The Splendour Falls is considered to be Susanna Kearsley´s weakest book and I can see why this is. There isn´t much of a plot to speak of (the plot thickens about 100 pages before the end).
Combining mystery, romance, paranormal and historical elements in her novel, Kearsley has a lot do deal with in this book and unfortunately she focuses too much on the genre I´m least interested in, the romance. Thankfully the romance didn´t annoy me that much in this novel. What did annoy me though was the main character Emily, who has vowed to herself to never fall in love because of one specific reason: her parents got divorced when she was 23 years old and this divorce has scarred her for her life because she is, after all, only 23 years old. I just didn´t buy that reason.
And yet, I still enjoyed reading this novel. Susanna Kearsley´s descriptions of the town Chinon are simply beautiful and I liked the feeling of companionship between the various characters (who are staying at the same hotel during the novel). This novel has a cozy feel to it and it´s the perfect palate cleanser after a more disturbing or depressing read.
Even though Kearsley writes in a genre I don´t normally pick up, I will give another one of her books a try. And it is good to know that her other novels are supposed to be better than this one.
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