The blue castle

5 ★ - (adored, absolute favorite) rtc CWs, or things that caught my attention: lying, illness (including possibly terminal health issues), difunctional family, nearly being run over

i am replacing Rilla as my top Montgomery book now. although tbf i think Rilla didn't even really have that distinction... it was probably Golden Road the more i think about it... but old habits die hard unfortunately. WHY didn't i read this 7 years ago !! man. i probably would've gone insane about it back then. i am slightly insane about this in a different direction now.

A beautiful story with wonderful descriptions about the nature of eastern Canada. The story progress was slow and the ending was completely predictable. I liked it because the atmosphere of the story was very similar to the writings of Jane Austen.

This was a surprising standout read! There's a lot of feminist themes, which I love. It's very much an attack on the "old spinster" trope and it feels like a YA novel before modern YA. I enjoyed it- it was short, I read it fast.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read. Reading the first of Montgomery, I'm blown away by her ways of weaving words. The plot keeps the story going, and her characters are relatable. Her commentary on social justice (or the lack thereof) is amazing, it hits home, as I hail from a closely knit community of judgemental idlers. All in all, a very enjoyable read, that I'd gladly recommend to friends.

I can see why some people may have liked this book but there was nothing about it I liked beside our MC getting her blue castle fantasy. I was so bored the whole time and found myself struggling so hard to stay focused and push through. Almost DNF’ed the book because I was over it and it sadly didn’t get better for me. I’m very glad it’s over and I don’t ever have to read this book again lol.

Never personally enjoyed older romance novels but this captivated me! The main character was written extremely well and overall the book had so many aspects to it: while romance, it had comedy, sadness, and the overall end towards the book was heart-wrenching. Definitely an amazing read if you like romance (especially without the gushy part of it), but just pure passion, friendship/companionship, and the overall feeling of someone to spend the rest of your life with.

Very fun and sweet!!

The Blue Castle holds a special place in my heart as one of my favorite books. The storytelling, the emotion, and the characters are just so amazing! If I could give this more than 5 stars, I would!

❤️❤️❤️ Ich möchte es am liebsten gleich noch einmal lesen 😍

I just love this book very dearly. It's a comedy, it's a love story, it's a cinderella-type reverse-tragedy; but above all, it's about identity and self-acceptance, and in a roundabout way, about forgiveness. Twenty-nine year old Valancy lives a dull, restrained life with a strict, rather domineering mother and cousin and an overcritical extended family who all have the idea of her as a timid, meek, strange little creature who never says or does anything unexpected. Unmarried (considered an old maid) and with no prospects, she sees nothing in her future that would disrupt the monotony of her life. Until she gets a diagnosis from a heart doctor that changes everything. Strangely, the news that she has only a year to live is freeing to Valancy, and she makes the decision to spend it truly living. To the shock of her family, and to the town, Valancy no longer censors herself-- she does and says whatever she likes. She moves out of her mother's home. She does not bend to the will of her family any longer. And she falls in love-- but all will come to reckoning when her year is up. I love that this is about someone who is "too old" for a coming-of-age story-- someone who has been overlooked and unseen for so long that she no longer dares to hope for anything else. But she gets her "coming-of-age", or rather her "coming-of-identity" story. Valancy grows and changes and learns who she is-- someone who is worth being seen and loved and known. And in learning about herself, Valancy sees her family-- having long resented them for how they have treated her-- in a new light as well. Also, Barney is just the sweetest. Gorgeous prose, an incredible sense of atmosphere (I can just see the Canadian forests changing seasons through L.M. Montgomery's descriptions), and wit along with imperfect but lovely characters-- this will always be a comfort-read. I'm graduating this one to a Favorite.

I read this as my escapist side book. Pleasantly surprised. It's a simple story that delivers in its bits of joy, which you can tell is what are this book's intentions. Also learned that the flowery, child-like wonder prose that I attributed to Anne is actually just L.M. Montgomery. Another pleasant surprise that convinces me that there have been, are, and will be plenty of people who enter life insisting on wearing rose colored glasses.

At first I didn't think I was going to like this book, but from the moment Valancy stopped caring about making everyone else happy, I loved it! This is definitely a book I would suggest reading!

My favourite L M Montgomery book

This book is very highly recommended! I read the first chap lap tee and didn’t think much of it, but how wrong I was! There was wit, and funny details that made me laugh, and the ending was splendid. Read it for a book club and it was amazing!