at times to identify the characters especially as they were somwtimes referred to by title rather than name"	58.0%
laborious and confusing "however as others have indicated the strange narrative style makes this one very laborious and confusing in parts"	57.4%
also rather pretentious "gave up after 50% found it too dense and confusing also rather pretentious!"	57.3%
even more compulsive "the sequel is an even more compulsive read"	57.3%
spendthrift cruel wife "the miracle is that as long as i'm reading wolf hall i find myself accepting the notion of henry viii as a decent chap who just needs befriending instead of the wilful egotistical greedy spendthrift cruel wife murdering monster i see him as the moment i shut the book"	57.2%
difficult to get into "i found the book quite difficult to get into and had a few attempts at it"	57.2%
quite a hard slog "i found the book quite a hard slog and must admit to skipping some kindle pages when the character was of no interest to me but on the whole i enjoyed it and would recemmend it to someone who enjoyes historical novels"	57.0%
found confusing "my only caveat would be technicalities her punctuation around dialogue for example i found confusing"	56.9%
grammer is useless "as others have said you have no sense of who is talking or being talked about and the grammer is useless"	56.7%
story is very slow "so many different characters to remember and the story is very slow moving"	56.4%
most disappointing "a most disappointing purchase"	56.4%
amost confusing style "it is written in amost confusing style and i find it personally difficult to follow"	56.2%
bookl really heavy "i found this bookl really heavy going"	56.1%
starts as a lowly "there is no explanation of the reason for the rise of incredible thomas cromwell who starts as a lowly lad and suddenly metamorphoses into this educated giant of a man"	56.1%
nothing much "also nothing much seemed to happen no twists turns surprises to keep you hanging on and wanting more"	56.0%
quite heavy going "this was highly recommended but i found it quite heavy going"	55.9%
up almost straight away "don't know what all the fuss is about this writer this book is far too wordy got fed up almost straight away"	55.7%
almost as dangerous "being in the king's favour was almost as dangerous as being his enemy"	55.7%
last i wish "the last book of hers that i read i promised myself would be the last i wish i had kept to that promise"	55.7%
speech marks "the only complaint i had were that there weren't any speech marks where there should have been so it meant i had to re read the passage again which was a little annoying"	55.6%
not that good "i'm afraid most historians are not that good at writing however good they are with facts"	55.6%
library copy "still haven't got round to reading it but don't have to keep borrowing a library copy and renewing it much more cost effective!"	55.4%
not a difficult book "now i read for enjoyment not a challenge and i have to say that this is not a difficult book"	55.4%
something so heavy "having read wolf hall twice in the original hard back i decided it would be nice to have in digital format in order to read when on the move or where holding something so heavy would be off putting"	55.2%
that ann boleyn "it isn't just that ann boleyn is shown as an utter bitch rather than a tragic queen okay most people have already come to that conclusion or that that steadfast man for all seasons sir thomas more sorry st"	55.2%
marry ann boleyn "with reformations in the church structure cromwell enables henry to marry ann boleyn and make her daughter elizabeth heir to the english throne"	55.2%
hard back copy "i bought the kindle version initially but this is a book to savour so i am now purchasing a hard back copy for my shelf"	55.1%
very long book "difficult style to get into and a very long book the narrative is rich in metaphors and contextual observation so you get a feel for the whole location like it's a film and the characters are real"	55.0%
find it a trifle "perhaps if you are interested in this period of english history you will quickly get into this story however if your interest is for a good read you may find it a trifle dry"	54.9%
actually gave up "some friends actually gave up !"	54.9%
their accusations "i was initially wary of buying this book as i'd read the reviews on here talking about it being hard to follow with their accusations of poor grammar"	54.7%
n't make reading easy "the writing style didn't make reading easy"	54.7%
so with mantel "not so with mantel"	54.7%
referring constantly "after referring constantly back to this for several chapters i gave up"	54.6%
have put down away "one of the very few books i have put down away out"	54.6%
became used to the book "i'm usually a fairly quick reader but for this book i just slowed right down and re read a few sentences until i became used to the book"	54.6%
hard to follow "gave up before i got to half way i couldn’t figure out who was saying what and the conversations were just too hard to follow"	54.6%
very long time "this is one of the best books i have read in a very long time"	54.6%
challenge in the books "but i like a challenge in the books i read and it's easy to get the hang of it"	54.6%
n't mind that "but i don't mind that and for that i have given it 4 stars"	54.6%
not experience that "however i did not experience that and there seemed so many longueurs as to fall well short of a great novel"	54.6%
not a story make "a well of fine words do not a story make"	54.6%
gave up half way through "gave up half way through"	54.5%
dialogue problem "i doubt if i will read "bring up the bodies" if i have to waste time on the dialogue problem again"	54.5%
very disappointing "sorry but very disappointing"	54.5%
will no longer "i will no longer have any confidence in the manbooker prize or short list again"	54.5%
followers of damien hirst "like the followers of damien hirst no doubt"	54.5%
missed here "i feel an opportunity is missed here"	54.4%
a hard copy "this is the first book i have found that it would be better to have as a hard copy"	54.3%
such a hard slog "however it has been such a hard slog instead of the anticipated pleasure"	54.3%
real chore "i only hope i don't forget the text i have already ploughed through and have to reread it that would be a real chore"	54.2%
says do n't be childish ""he says don't be childish"	54.1%
unsure who was speaking "lots of conversation so at times was unsure who was speaking"	54.0%
almost dry of personality "tried several times now it is written well but feels almost dry of personality"	53.9%
just did n't grip "i had to abandon it about the third of the way through as it just didn’t grip me"	53.9%
declared void "he manages to keep henry v111 onside by setting up a situation where henry's marriage to katherine of aragon could be declared void "	53.9%
similar to our brexit "with seemingly effortless ease she describes a world similar to our brexit one"	53.9%
outside of thomas "i longed to stand outside of thomas the better to see how the world saw him but i get the point of the writers device none the less"	53.9%
too wordy and hard "far too wordy and hard work"	53.7%
looong and slow "i'm so torn on this one i liked it and i love the era and i'm fascinated by the history but its so looong and slow that it sucks the enjoyment of it all"	53.7%
just lost interest "later i picked it up again determined to get on with it but again i just lost interest"	53.5%
gave up on that "i had previously bought 'a place of greater safety' back in the early 1990's but gave up on that after just a few pages"	53.4%
missing something "was i missing something?"	53.4%
not always clear "this is written in a confusing way where it is not always clear as to who is speaking or thinking"	53.4%
very irritating "i found the style of writing very irritating and sometimes difficult to follow"	53.3%
the kind of book "not the kind of book i usually read but couldn't put it down"	53.2%
ambitious ann boleyn "by the end of the book cromwell has watched the relationship between henry and ambitious ann boleyn and her family develop and then wither as ann fails to produce a male heir to the english throne"	53.1%
guile and luck rises "cromwell is a man with a hard and difficult upbringing who by guile and luck rises in a machiavellian world of wheeling and dealing from a low beginning to a high position at court"	53.0%
short overrated crap "in short overrated crap"	53.0%
negative side "but on the negative side i did not find it a 'page turner' as clearly some of the ardent fans of the novel did"	53.0%
unfunny so called comics "made a big change from foul mouthed unfunny so called comics shouting at you from your tv"	52.8%
gave up again "i loved that and soon got used to the style of writing and so gave wolf hall another go but i gave up again"	52.7%
hilary mantel "what a special lady is hilary mantel"	52.7%
void in my life "i may have to slow down as the paperback 'bring up the bodies" is not out until may and i will be left with a void in my life when i get to the end of wolf hall"	52.6%
dense and confusing "gave up after 50% found it too dense and confusing also rather pretentious!"	52.6%
made it difficult "of writing that it first made it difficult"	52.5%
leaves me cold "this book i didn't like hate leaving books as i adore books but this one leaves me cold"	52.5%
psychopathic selfishness "cromwell's service to the monstrous henry viii his strength his intelligence but ultimate helplessness in the face of henry's psychopathic selfishness is chilling fascinating and totally believable "	52.4%
difficult to adjust "i found it difficult to understand who was speaking at times and the writing style difficult to adjust to"	52.4%
querulous dictator "king henry is sometimes a child to be placated an impossible querulous dictator"	52.4%
still do n't like "thought i'd get used to it but having just finished the second book 'bring up the bodies' i still don't like it "	52.3%
often difficult "if fact have you ever sat in a business meeting where it's a subject you know a tiny bit about but everyone else in the room seems to know more than you do and it's often difficult to follow what they are saying?"	52.2%
waste of money "a waste of money for me"	52.2%
aware of his loneliness "thomas cromwell is devious and ambitious but strangely sensitive to some vulnerable characters and aware of his loneliness"	52.1%
fairly difficult read "the story is set in the times of king henry viii and anne boleyn and it has much to commend it i found myself wanting to know what was going to happen next in spite of the style of writing that leaves a bit to be desired and makes for a fairly difficult read"	52.0%
utter bitch "it isn't just that ann boleyn is shown as an utter bitch rather than a tragic queen okay most people have already come to that conclusion or that that steadfast man for all seasons sir thomas more sorry st"	52.0%
difficult to read "such an interesting and exciting book but my word it is so difficult to read"	51.9%
minute fill "my husband and i are both reading it at the moment and we're both struggling to finish it as it's not the sort of book you can just pick up for a ten minute fill in read!"	51.9%
bit cold and distant "the only slight criticism from me it's that it can seem a bit cold and distant on occasions"	51.9%
which was annoying "although a really fascinating story of this complex man i did find the style of hilary mantel's writing rather hard going i kept having to refer back to who was who which was annoying "	51.8%
grammatical errors "this book is full of grammatical errors and is not exciting at all"	51.7%
difficult to put down "once started it is difficult to put down"	51.7%
assume it's cromwell "if in doubt assume it's cromwell"	51.6%
became a blur at times "the main characterisations henry ann boleyn and of course cromwell were exquisitely drawn and i found them compelling but some of the other characters became a blur at times"	51.5%
anne katherine mary "he copes with the women of the court anne katherine mary and the others that serve them with caution and sometimes confusion seeing them as another problem to solve as well as possible actors in his scenarios"	51.5%
codpiece cometh ""prithee my lord methinks thy codpiece cometh undone" hilary mantel is unmatched in the field of historical fiction "faction" and the parts that she has extrapolated and invented are totally credible and merge seamlessly with historical fact"	51.5%
cardinal wolsey cromwell "trained in the arts of diplomacy and politics by cardinal wolsey cromwell is clever slippery and a good judge of character "	51.5%
channeled thomas cromwell "with a little persperverance over the first 100 pages and a supporting role from wikipedia you gain the impression that hilary has channeled thomas cromwell onto the page from a gorge of research tudor history has wavered between being to academic and tiresome to simple and prime time here you feel how history was transformed by a number of powerful characters with commited human agendas"	51.5%
except it does "except it doesn't!"	51.3%
difficult read "the way this is written made for a difficult read for me"	51.3%
quite heavy reading "great book but quite heavy reading i would recommend this book"	51.2%
short and brutal "life in this period could be and often was short and brutal and this book shows us how and why"	51.1%
even madder "the tudor world is a mad world even madder than the 21st century world"	51.0%
would not recommend "would not recommend"	50.8%
writers device none "i longed to stand outside of thomas the better to see how the world saw him but i get the point of the writers device none the less"	50.8%
found it dull "sorry to be so negative but i just found it dull!"	50.8%
quotation marks "the biggest problem i found was the style of writing the continual use of the word "he" when you do not know who is being referred to although usually it was cromwell and the lack of quotation marks so you did not know whether it was speech or an aside"	50.7%
after 20 pages or "i gave up after 20 pages or so"	50.3%
less favourable "i can see the reasoning behind some of the less favourable comments i"	50.3%
less conjecture "and of course if you want more history and less conjecture read a biography"	50.3%
tough to read at points "tough to read at points"	50.3%
hardly ever "i hardly ever give up on a book after reading half of it"	50.2%
...

Cons [152] of The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay	Strength
badly written in both products "pages are left half filled words unnecessarily broken in two and linked with a hyphen and it is badly written"	74.1%
gave up half in both products "so predictable i almost gave up half way through but persevered and there weren't any surprises"	65.5%
disliked this book in both products "i really disliked this book"	60.5%
negative review in both products "i hate to leave such a negative review but feel its more than justified in this case"	60.2%
could not stop reading in both products "could not stop reading it"	53.9%
quite dull "i found it really quite dull and not well written at all and i’m just curious how this book is up there in the recommended lists etc on amazon kindle?"	99.6%
awful characters "awful characters really awful grammar don't waste your money on it"	99.6%
boring characters "this was a very poor story boring characters and story line"	99.5%
just terrible "just terrible"	99.5%
real disappointment "this book was a real disappointment"	99.2%
really awful "awful characters really awful grammar don't waste your money on it"	98.9%
poor specimen "i would not class this poor specimen of literature as a "best seller""	98.6%
quite boring "not one character was believable and the whole book was quite boring"	98.2%
really lazy "there is some really lazy writing although the plot could have been the makings of a great book"	96.8%
quite crude "it was for me an unlikely story and in parts quite crude"	96.7%
totally ruined "the story itself is really nice but totally ruined by the telling don’t bother it’ll infuriate you!"	92.9%
crude language "what jars is the crude language which doesn't sit well with the characters and is totally unnecessary"	91.4%
with dementia "i bought this book as a carer for 2 parents with dementia and i could not put it down"	91.1%
totally superfluous "it was utterly ruined by totally superfluous sex "	90.2%
struggled to finish "i thought this was going to be an enjoyable however was disappointed struggled to finish it"	90.1%
language attitude "in this book the bad language attitude and overall storyline tested my patience to say the least"	89.9%
thoroughly unlikeable "for me the issue is the main character who is thoroughly unlikeable"	89.8%
writing is dull "the story idea and setting are all okay if very standard stuff but the writing is dull and lacks any kind of originality"	89.8%
promiscuity and adultery "it was therefore unexpectedly disappointing after listening to the sample which gives no clue that the content will be a constant story of promiscuity and adultery running through the story line"	89.2%
rather crude "i thought the writing was very poor and it was rather crude in places which i just found cringy"	89.0%
promiscuity adultery "the original mystery of the inheritance of a cottage by an unknown benefactor demishes and in my opinion sadly looses entrigue as it's overtaken by the promiscuity adultery and deceit that the characters base their whole lives on"	88.9%
dreadful quality "that however does not excuse the dreadful quality of writing this book contains"	88.8%
made me cringe "the references to her friend jack daniels made me cringe it may suit an aging rocker like keith richards but a slightly naïve girl in her early 20s?"	88.3%
mixed expectations "i started this book with mixed expectations but was gripped by its characters in a very short time and continued to care about them to the very end"	88.0%
unbelievably frustrating "format is unbelievably frustrating i thought my kindle was broken until i noticed others mention it"	87.3%
grief tears "mystery romance grief tears and kept you waiting till the end can’t wait to start the second book by this author"	84.8%
became engrossed "as an older reader i wasn't sure when i started reading this whether i could relate to the story but soon became engrossed"	74.9%
occasional error "the only thing that let it down for me was a technicality it wasn't proof read properly as there was an occasional error"	74.9%
were implausible "the characters were implausible even in my wildest imagination and the plot was shallow and ill thought out"	74.9%
relationship problem "i can appreciate the relationship problem but not the jumping into bed with someone you have known for ten minutes!"	74.8%
orphan rosa "orphan rosa has been left a shop in a seaside resort"	74.8%
predictable ending "this is a light easy to read book with a predictable ending but that is the kind of book we need to read at times and for one of those times i would recommend this book!"	74.8%
were so superficial "i didn’t even finish it because the characters were so superficial"	74.8%
pointless details "but there was the frequent mistake of including too much irrelevant material for example involving the dog "hot" and also the pointless details of for example the making of a cup of coffee"	74.7%
avoid this "make sure you turn off one click ordering to avoid this"	74.7%
ignored completely "so trite and predictable and serious plot developments glossed over or ignored completely"	74.7%
horrible person ""get out of my house you horrible person" seemed an out of character thing for a man to say"	74.7%
felt rushed "even that felt rushed"	74.7%
other disappointment "the other disappointment is the complete lack of editing which results in a total and annoying hotchpotch of pages being justified on the left and then the right and page breaks half way down and whole pages dedicated to one word and alternative words that the author couldn't decide on at the time both being left in together and run ons of dialogue from one character to another appearing on the same line etc etc"	74.7%
very superficial "the whole thing seemed very superficial"	74.6%
most ridiculous "i found it crass vulgar with the most ridiculous of story lines the book seems to be aimed at giggling teenagers who don't mind reading about "shags" "badger's fanny" etc etc"	74.6%
senseless decisions "characters are scatty at best often spiteful and selfish in the extreme making senseless decisions"	74.5%
only problem "only problem was finishing it"	74.5%
became bored "i just became bored despite the many good reviews from other people"	74.5%
complete lack "the other disappointment is the complete lack of editing which results in a total and annoying hotchpotch of pages being justified on the left and then the right and page breaks half way down and whole pages dedicated to one word and alternative words that the author couldn't decide on at the time both being left in together and run ons of dialogue from one character to another appearing on the same line etc etc"	74.4%
poorly written "really really poorly written and i don’t mean the woeful typing page breaks and inaccurate hyphenation"	74.4%
being harsh "maybe i'm being harsh "	74.3%
wasted nonetheless "the only saving grace is that it is a short read but time wasted nonetheless"	74.1%
little hot dog head "rosa and little hot dog head for the devon countryside and their next adventure"	74.1%
nosey buggers "no secrets and some nosey buggers but it was a good way of life and i sometimes miss it"	73.7%
very average "what really impresses me is the marketing and hype surrounding what is in fact a very average nothing special sort of book"	73.3%
wasted my money "i may have wasted my money this time but i now know not to buy anything else by this author"	72.9%
weak mistery "written in an easy to read style didn't get me interested in its shallow story and the weak mistery that tries to spice the boredom"	71.8%
harsh that "well i thought that may be some of the reviews were a little harsh that was until i had read this book"	71.5%
rather predictable "it was a nice enough story but rather predictable"	70.7%
some potential none "plot had some potential none of which was realised"	70.0%
trouble makers "failed to predict the trouble makers and was surprised by the whole thing"	69.3%
rushed and predictable "however it had a rushed and predictable ending"	68.8%
pesky thing "the sort of book you hate to put down but that pesky thing called work gets in the way!"	68.6%
poor start "having had a poor start in life in care then a series of dead end jobs she makes her way to cockleberry bay to have a look at her inheritance"	68.4%
waste your money "awful characters really awful grammar don't waste your money on it"	68.1%
predictable and weak "simplistic predictable and weak"	68.0%
ridiculously easy "it was a ridiculously easy read whilst on a sun lounger but i’ll stick to my psychological thrillers from now on!"	67.9%
unrealistic voices "i could not use my imagination on voices or my own interpretation of how things were said by the characters as the unrealistic voices of the men in the story did not make me like or dislike them just made them lacking in any personality"	67.6%
harsh words "a few harsh words i think but none the less true to life"	67.4%
leave a book unfinished "i found this book so bad i didn’t finish it and it is rare for me to leave a book unfinished"	67.2%
much irrelevant material "but there was the frequent mistake of including too much irrelevant material for example involving the dog "hot" and also the pointless details of for example the making of a cup of coffee"	66.1%
last forever "really good read wanted it to last forever "	66.0%
story weak "story weak and characters little or no morals "	65.5%
nothing special "it's nothing special really"	65.3%
lack of care "lack of care in the writing"	64.6%
shame as the storyline "shame as the storyline could be good if written better"	64.5%
borrowed it originally "borrowed it originally through prime reading"	64.2%
bored with "stopped reading this half way through as i became bored with it"	64.1%
giving bad reviews "sorry i don’t like giving bad reviews and maybe if i was a lot younger i would be less cynical so maybe younger women would enjoy it"	63.8%
trouble putting it down "a throughly good read i had trouble putting it down and was sad when i finished it"	62.0%
total and annoying "the other disappointment is the complete lack of editing which results in a total and annoying hotchpotch of pages being justified on the left and then the right and page breaks half way down and whole pages dedicated to one word and alternative words that the author couldn't decide on at the time both being left in together and run ons of dialogue from one character to another appearing on the same line etc etc"	61.7%
childish quality "the writing did seem to have a childish quality to it as mentioned by several other reviewers"	61.4%
confirm suspicion "read to end to confirm suspicion!"	60.3%
shallow and ill thought "the characters were implausible even in my wildest imagination and the plot was shallow and ill thought out"	60.3%
time wasted "i persevered and read it to the end which didn’t take long but even that felt like time wasted"	59.9%
totally unnecessary "what jars is the crude language which doesn't sit well with the characters and is totally unnecessary"	59.4%
enhancing story "didn't like language and sexual references not enhancing story"	59.1%
writing was very poor "i thought the writing was very poor and it was rather crude in places which i just found cringy"	58.8%
constant story "it was therefore unexpectedly disappointing after listening to the sample which gives no clue that the content will be a constant story of promiscuity and adultery running through the story line"	58.7%
trite and predictable "so trite and predictable and serious plot developments glossed over or ignored completely"	58.6%
thinking the good are "thinking the good are bad and the bad are good people"	58.1%
raping women "little did i realise it would be full of young women having sex with anyone that looked at them sometimes in exchange for rent and lewd men having affairs and raping women"	57.9%
inaccurate hyphenation "really really poorly written and i don’t mean the woeful typing page breaks and inaccurate hyphenation"	57.6%
could n't guess "what more is needed a family story with unusual twists you couldn't guess at!"	57.4%
that ruined "too full on about sex good enough story but that ruined it"	57.2%
sometimes miss "no secrets and some nosey buggers but it was a good way of life and i sometimes miss it"	56.9%
no spoilers here "no spoilers here"	56.6%
n't spoil anything "a feel good book that ended as i expected but didn't spoil anything"	56.5%
failed to buy the spot "i have recently read a few books which failed to buy the spot and was getting to the point of giving in finding something that would draw me in"	56.3%
author doesnt "great author doesnt disappoint and wondering which one to pick next off to read a review and choose"	56.1%
no space ships "this was not my usual type of book not science fiction no space ships"	56.1%
spiteful and selfish "characters are scatty at best often spiteful and selfish in the extreme making senseless decisions"	56.1%
bother it 'll infuriate "the story itself is really nice but totally ruined by the telling don’t bother it’ll infuriate you!"	55.9%
only trouble "the only trouble is i can’t put it down"	55.9%
kinda predictable "this was an easy wee read but kinda predictable"	55.9%
sloppy and unprofessional "as picky as this might sound proper editing is essential for the reader's enjoyment of the work and quite frankly to publish a manuscript in this state is unforgivably sloppy and unprofessional"	55.8%
aging rocker "the references to her friend jack daniels made me cringe it may suit an aging rocker like keith richards but a slightly naïve girl in her early 20s?"	55.7%
no discernable plot "apart from the mystery of who bequeath her the shop there is no discernable plot"	55.4%
unnecessarily broken in "pages are left half filled words unnecessarily broken in two and linked with a hyphen and it is badly written"	55.2%
predictable love story "this is a predictable love story with very little excitement in the whole book"	55.2%
were no taxis "the author can’t keep her facts straight for one: it’s a white van now it’s a green van a character got a lift because there were no taxis but then a chapter later the trip was taken in a taxi"	54.9%
n't take long "i persevered and read it to the end which didn’t take long but even that felt like time wasted"	54.7%
does not allude to this "the sample audio does not allude to this"	54.7%
n't really pinpoint "can't really pinpoint it"	54.7%
could not put this down "wow i could not put this down"	54.7%
hardly any swearing "i liked that there was hardly any swearing"	54.7%
could not put it down "could not put it down"	54.7%
sounded the same "sorry did not like the narration found the female doing it obviously could not do male voices so they all sounded the same and used a drawling way of speaking which put me right off"	54.6%
found it boring "found it boring and it the author has to rely on sex and bad language in order to sell a book then she really shouldn't bother writing at all"	54.6%
fictitious for words "plot a little too fictitious for words"	54.0%
completely baffled "completely baffled how this book has been awarded 5 stars!"	54.0%
language a bit coarse "i found the language a bit coarse and it didn't appeal to me :"	53.9%
were n't any surprises "so predictable i almost gave up half way through but persevered and there weren't any surprises"	53.8%
sadly a stark reminder "it's true to life but sadly a stark reminder of the promiscuity out there running through the generations"	53.6%
read a bad book "they say life is too short to read a bad book how true so i haven’t finished it and don t intend to"	53.6%
very little excitement "this is a predictable love story with very little excitement in the whole book"	53.6%
frequent mistake "but there was the frequent mistake of including too much irrelevant material for example involving the dog "hot" and also the pointless details of for example the making of a cup of coffee"	53.5%
detracted from the story "however generally its development is slightly disappointing with a great deal of crude seemingly unnecessary and less than artistic sexual content which i found detracted from the story"	53.5%
times and irritating "this was not as good as i thought it would be predictable at times and irritating at times"	53.5%
dead end jobs "having had a poor start in life in care then a series of dead end jobs she makes her way to cockleberry bay to have a look at her inheritance"	53.4%
could n't t care less "i also wish i had ordered a sample before paying rosa’s very detailed sex life just deters from the story which if better written would have been interesting and while i was interested at the beginning of the book to find out who her benefactor was now i couldn’t t care less"	53.3%
a grown up novel "the dialogue is appalling and is worthy of a school play not a grown up novel"	53.2%
questionable morality "poorly written with a mindless storyline unbelievable characters with questionable morality"	53.1%
read it rot yourself "i could not put it down please read it rot yourself"	52.9%
spoil the journey "the ending was predictable but didn't spoil the journey there"	52.7%
were muddled "sentences were muddled and sometimes there would just be one word on a page"	52.6%
definate no from "a definate no from me"	52.5%
come out of nowhere "a pleasant read but sometimes the pacing of the plot was a bit odd problems come out of nowhere are drawn out for long periods with nothing happening and then suddenly solved conveniently in half a paragraph some plot 'twists' are also super obvious while others serve no real purpose"	52.3%
never read "i bought this book ages ago but never read it"	52.2%
worst book "quite right i think it's probably the worst book i have ever read and i did read it all thinking it may get better!"	52.2%
sucked in the characters "it had lots of twists and turns it kept you on your toes and totally sucked in the characters were very believable it was easy to read in fact once i started it i couldn’t put it diwn"	52.1%
very short time "i started this book with mixed expectations but was gripped by its characters in a very short time and continued to care about them to the very end"	52.0%
awful this "i can only think that by the recommendation "the book that everyone's talking about" means they are actually talking about how awful this is"	51.7%
rosa josh titch "i wanted to find out what happens to rosa josh titch and mary"	51.5%
crude and clumsy "the writer will no doubt argue it all goes to the psyche of the heroine of the book but it is crude and clumsy and detracts from what should be an enjoyable tale"	51.4%
hard to put it down "hard to put it down"	51.4%
much romance "too much romance and not enough mystery"	51.3%
enough mystery "too much romance and not enough mystery"	50.9%
hate to put down "the sort of book you hate to put down but that pesky thing called work gets in the way!"	50.8%
bother writing at "found it boring and it the author has to rely on sex and bad language in order to sell a book then she really shouldn't bother writing at all"	50.5%
mills and boony "a bit too mills and boony for me"	50.2%
...

Pros [250] of The Wolf Hall Trilogy, Book 1	Strength
thoroughly enjoyable in both products "thoroughly enjoyable book characters are brilliantly drawn and there is a tension building throughout so that you are pulled into the life and times of cromwell henry and the brilliant anne boleyn"	100.0%
thoroughly enjoyed in both products "lots of characters and cromwell comes across as a "nice guy" which i am not sure about hence the need to do some research but no thoroughly enjoyed the read"	100.0%
really enjoyable in both products "really enjoyable book"	99.9%
beautifully written in both products "the most important thing is that it has been meticulously researched and beautifully written"	99.9%
very enjoyable in both products "certainly there are pages which are easy to read and very enjoyable but others need careful reading and thought"	99.7%
great story in both products "great story and wonderful to imagine tudor england from cromwell's perspective"	97.5%
excellent author in both products "an excellent author"	97.3%
good insight in both products "an excellent read a good insight into tudor history and what was likely to have actually happened in conversation between thomas cromwell and others"	96.8%
good friend in both products "a good friend of mine whose reading taste i usually share recommended this book to me so i hoped for a great read"	96.0%
well written in both products "well written this also reminds us that in many ways this was when england started to take a more prominent place on the european and thus the world stage"	91.2%
just brilliant in both products "brilliant just brilliant"	88.5%
really well in both products "superb book really well researched excellent characterisation and development of characters reads in a familiar style pages turn easily bringing the later part of the reign of henry viii to life"	74.9%
look forward in both products "i really enjoyed it and look forward to reading this year's winner "bring out the bodies""	74.8%
very quickly in both products "i tried to read this once before and gave up very quickly becasue i found the style of writing difficut to cope with"	74.8%
five stars in both products "i have given this book five stars because"	74.7%
enjoyed this in both products "i enjoyed this from start to finish and am always recommending it"	74.6%
great book in both products "great book"	74.4%
very interesting in both products "very interesting"	74.3%
good value in both products "item is good value for money book is in great condition"	74.3%
fantastic read in both products "this is a fantastic read"	74.1%
excellent book in both products "excellent book beautifully written engaging timeless human drama don't believe the haters"	74.1%
well worth in both products "all in all well worth reading and highly recommend hope it's not too long before hilary mantel comes up with the 3rd and final book in this series"	74.1%
excellent read in both products "an excellent read a good insight into tudor history and what was likely to have actually happened in conversation between thomas cromwell and others"	74.0%
great character in both products "totally empathise with thomas cromwell what a great character"	74.0%
enjoyed reading in both products "i really enjoyed reading this on holiday"	73.9%
interesting read in both products "the author has a good review so it looks like an interesting read"	73.7%
good holiday in both products "so if you are looking for a good holiday read then this probably isnt it as it is very much in the literary style after all you woouldnt expect anything less of a booker prize winner"	73.5%
very clever in both products "thomas cromwell as a hero is a new take for me and now admire him immensely as a very clever shrewd and caring person shown by how he looks after his family and friends"	73.1%
really brilliant "really brilliant"	100.0%
completely brilliant "completely brilliant"	100.0%
enjoyed it enormously "after i'd got used to the style i enjoyed it enormously"	100.0%
brilliant piece "so well written a brilliant piece of history"	100.0%
amazing mastery "it's an astonishing feat of imagination and amazing mastery of a swathe of history"	100.0%
truly wonderful "this is a truly wonderful book the prose regularly stunning runs like a liquid balm through one's brain"	100.0%
remarkable achievement "hilary mantel's reimagining of this period of history and the effective creation of thomas cromwell as the key protagonist is a remarkable achievement"	100.0%
brilliant authoress "she is a brilliant authoress"	100.0%
superb writer "mantel is a superb writer with a distinct and unusual narrative style"	100.0%
perfect performance "however after hearing this perfect performance i wish it was integral"	100.0%
most powerful "his humble origins as an abused child who rose to be the most powerful in the land"	100.0%
absolutely excellent "absolutely excellent reads"	99.9%
stunning best "historical literature at its stunning best"	99.9%
really excellent "really excellent read"	99.9%
greatest strength "an excellent book being indentified so closely with cromwell in his head is both the greatest strength and its only real weakness"	99.9%
extraordinary writing "yes it's a challenging read but it's a joy to encounter such extraordinary writing"	99.9%
wonderful writing "wonderful book wonderful writing"	99.9%
highly acclaimed "my mum was delighted to be able to read this highly acclaimed book and i suspect i will have to get her 'bring up the bodies ' too!"	99.9%
apparently effortless "this apparently effortless evocation of time and place means that all you are aware of and care about is the journey that these characters are on and accompanying them on it from the beginning to the end"	99.9%
brilliant insight "thomas cromwell is portrayed with brilliant insight"	99.9%
simply stunning "this is simply stunning"	99.9%
incredibly clever "it's incredibly clever the way hillary mantel has written this half from the thoughts in cromwell's head and also seamlessly interspersed with conversation"	99.9%
most wonderful "this is the most wonderful book and like all the best literature only improves with re reading"	99.8%
highly interesting "it is very well written as it covers a rather complicated but highly interesting period of history"	99.8%
great clarity "this is no lightweight and yet most of it reads easily and with great clarity"	99.8%
such success "it is no surprise that this outstanding book has achieved such success both in literary awards and in popularity"	99.8%
great writer "hilary mantel is of course a great writer"	99.8%
amazing story "wolf hall is the amazing story of thomas cromwell"	99.7%
highest quality "literature of the highest quality with a new slant on thomas cromwell"	99.7%
writing interesting "a good read the author has her own way of writing interesting"	99.7%
astonishing feat "it's an astonishing feat of imagination and amazing mastery of a swathe of history"	99.5%
great thanks "great thanks"	99.5%
fascinating insight "found the book a fascinating insight into the time of thomas cromwell king henry 8th and thomas more but there are so many characters that you really need to be able to check back every so often to remind yourself of who they all are"	99.4%
sheer genius "sheer genius"	99.4%
best writer "possibly the best writer in english since lawrence durrell"	99.2%
brilliant tv series "brilliant tv series what more could anyone ask"	99.2%
scenes master "such a well researched novel and evokes as much realism as possible into this turbulent part in history from the viewpoint of a behind the scenes master"	99.2%
brilliant first book "brilliant first book of trilogy"	98.8%
fascinating story "a fascinating story telling of a truly turbulent time in english history and the key part played in that history by thomas cromwell"	98.6%
excellent company "just like having a fabulous meal every evening with excellent company"	98.3%
stunning detail "stunning detail"	97.9%
brilliant voyage "brilliant voyage through the court of henry the eighth through the eyes of his chancellor thomas cromwell"	97.5%
brilliant bring "fantastic brilliant bring on the superlatives!"	96.9%
excellent exploration "this is an excellent exploration of the life and times of thomas cromwell"	96.4%
most engaging "whilst i did enjoy the way it was told i found the most engaging part was the narrating by dan stevens"	96.0%
breathtaking account "simply breathtaking account of the early years and rise to prominence of thomas cromwell at the court of henry viii"	95.2%
prize success "i've read other books by hilary mantel and enjoyed them and with all the news about her booker prize success i had to try this one"	94.7%
marked down "only marked down because of the constant use of 'he' for thomas cromwell try to ignore that and you are in for a treat with this period vividly brought to life"	94.4%
excellent and informative "once you get used to the style an excellent and informative read"	93.9%
well structured "much better than history text books not sure how accurate though it all is but very absorbing and well structured"	93.6%
truly amazing "its more political and a truly amazing read"	93.5%
hugely talented "these exchanges are so alive and fresh that something that happened around 600 years ago feels contemporary and vital yet sufficiently authentic to place you in this other time and place on its own terms to feel so involved as a contemporary in what would be an alien world is no mean feat and is one of the many reasons to congratulate this hugely talented writer"	93.1%
just excellent "just excellent"	93.1%
portrayed sympathetically "thomas cromwell portrayed sympathetically"	93.1%
brilliantly drawn "thoroughly enjoyable book characters are brilliantly drawn and there is a tension building throughout so that you are pulled into the life and times of cromwell henry and the brilliant anne boleyn"	93.1%
truly great "a truly great novel and i can't wait to start the sequel"	92.7%
especially fascinating "the book is especially fascinating because as an inhabitant of ipswichi cannot get enough of wolsey and thomas cromwell"	91.8%
alive and fresh "these exchanges are so alive and fresh that something that happened around 600 years ago feels contemporary and vital yet sufficiently authentic to place you in this other time and place on its own terms to feel so involved as a contemporary in what would be an alien world is no mean feat and is one of the many reasons to congratulate this hugely talented writer"	91.7%
prize winning book "interestingly i tweeted that i was reading a prize winning book that was impossible to follow but did not name the author"	91.6%
portrayed so vividly "thomas cromwell is portrayed so vividly that one feels one knows him and he is made both human and likeable but scary"	90.8%
richness of the research "the richness of the research the clarity and freshness of the writing are wonderful"	90.5%
winning author "originally chose this because i wanted to know what made a prize winning author"	90.2%
brilliant anne boleyn "thoroughly enjoyable book characters are brilliantly drawn and there is a tension building throughout so that you are pulled into the life and times of cromwell henry and the brilliant anne boleyn"	90.1%
compelling style "how wrong i was from the first page i was hooked and totally enthralled by the character of cromwell who mantel brings alive in such a compelling style"	90.0%
beautiful writing "beautiful writing by ms mantel"	89.9%
great work "put aside any preconceptions you may have about this period in history or in historical novels or in this book in particular and indulge yourself in this great work"	89.8%
psychological insight "powerful narration psychological insight every sentence perfectly crafted"	89.5%
very well researched "the style is a little too self consciously affected for me to give the book 5 stars but it's a period i love to read about and is very well researched and apart from the affectations written so overall i would recommend it"	89.3%
genuine wisdom "the style was at times beautiful and deeply moving with moments of genuine wisdom but there were also times i just couldn't figure out who was who or what was what"	89.3%
enjoyable insight "the book gives an enjoyable insight into the history of the period"	89.1%
good counsellor "the invisible hand that guides the book much as he is the relatively invisible hand guiding the better known principles from one of the pivotal moments in england's history is so thoroughly alive and authentic that we inhabit him from the get go and he guides and maintains our involvement from the beginning to the end as any good counsellor should"	88.8%
detailed and engaging "extremely detailed and engaging"	88.6%
humourous and fascinating "hugely well researched humourous and fascinating"	88.6%
complicated but brilliant "complicated but brilliant"	88.6%
followed brilliantly "phenomenal work and followed brilliantly by bring up the bodies"	88.4%
clarity and freshness "the richness of the research the clarity and freshness of the writing are wonderful"	88.2%
brilliant and fascinating "not an easy read but both brilliant and fascinating"	87.9%
attractive psychopath "thomas cromwell is an attractive psychopath"	87.8%
well worthwile "choose a time when you can sit quietly and read a large chunk at a time to really get into it perseverance is well worthwile"	87.7%
search for a winner "i am in wonder at judges' choices from a shark in formaldehyde to a dishevelled bed to priceless works of art entitled 'orange red yellow' the search for a winner in a given field must be for someone who is willing to challenge the system and our belief in how it should be done"	87.2%
solid determination "not being a fan of period works usually it lacked some relevance for this reader but was interesting for its portrayal of the manouverings of love interests around the court the solid determination of cromwell and the revealtion of the basis for the religious reformation as being a type of helen of troy where the king's obsession with having a woman leads to covert tactics to change the entire religious system"	75.0%
safely well "book arrived quickly safely well packaged with respect for environment"	75.0%
equally compelling "for those who grew up with 'a man for all seasons' this book gives quite a different perspective on the characters of more and cromwell and is equally compelling"	75.0%
great deal "the historical characters are bought to life by mantel who must have engaged in a great deal of research to ensure historic accuracy not only in the known history but in details around food clothing furnishings and lifestyle"	75.0%
supreme ideal "his intention to serve not power but the supreme ideal of justice'"	75.0%
educational imaginative "compelling intelligent educational imaginative"	74.9%
more prominent "all of this was of course to serve him well making money for himself and his family but his relationship with wolsey was to prove a high point as such because this brought him into a more prominent position increasing his ability to network and move in the higher echelons of society"	74.9%
real intimacy "which is a little confusing if you get more than one 'he' in the scene but it is very much worth the effort of getting to grips with and brings a real intimacy to the unfolding events"	74.8%
astonishing rise "henryv111's turbulent and historically momentous tudor england witnesses the astonishing rise to power of thomas cromwell a humble blacksmith's son from putney who expertly engineers all henry's wishes"	74.8%
could happily "now read it three times and could happily start again"	74.8%
fairly well "as a novel this works fairly well"	74.8%
light entertainment "if you want light entertainment i'm afraid this is probably not the book for you"	74.8%
their surroundings "it is extremely well written the descriptions of the characters and details of their surroundings are very believable so that i felt transported back in time"	74.7%
educational adult "entertaining educational adult enlightening"	74.7%
outstanding book "it is no surprise that this outstanding book has achieved such success both in literary awards and in popularity"	74.7%
invigorating style "invigorating style and often witty"	74.6%
massive enthusiast "now it must be said that i am not just a historical fiction fan but a massive enthusiast of all things tudor related"	74.6%
abridged version "i bought this fully knowing it was an abridged version as i have already read wolf hall twice and didn't want to suffer through the slow parts"	74.5%
recommended read "on the whole a recommended read"	74.5%
riveting read "glad i read it before the tv program as it put in much more detail a riveting read"	74.5%
perfectly crafted "powerful narration psychological insight every sentence perfectly crafted"	74.5%
vivid picture "mantel is a gifted writer saying much with few words and painting a vivid picture of life in tudor england"	74.5%
timely delivery "timely delivery and good value"	74.5%
completely fresh "i saw cromwell from a completely fresh perspective"	74.5%
will probably "i will probably go on to read the follow up bring up the bodies' it was interesting the way a story was weaved into the actual historical facts of the period"	74.4%
great charm "but this adds to the book's great charm for me as it affirms the uncertainty of the period and the fragile lives led by most of the characters which mostly seemed to hang by a thread"	74.4%
fantastic romantic figure "i have decided to fix my atrocious lack of knowledge of history this year and i thought he tudors were a great place to start henry xiii is a fantastic romantic figure with whom you can spin off a multitude of fictional stories as are the prominent figures of his company namely thomas cromwell the protagonist of this book"	74.4%
worthy winners "they are both worthy winners of the booker"	74.4%
driven plotting "yes it takes a while to get into the prose but only a few pages then the words drift along in a dreamlike twilight of twists and turns of fully realised character driven plotting"	74.4%
carefully researched "but the book gives a great feel for the period is carefully researched and very engaging"	74.4%
good condition "it was described as v good condition"	74.4%
intimate point "an intimate point of view on both life in tudor times the reformation and the lives of prominent figures such as henry viii anne boleyn and of course thomas cromwell"	74.3%
delivered promptly "this product was delivered promptly and undamaged"	74.3%
working well "i am reading and simultaneously watching the tv series which is working well"	74.3%
most dramatic "a tour de force in providing both an insight into the mind of one of our most influential and conflicted public servant and politicians and a sense of how it must have been to live through one of the most dramatic political religious and social periods of our island history"	74.3%
wholly engaging "cleverly written from inside the character of thomas cromwell the historical arch villain of the period it provides a wholly engaging and believable insight into the complicated politics of the time and human relationships at court"	74.3%
humble beginnings "from humble beginnings then we see the rise of thomas cromwell to a trusted aide and righthand man to cardinal wolsey and beyond"	74.3%
glowing praise "the glowing praise for this book prompted me to read it"	74.3%
enjoy this "if you've got a spare week you'll enjoy this"	74.3%
delivered quickly "great price & delivered quickly"	74.2%
driven piece "infused with humour and humanity throughout this character driven piece is so thoroughly entertaining and engrossing that i cannot recommend it enough"	74.2%
more comfortable "at a time when apart from the living conditions of many and poor health so we arrive at the top where things can be more comfortable but with any mistake or causing displeasure for the king can bring upon you turmoil and even death so one has to tread carefully"	74.2%
favourite book "not my favourite book but i can't deny that it's a very well written narrative of thomas cromwell's life"	74.2%
absolutely fair "to be absolutely fair i've only read the first third of it but after all the hype i thought by now i'd be carrying it around the house with me not being able to put it down!"	74.2%
enjoyable enough "i found it enjoyable enough but not remarkable"	74.2%
sympathetic character "personally i found this account far more interesting in its presentation of thomas cromwell as a sympathetic character another victim of his time than as the ruthless politician he is generally portrayed as being ruthlessness there is however!"	74.2%
quality writing "but nevertheless this is quality writing"	74.2%
vivid account "tudor times are brought to life in this vivid account in a fictionalised form with rich textures and reflective passages that give a depth of image to the characters"	74.1%
vivid characters "an impressively authentic and immaculately written period work that brought some vivid characters to life around the royal court at that time"	74.1%
interesting viewpoint "it was an interesting viewpoint of well known historical events and was very different from other historical fiction i have read"	74.1%
totally absorbing "a totally absorbing work"	74.0%
meteoric rise "an unusual slant on the tale of anne boleyn and henry viii viewed from the perspective of thomas cromwell following his meteoric rise to power from his poor background in london"	74.0%
court intrigues "this is a very engaging tale that brings the early part of henry viii's reign to life with court intrigues"	74.0%
true account "her writing however is so good and so well researched that it feels as if it is a true account of the events described and fully immerses you in the ways of tudor society"	74.0%
iconic figures "hilary mantel manages to show iconic figures in history like henry viii cardinal wolsey anne boleyn and of course thomas cromwell in all their humanity"	74.0%
book saint "and yet in this book saint thomas moore is slandered"	73.9%
personality loving "but he has a real personality loving and losing wife and children like many others"	73.9%
interesting take "interesting take on the person of thomas cromwell"	73.9%
believable presence "we will never really know what he was like but mantel does give him a believable presence that we can sympathise with as he places himself in a position where he has to deal with the politics of the time and become a statesman"	73.9%
much clearer "but the book is so much clearer and"	73.9%
fabulous meal "just like having a fabulous meal every evening with excellent company"	73.8%
very absorbing "much better than history text books not sure how accurate though it all is but very absorbing and well structured"	73.8%
cromwell henry "thoroughly enjoyable book characters are brilliantly drawn and there is a tension building throughout so that you are pulled into the life and times of cromwell henry and the brilliant anne boleyn"	73.8%
greatly acclaimed "just couldn't get interested too much irrelevant detail stopped the flow of the story clearly well researched and greatly acclaimed"	73.8%
large positive "i've read so many reviews about this book most of them varied though by and large positive in their appreciation of hilary mantel's ability to breathe life into the characters in wolf hall"	73.8%
wholly believable "all historical figures are well researched and wholly believable"	73.7%
human and likeable "thomas cromwell is portrayed so vividly that one feels one knows him and he is made both human and likeable but scary"	73.7%
great feeling "it has a great feeling for the period though and the psychology of the characters especially 'him' thos cromwell is well drawn"	73.6%
impressively authentic "an impressively authentic and immaculately written period work that brought some vivid characters to life around the royal court at that time"	73.6%
sympathetic portrayal "unusually sympathetic portrayal of thomas cromwell"	73.6%
research spot "her research spot on"	73.6%
spirit good "all that said i know this is essentially a work of fiction albeit based on historical fact but for me the point is that it is a creation of a life that can be admired for all the things it tells us about the human spirit good and bad"	73.5%
rich perspective "tudor times with the intrigue and politics of henry's court brought into rich perspective"	73.5%
totally different slant "it gave me a totally different slant on the character of thomas cromwell who i always believed to be a scheming bad man but hilary mantel showed him in a different light a self educated man who rose from an awful childhood to be the right hand man of henry viii"	73.5%
excellent condition "arrived on time and in excellent condition"	73.5%
achieve greatness "a clearer view of the life and times of cromwell is a great bonus and sheds further light on an age of change where the brightest young men of england and to a lesser bur significant extent young women could achieve greatness"	73.4%
breathe life "i've read so many reviews about this book most of them varied though by and large positive in their appreciation of hilary mantel's ability to breathe life into the characters in wolf hall"	73.4%
book absorbing "even if your interest in history is only slight you will find this book absorbing"	73.4%
more significant "i've read it before but enjoyed it more the second time as you notice more significant detail"	73.3%
pivotal moments "the invisible hand that guides the book much as he is the relatively invisible hand guiding the better known principles from one of the pivotal moments in england's history is so thoroughly alive and authentic that we inhabit him from the get go and he guides and maintains our involvement from the beginning to the end as any good counsellor should"	73.3%
fits perfectly "in my reading of 'wolf hall' i had mark rylance's voice which fits perfectly to the author's cromwell dialogue with hans holbein's imagery "	73.3%
thoroughly recommended "5 star reading and thoroughly recommended"	73.3%
great bonus "a clearer view of the life and times of cromwell is a great bonus and sheds further light on an age of change where the brightest young men of england and to a lesser bur significant extent young women could achieve greatness"	73.2%
went along "i did find it a little long and found myself skimming some passages but as my first ebook i loved the facility to look up historical information as i went along"	73.2%
humour thomas "what i wasn’t expecting is the humour thomas is very funny with a dry wit"	73.2%
gifted writer "mantel is a gifted writer saying much with few words and painting a vivid picture of life in tudor england"	73.2%
even better "even better than before she really gives that feel of a moving situation in a time that he brings to life"	73.2%
awed excitement "okay i know i'm a philistine for not leaping about in awed excitement at this supposed masterpiece but i did find it tiresome in its style using the present tense all the time and difficult to follow sometimes as she uses the personal pronoun 'he' far too often leaving me unsure of whom she's writing about"	73.2%
quite amusing "generally it's quite amusing as it describes reactions and behaviour of all the characters not just the principals"	73.1%
well recommended "well recommended"	73.1%
great credit "i can almost see him as i read and his thoughts in most cases do him great credit"	73.1%
staying alive "the anti hero hero a story of personal motivation in a savage irrationally savage world where there is little if any justice and after all the struggles for survival individuals are left with no human reason for staying alive in spite of the apparent godliness of all the main characters"	73.0%
deeply moving "the style was at times beautiful and deeply moving with moments of genuine wisdom but there were also times i just couldn't figure out who was who or what was what"	73.0%
supremely confident "she is deft and supremely confident"	72.9%
supreme pragmatist "thomas in this version is a ‘fixer’ the supreme pragmatist who does what has to be done to whoever needs sorting out"	72.9%
ready to read "easy to download ready to read"	72.9%
best things "one of the best things i've read in recent times"	72.8%
comes alive "cromwell the man comes alive: he shows the scars experiences fears doubts frailties desires and ambitions that shape him just as they shape each of us"	72.8%
fashioned thriller "give me a good old fashioned thriller any day!"	72.8%
historically momentous "henryv111's turbulent and historically momentous tudor england witnesses the astonishing rise to power of thomas cromwell a humble blacksmith's son from putney who expertly engineers all henry's wishes"	72.8%
unusual slant "an unusual slant on the tale of anne boleyn and henry viii viewed from the perspective of thomas cromwell following his meteoric rise to power from his poor background in london"	72.7%
nice voice "great book well read in a nice voice"	72.6%
highly recommended "highly recommended"	72.6%
writing flows "the writing flows wonderfully and i can understand why it won the booker prize"	72.5%
trusted aide "from humble beginnings then we see the rise of thomas cromwell to a trusted aide and righthand man to cardinal wolsey and beyond"	72.5%
greater safety "i've just ordered a place of greater safety and also want to read bring out the bodies next"	72.5%
star rating "i would have given it a 5 star rating if paragraph breaks had been used to avoid the confusion"	72.4%
love history "i am a real book worm and i love history and i loved this the story and the writing style"	72.2%
awesome talent "wow am i envious of her awesome talent"	72.2%
great condition "item is good value for money book is in great condition"	71.9%
priceless works "i am in wonder at judges' choices from a shark in formaldehyde to a dishevelled bed to priceless works of art entitled 'orange red yellow' the search for a winner in a given field must be for someone who is willing to challenge the system and our belief in how it should be done"	71.9%
much better "much better than history text books not sure how accurate though it all is but very absorbing and well structured"	71.9%
huge number of copies "this book has sold a huge number of copies and been made into a big budget tv series"	71.4%
relatively well "a relatively well known story but from a different perspective"	71.4%
enormous personality "the loss of his family haunts this book as does his awareness of ghosts of the past those who lived in a house before him and cardinal wolsey’s enormous personality"	71.0%
recommend this "i would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a read which has depth truth and life about it"	70.9%
love interests "not being a fan of period works usually it lacked some relevance for this reader but was interesting for its portrayal of the manouverings of love interests around the court the solid determination of cromwell and the revealtion of the basis for the religious reformation as being a type of helen of troy where the king's obsession with having a woman leads to covert tactics to change the entire religious system"	70.9%
real insight "we learn in this book of his machinations in more detail and get a real insight into him as a human being"	70.9%
good story "this is a great book for history buffs who also like a good story"	70.9%
learnt lots "learnt lots about english history"	70.8%
very rewarding "a very rewarding read"	70.8%
innovative style "i'm not normally a fan of historical novels but the innovative style and present tense places the reader firmly in the 16th century"	70.6%
very insightful "i found it a really engrossing read and very insightful"	70.6%
assisting wolsey "assisting wolsey here we see the problems that arise with henry wanting to divorce his first wife for anne boleyn and the part that luther and his protestant beliefs were to assist in this matter"	70.5%
fascinating trilogy "when it comes to the last book of this fascinating trilogy i will dread reading about his demise and execution"	70.5%
king henry "found the book a fascinating insight into the time of thomas cromwell king henry 8th and thomas more but there are so many characters that you really need to be able to check back every so often to remind yourself of who they all are"	70.4%
reflective passages "tudor times are brought to life in this vivid account in a fictionalised form with rich textures and reflective passages that give a depth of image to the characters"	70.4%
present recipient "bought this as a present recipient was delighted"	70.4%
pure indulgence "this was pure indulgence into the medieval world being very interested in history i tackled this with the usual cynicism but i was absolutely gripped from the fist chapter"	70.3%
excellent actors "with the wonderful mark rylance in mind the other characters rounded out by excellent actors and the fabulous settings i got even more out of the book than i had the first couple of times round whilst battling to read a bulky book at the lunch and breakfast table!"	70.3%
rich and beautifully "the writing is rich and beautifully done"	70.2%
interesting subject "an interesting subject written in an unusual way"	70.1%
utterly gripping "utterly gripping"	69.8%
great reads "print or e book i think "wolf hall" is superb and it goes into my pantheon of "great reads""	69.8%
glad that i "however i bought the book and on balance was glad that i did"	69.7%
course henry viii "mantel has made her characters spring to life with convincing reality particularly of course henry viii himself who dominates the narrative"	69.6%
enjoy historical novels "if you enjoy historical novels and literary fiction this is for you"	69.5%
like poetry "some of her descriptive passages are like poetry"	69.5%
immense influence "cromwell an immense influence on the politics of the day has always been a bit of a shadowy figure to me so it was interesting to see the world from his point of view"	69.4%
great way to save money "great way to save money"	69.4%
more easily "however after watching the tv series i thought i would go to a more easily portable version and bought the kindle e book"	69.3%
great read "altogether a great read"	69.3%
...

Pros [183] of The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay	Strength
thoroughly enjoyable in both products "this was a thoroughly enjoyable read taking you through the trials and tribulations of a bit of a wayward girl in her struggle to make a success of a small shop she is unexpectedly left"	100.0%
thoroughly enjoyed in both products "thoroughly enjoyed reading this book"	100.0%
really enjoyable in both products "a different type of mystery but a really enjoyable read"	99.9%
beautifully written in both products "beautifully written book poignant and sad at times but with a few twists that made for a happy ending"	99.9%
very enjoyable in both products "what a lovely story and very very enjoyable"	99.7%
great story in both products "a great story to keep you guessing with strong real and believable characters that really absorb you into their story"	97.5%
excellent author in both products "wonderful and well worth reading an excellent author!"	97.3%
well written in both products "oh what a fantastic story this is i really enjoyed this book i usually go for crime and thriller books but what a refreshing story this was i loved every single page and will be reading more from nicola may great characters well written and was sorry when i finished reading it"	91.2%
just brilliant in both products "this book was just brilliant"	88.5%
really well in both products "a really well written book with a lovely storyline and not very predictable at all!"	74.9%
look forward in both products "i will look forward to reading the sequel"	74.8%
very quickly in both products "i read it very quickly as it was difficult to put down"	74.8%
five stars in both products "i gave this book five stars because i wanted a light but engaging read and it exceeded my expectations"	74.7%
enjoyed this in both products "i really enjoyed this"	74.6%
great book in both products "what a great book i just couldn't put it down the story of rosa was so sad and how she inherited the corner shop not having a clue who had left it to her and josh her true friend and little hot the dog just loved the whole story you will have to read it to find out who left her the corner shop in the little devon seaside village"	74.4%
very interesting in both products "i bought this book for a gentle read and it was but there were many surprises and twists and turns that rosa takes that made the book very interesting and i ended up not being able to put it down"	74.3%
good value in both products "there such good value too"	74.3%
fantastic read in both products "a fantastic read and now onto the next one!"	74.1%
excellent book in both products "loved this was an excellent book!"	74.1%
well worth in both products "wonderful and well worth reading an excellent author!"	74.1%
excellent read in both products "an excellent read!"	74.0%
enjoyed reading in both products "i really really enjoyed reading this book and i looked forward to reading it every night"	73.9%
interesting read in both products "but an interesting read"	73.7%
love interest in both products "the love interest was a bit of a plank too!"	73.7%
good holiday in both products "brilliant book easy read the sort of book you can't put down good holiday read!"	73.5%
absolutely brilliant "absolutely brilliant!"	100.0%
highly enjoyable "a feel good plot with some grit makes this novel a highly enjoyable read"	100.0%
incurable romantics "myself and my husband both read this book and thought it was smashing but then we are a pair of incurable romantics"	100.0%
absolutely pleasure "what an absolutely pleasure to read hard to put down till almost the end when the mystery is reavealed"	100.0%
excellent story "excellent story"	100.0%
very captivating "it really was so entertaining and the lead character was very captivating"	100.0%
brilliant story "brilliant story can't wait to read the next book"	100.0%
jolly good "this was a jolly good story of romance and mystery"	100.0%
wonderfully warm "cockleberry bay is a wonderfully warm and unexpectedly fun story of love laughter disasters friendship and family"	100.0%
very satisfying "very satisfying"	100.0%
great storyline "a great storyline"	100.0%
great ending "i loved this book it’s a great story with a great ending"	99.9%
charming story "what a charming story"	99.9%
very entertaining "ok its not war and peace but it is a very entertaining holiday read"	99.9%
thoroughly good "a thoroughly good read and one for the holiday list"	99.8%
very cleverly "very cleverly written"	99.8%
brilliant character "rosa is a brilliant character well they all are best book i have read in a long time"	99.8%
really heartwarming "a really heartwarming uplifting read"	99.8%
brilliant holiday read "highly recommend this book brilliant holiday read "	99.8%
delightful gastro "there is a definite contrast between the two ends of the village with one end being occupied by a delightful gastro pub ran by two charming gentleman whilst the other end of the village would be more at home on the set of eastenders with the hard as nails family matriarch and her misbehaving brethren of family and friends"	99.6%
absolutely compelling "absolutely compelling story"	99.5%
really good "this is a really good page turner read it!"	99.3%
wonderful characters "the wonderful characters really come to life"	99.0%
great main characters "great main characters good setting and sweet story"	99.0%
exceptionally good "i very really buy modern times stories but i think this is exceptionally good"	98.9%
lovely storyline "a really well written book with a lovely storyline and not very predictable at all!"	98.7%
wonderful story "from the first chapter to the last line it's wonderful story is a joy to read"	97.1%
charming gentleman "there is a definite contrast between the two ends of the village with one end being occupied by a delightful gastro pub ran by two charming gentleman whilst the other end of the village would be more at home on the set of eastenders with the hard as nails family matriarch and her misbehaving brethren of family and friends"	95.9%
charming reporter "as with books of this genre there is a lovely splash of romance as rosa finds herself stuck between a gorgeous rugby player a wickedly sexy plumber and a charming reporter"	95.9%
brilliant idea "a brilliant idea for a book spoilt for me by the promiscuity of rosa the main character"	95.7%
riveting storyline "riveting storyline"	95.4%
wonderfully heartwarming "a wonderfully heartwarming quirky read in a quaint setting just bursting with effervescent characters"	95.0%
very realistic "all the characters in this small seaside town are interesting and very realistic"	94.4%
brilliant summer "a brilliant summer read i highly recommend this book"	94.2%
funny and entertaining "i really loved this book quirky funny and entertaining i would recommend it to anyone wanting a light hearted read"	93.2%
that she is loveable "she is all that but she is also one with low self esteem who finally gets that she is loveable"	93.1%
sheer delight "this book was sheer delight!"	92.8%
absolutely loved "absolutely loved this book one of those books that leaves you wanting another one and disappointed that it's ended"	92.2%
keeps you guessing "also fed my curiosity as i usually have to read thriller to get my fix but this book keeps you guessing too"	92.1%
laughed and cried "the characters very real i laughed and cried"	91.9%
good characterization "a nice little story with good characterization and a bit of mystery but i found the sexual references though not overly frequent crude and unnecessarily vulgar"	91.5%
truly lovely "i laughed and cried with rosa a truly lovely story with surprises all the way"	90.6%
just loved "the main character reminded me of someone i know i just loved her"	89.2%
laughs fun and love "what a super story full of twists and turns drama romance tears laughs fun and love"	89.2%
refreshing and funny "so refreshing and funny"	89.1%
lovely josh "the characters in the little town are a pretty eclectic mix so they keep the story flowing and the lovely josh we could all do with one of them around"	88.9%
lovely devon "i liked this book believable characters set in lovely devon"	88.9%
good smattering "cleaver plot with a good smattering of love interests"	88.8%
enjoyable and engaging "very enjoyable and engaging and the characters were engaging with how their lives were"	88.7%
exciting and funny "loved this book so many funny parts in each chapter its serious exciting and funny all in one book"	88.7%
comely and engaging "it's pleasant to listen to as audio voice used is comely and engaging"	88.6%
believeable and likeable "the book was sad and funny the characters were believeable and likeable"	88.6%
sweet charming and "sweet charming and o so many twists in the storyline"	88.5%
clever story "great characterisation and clever story telling"	88.4%
great characterisation "great characterisation and clever story telling"	88.0%
great charcters "lovely read great charcters and a satisfying ending"	88.0%
good setting "great main characters good setting and sweet story"	75.0%
good feeling "good feeling with happy ending"	75.0%
comfortable feeling "just such a lovely book have me a warm comfortable feeling to read good story with a great twist at the end just about to download another of nicolas books"	75.0%
good ending "i do love a good ending"	75.0%
good writing style "edgy language and a good writing style made for a most enjoyable read"	75.0%
lovely setting "fun characters lovely setting and some nice twists oh and a dog called hot"	75.0%
light relief "i bought this book because i'd just read a slew of thrillers and wanted some light relief plus i used to have a village shop which is what initially caught my attention"	75.0%
just enjoy "heartwarming fiction to just enjoy"	75.0%
good points "i couldn't take to the main character she had some good points but was annoying and not particularly likeable"	75.0%
deservedly merits "deservedly merits a 5 star rating for its ease of reading enjoyment of the well defined characters and the turmoil of love mingled with fun friendship and lost love"	75.0%
nice change "nice change from my usual murder mystery books"	75.0%
happy ending "i think it deserves a five star rating because i loved the story and it kept on giving plus loved the happy ending"	75.0%
nice twist "it was a lovely happy ending with a nice twist too the tale"	75.0%
cute story "quite a cute story though"	75.0%
good summer "it has the odd twist and turn i liked all the characters and has a happy ending a good summer read"	75.0%
nice people "so good nice people in this book"	74.9%
feel romantic "laugh cry and feel romantic"	74.9%
decent story "rosa inherits a shop from a mystery benefactor and so begins her adventure and her transformation a decent story just had to get my head round joe josh & jacob had to think which characters they were at times"	74.9%
good reviews "oh goodness i hate vapid romantic fiction like this i really don’t know why i bought it other than so many good reviews!"	74.9%
seem believable "it is neither a satisfying read or a good story incredibly predictable nor do the characters and situations seem believable"	74.9%
supreme effort "i thought the writer did a supreme effort"	74.9%
joyful book "this is a joyful book"	74.9%
nice twists "fun characters lovely setting and some nice twists oh and a dog called hot"	74.9%
will happily "very enjoyable and i will happily purchase more books by nicola may"	74.9%
lived happily "'and they all lived happily ever after'"	74.9%
fiercely independent "my in laws hail from devon so i fully recognise the small community mentality so brilliantly described in the book but what really stood out for me was the hugely believable fiercely independent but often vulnerable heroine of the book"	74.8%
good insights "written by a realist with good insights into people and good characters of whom all were a bit flawed as people are in real life"	74.8%
overall enjoyment "very enjoyable read good story if a little predictable at the end did leave a couple of threads unanswered but did not detract from overall enjoyment of book"	74.8%
quaint setting "a wonderfully heartwarming quirky read in a quaint setting just bursting with effervescent characters"	74.8%
great setting "great setting and wonderful characters"	74.8%
lovely ending "lovely ending"	74.7%
lovely story "it was a lovely story with just enough twists to keep you wanting to carry on reading"	74.7%
perfect read "perfect read for cold afternoon"	74.7%
lovely tale "lovely tale"	74.6%
lovely romantic mystery "this was a lovely romantic mystery and i enjoyed reading it and getting to know the characters"	74.6%
lovely characters "great idea for a storyline lovely characters and a plot line which kept me guessing right until the end"	74.6%
readers style "i really loved the readers style and accent"	74.6%
fantastic story "oh what a fantastic story this is i really enjoyed this book i usually go for crime and thriller books but what a refreshing story this was i loved every single page and will be reading more from nicola may great characters well written and was sorry when i finished reading it"	74.6%
good characters "written by a realist with good insights into people and good characters of whom all were a bit flawed as people are in real life"	74.6%
likeable characters "easy to read cozy story with likeable characters"	74.6%
good friends "good friends and a little good fortune anything is possible"	74.5%
fairly fast "good characters and a fairly fast moving plot"	74.5%
lovely part "an easy to read novel set in a lovely part of the country could almost smell the ocean!"	74.5%
engaging story "loved the twists and turns in this easy read but engaging story"	74.5%
maintains their interest "those different plot lines provide a level of intrigue to the tale which grasps the readers' attention and maintains their interest until the end"	74.4%
engaging read "thanks to author for such an engaging read and i’ve now passed it to a friend to read"	74.4%
just great "this book had me from the first kindle page the story of rosa and her dog moving into a devonshire village corner shop was just marvellous couldn't put it down made me laugh hold my breath and bought a tear i loved every page felt like i had lost a family of friends as the characters were just great was sad when i read the last page …"	74.4%
happy holidays "i loved the title because it reminded me of many happy holidays i had in the west country when i was younger"	74.3%
beautiful cockleberry "really loved the characters very well created and described and i want to live in beautiful cockleberry bay!"	74.3%
seems good "the plot seems good but i doubt i will read to the end"	74.3%
lovely read "what a lovely read"	74.3%
please read "please read"	74.2%
nice and easy "a nice and easy read for the summer"	74.2%
love suspense "i loved this book exactly what i needed love suspense and laughs i love how strong all the female characters are how they r all survivors"	74.2%
fairly happy "a fairly happy story very modern with a good few twists to keep me interested"	74.2%
very happy "your books make me very happy"	74.2%
comfortable life "uprooting herself from a more or less comfortable life with 'friend with benefits' josh in london she travels to devon to start a new life"	74.2%
sweet read "this book as such a sweet read and i have now started book two so i can follow the journey"	74.2%
really nice "yet it's a really nice read"	74.2%
lovely light "i read the book in 24 hours whilst on the plane and train and it was a lovely light read for the journey"	74.2%
more realistic "i know it is me i require something more realistic satisfying and informative from a book than ‘romance’ but honestly"	74.1%
nice easy read "a nice easy read"	74.1%
funny read "light and funny read not as sickly sweet as a lot of this genre can be"	74.1%
perfect story "a perfect story for a winter's afternoon"	74.1%
genuinely magic "and throughout the telling of this tale the writer manages to introduce some genuinely magic touches"	74.1%
right ingredients "a wonderful story with all the right ingredients of love sex family lust and tenderness!"	74.1%
story perfect "a great story perfect if you wanted a book to take on your holidays"	74.1%
more convincingly "i've read other books by nicola may which i think were much more convincingly written"	74.1%
quick and easy "quick and easy to read"	74.0%
extra warmth "coming from the west country this small town sea side lifestyle is familiar so think this added some extra warmth when reading"	74.0%
warm and cosy "a warm and cosy mystery love story"	74.0%
gentle read "i bought this book for a gentle read and it was but there were many surprises and twists and turns that rosa takes that made the book very interesting and i ended up not being able to put it down"	74.0%
most reliable "amidst the turmoil rosa's most reliable companion is her sausage dog "hot""	74.0%
very likable "the main characters are believable and very likable whether human or animal!"	74.0%
pleasant feeling "it's an easy read leaving a pleasant feeling"	73.9%
nicely written "nicely written obvious mystery question not answered till end but no surprise however one of those books you will want to finish once you start reading"	73.9%
self develops "the story it self develops at a good pace and keeps you engaged with rosa and her bit of luck and how she goes about taking it and making use of the opportunity"	73.9%
wayward girl "this was a thoroughly enjoyable read taking you through the trials and tribulations of a bit of a wayward girl in her struggle to make a success of a small shop she is unexpectedly left"	73.9%
clever name "i loved hot and his clever name and the way the story does not unfold until almost the last page"	73.9%
lovely heart "what a lovely heart warming story thoroughly good characters with a nice twist at the end"	73.9%
cheery story "it is a light and cheery story"	73.9%
cosy story "a cosy story with shades of mystery and a flash of spiritual morality"	73.9%
easy to read "easy to read"	73.9%
winter evenings "great reading for cold winter evenings cuddled up in an armchair with a hot drink"	73.8%
hearted easy "a great light hearted easy to read story good for taking on holiday or when you don’t want any thing to deep to read"	73.8%
wanting more "it definitely left me wanting more"	73.8%
beautiful book "a beautiful book that i lost myself in"	73.7%
very lovely "this is very lovely story of how life can turn around for someone who has had very little luck and love in her life and with village life put into the mix it makes surprising good reading"	73.6%
comes together "a community comes together and crimes resolved"	73.6%
many thanks "many thanks"	73.6%
lovely character "this is a lovely book to read the story line went on different direction which kept you interested and lots of lovely character in it really enjoyed will look at this author again "	73.5%
best seller "i really dont know why this is a best seller"	73.5%
excellently written "an excellently written story just couldn't put the book down i hope there's a sequel or should i say there better be"	73.5%
what a refreshing "oh what a fantastic story this is i really enjoyed this book i usually go for crime and thriller books but what a refreshing story this was i loved every single page and will be reading more from nicola may great characters well written and was sorry when i finished reading it"	73.5%
hearted and funny "i enjoyed this book it was light hearted and funny"	73.5%
good right "i did enjoy this story which was good right to the end reveal"	73.5%
lovely splash "as with books of this genre there is a lovely splash of romance as rosa finds herself stuck between a gorgeous rugby player a wickedly sexy plumber and a charming reporter"	73.4%
were interesting "the characters were interesting some i loved and others i loathed"	73.4%
fitted nicely "loved all the characters who fitted nicely into their roles"	73.4%
recommend easy read "highly recommend easy read"	73.4%
funny and easy "funny and easy to read and to relate with events from author"	73.3%
exciting to read "brilliant story and with so many twists and turns really exciting to read!"	73.3%
...