Word Revel

Initial thoughts: I AM FINALLY DONE READING THIS BOOK! I cannot describe the relief I feel about being done with it because I reckon it put a damper on my will to read over the past three weeks. Most of the books I did finish during that time were audiobooks because the narrator dictates the pace. But for The Miniaturist, it was up to me to set my reading pace and let me tell you, it was difficult to keep reading.

There are two reasons I didn't give up on this book: (1) I spent money buying the book, and (2) I read it for a read-a-long, so not finishing it would've meant no contribution from me in our discussion. There were so many promising elements but the prose, the characterisation, the plot — everything fell short of the mark. What saved The Miniaturist from being a zero-star read for me is that there were surprising elements that I hadn't expected. Beyond that, the book only left negative impressions on me.