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Most Helpful Favorable Review
16 out of 17 people found this review helpful.
loved the story line, so naturally had to get the this book. It
loved the story line, so naturally had to get the this book. It did not disappoint!
posted by simple344 on April 19, 2012
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10 out of 16 people found this review helpful.
Sending out an SOS
The book starts in a lifeboat, we know nothing about the passengers or how they came to sail on the ill fated ship we come to know as the Empress Alexandria. I found the writing offered lots of trivial details but failed to reveil their relevance to the predicament, th...
The book starts in a lifeboat, we know nothing about the passengers or how they came to sail on the ill fated ship we come to know as the Empress Alexandria. I found the writing offered lots of trivial details but failed to reveil their relevance to the predicament, the survival, or the rescue of those on the lifeboat. I finished the book feeling disapointed about buying this book and the time I lost reading it.
posted by 10256564 on April 15, 2012
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simple344
Posted April 19, 2012
I Also Recommend:
loved the story line, so naturally had to get the this book. It
loved the story line, so naturally had to get the this book. It did not disappoint!
16 out of 17 people found this review helpful.
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Mirella
Posted April 4, 2012
A gripping tale of survival
An explosion on a luxury liner sends passengers scrambling for lifeboats. Grace and several other passengers overcrowd a lifeboat where they remain adrift for many days. Treacherous ocean storms, death, hunger, and thirst plague them, forcing life and death decisions and sacrifices. And after all the bittersweet, life and death situations ended, Grace ultimately finds herself on trial for her life, sending the reader swirling into conflict once more.
With highly detailed, fast paced writing, the author literally made me feel as if I was on that boat. I suffered through the poignant moments, the desperation, and the unfailing determination to survive by the heroine. The Lifeboat had scenes that were so poignant, so tragic, it gripped me from start to finish. This is a story that will make you feel as anguished as the passengers. An unusual, fascinating novel of historical fiction. Absolutely enjoyable!16 out of 18 people found this review helpful.
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Ozzy12
Posted May 11, 2012
I Also Recommend:
Wonderful book with great characters and an amazing story. loved
Wonderful book with great characters and an amazing story. loved it!
11 out of 15 people found this review helpful.
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NovelChatter
Posted April 10, 2012
Author Charlotte Rogan wisely starts her story in the middle of
Author Charlotte Rogan wisely starts her story in the middle of the action. Readers meet Grace Winter, twenty two, a bride of ten weeks, and a widow for almost 6 weeks. Grace is being escorted from the courtroom, where she is on trial for murder. As her attorneys lead her to a nearby restaurant for lunch, a rain storm opens up and Grace greedily stands in the downpour, allowing her mouth to open and swallow up the drenching rain, much to the embarrassment of her lawyers. This prologue tells us so much, and yet so little. What Rogan as brilliantly done is make us want to know more.
Whew! Let me start by saying that I read this in two sittings. Over two days. I was so hooked on Grace Winter that my "real world" was put on "pause" so I could read this brilliant first novel! I won't give anything away that the publisher doesn't reveal in the synopsis or prologue.
We know that Grace and others do survive the explosion and subsequent sinking of the luxury liner, the Empress Alexandra, taking place two years after the loss of the Titanic. We know some in her lifeboat do not survive. What we will find out - is who and why some do not survive.
As we meet the passengers in the over crowded lifeboat, we see the struggle for life over death. And of death to bring life.
Break out author Charlotte Rogan has crafted a story so simple, but with so many layers that you are hypnotized by its telling.
Not a miss step that I could find in this story, and I will add that I think it's interesting that we know a lot more about the women passengers than we do about the men. Rogan gives us what we need as far as character development. Not too much, just enough to care and to keep us turning the pages.
A HUGE 5 out of 5 stars!!
This e-galley was provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley and that in no way affected my honest review.11 out of 14 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted April 15, 2012
Sending out an SOS
The book starts in a lifeboat, we know nothing about the passengers or how they came to sail on the ill fated ship we come to know as the Empress Alexandria. I found the writing offered lots of trivial details but failed to reveil their relevance to the predicament, the survival, or the rescue of those on the lifeboat. I finished the book feeling disapointed about buying this book and the time I lost reading it.
10 out of 16 people found this review helpful.
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kdem13
Posted May 10, 2012
Starts out great.....
It started out great, very engaging, and I was immediately interested in the story. As the story continues, it seems like the author lost interest. The end is awkward and disappointing.
7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted April 24, 2012
Enjoyable
This book took two days to read. I found the story to be somewhat historical and u feel u are in the life boat trying to survive.
7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted April 13, 2012
Compelljng talif surviv e Compelling tale of survival
This debut is a thought-provoking page turner that will have you wondering how far you would go to survive--and how far one should go. Not ti be missed.
7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted April 19, 2012
An Unreliable Narrator Tries Too Hard to Be Reliable
The novel starts out well enough - very Titanicesque. Fallen socialite is rescued by a dashing rich man who secretly marries(?) her and takes her on a doomed honeymoon. Ship sinks. 32 are forced to fight for survival on a lifeboat. And that is about all the reader can be sure of. Our dear Grace is obviously hiding something throughout the novel, causing the reader to doubt everything. While it's kinda fun at first, for me it ends up getting annoying. Had I written such a novel, I would have used several 1st person narrators - for varying perspective.
6 out of 10 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted April 22, 2012
Enjoyable
An enjoyable read from start to finish.
5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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The Lifeboat By Charlotte Rogan In the summer of 1914 Grace Win
The Lifeboat
By Charlotte Rogan
In the summer of 1914 Grace Winter is on her way across the Atlantic with her new husband to meet her new in-laws. Though in the middle of the voyage there is a mysterious explosion that leaves the ship she was on at the bottom of the ocean, with half of the lifeboats engulfed in flames people rush to the ones remaining only to realize that the plaque stating a capacity for forty passengers is a lie, if they are to survive others must perish but how does one decide such a thing?
This was such an interesting novel it starts with a trial and you have no clue as to what the trial is for except that it had to do with the main character’s time spent trapped on the lifeboat. The events that occur during this book bring a strange light to the survival instinct. The author manages to write a beautiful and terrifying novel without using ghosts or goblins but simple human behavior and survival instinct. This is definitely an interesting read as the survivor’s minds begin to become the true monster of this story the more immersed we become with the tale. I just wish there had been more to the epilogue but that is simple greed on my part.3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted March 16, 2013
This book was a real waste of time and money. The characters nev
This book was a real waste of time and money. The characters never developed, they were wooden with no depth, the it was hard to differentiate between them. Opening was weak, and by the final chapters when you got to the the trial part you really didn't care how it ended because the characters were dull and all too much alike. The bigger moments in the book were lost, too much detail was given to "thoughts" that really just rambled on. Sorry, but this book was a read dud. Would not recommend to anyone when so many other good books are out there to read. Sad disappointment.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted February 15, 2013
Interesting
Interesting idea for a book, but i couldnt connect w the characters
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted August 10, 2012
Painful!
Painful read with few moments of excitement.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted August 5, 2012
Kept waiting for something to happen...
There seemed to be many underlying plot lines which were never developed.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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-TheLadyinPurple
Posted May 25, 2012
I Also Recommend:
With as many depths as the sea, The Lifeboat is a multifaceted j
With as many depths as the sea, The Lifeboat is a multifaceted jewel of a debut novel. This is no flimsy story following the opportunistic marketing trend that seems to currently crowd the library book shelves. The Lifeboat stands alone and shatters the mold to create a worthy novel for those readers who may crave a psychological realistic examination of the dark side of human nature with a fictional disaster as the perfect catalyst.
The reader will be drawn immediately to Ms. Rogan’s ability to capture the late Edwardian era with her attention to research, dialogue and description. With only a few words, the reader will be transported and captivated by the narrator Grace Winter, who reminded this reviewer of the cunning and tragic Lily Bart from Edith Wharton’s beautifully crafted The House of Mirth. The characters were multidimensional and represented a cornucopia of human personalities and emotions from the passive-weak heartened to the paranoid and detached, and finally to the cunning and manipulative. Historical details were evenly dispensed throughout and added to the well constructed imagery, a dose of ancient theories are sprinkled in that may surprise the potential reader and finally add a minute touch of religion (but not overly preachy or intrusive); everything falls into its own niche and equals to a perfect consistency.
In the end, I was extremely surprised with my response when I reached the final page. I honestly loved it and highly recommend The Lifeboat. Even with the greatest literary works, there were a few wanting or bothersome particulars that normally would cause me to deduct a star but The Lifeboat supplied me with the major morsels I crave when I invest my time and attention in a Historical fiction novel. The book ultimately caused reflection, stayed with me days after and illustrated sublime research pertaining to major and minute historical details (that are usually frustratingly overlooked by new authors) and that is what warrants 5 stars. I look forward to reading more from Ms. Rogan and hope she stays in the Edwardian era or researches the Victorian period for her next work, her voice and talents can certainly carry either.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted April 22, 2012
Disappointing.
I bought this book due to the high ratings in People. I regret the waste of my time. Boring.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted August 31, 2012
Fizzler
The story was very engaging in the beginning, but became slow midway through. Anticlamactic ending.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted July 22, 2012
Good start but...
Disapointing ending. Felt disconected and rushed.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted May 12, 2012
Great read
Couldn't put it down. It reflected the truth on the human mind and what we could be capable of in the struggle of life and death. Which charector would you become
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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