Review: A Different Kind of Lovely

A Different Kind of Lovely by Petra March
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A Different Kind of Lovely is a standalone spinoff novel of Petra March’s A Touch of Cinnamon. In truth, I was a little bit tentative for this very reason. Despite being a standalone novel, I feared I would not understand all the details without reading Petra March’s other books. However, my fear was unfounded – there is no doubt this spinoff book does work perfectly fine as a standalone novel. I am now interested in reading A Touch of Cinnamon, however, as there were characters appear in this book whose story I would like to know more about. Thus, whilst it is perfectly fine to read this as a standalone novel, it will leave you with the desire to read Petra March’s other work.

In truth, my rating of A Different Kind of Lovely is more of a three-point-five-star rating rather than the three-star rating I gave it. I had a bit of a debate as to whether I would round my rating up or down, but in the end I opted to round it down. I know many consider a three-star rating to be a negative rating, but I believe such is not the case. Three-star ratings still reflects enjoyment and a desire to read more, and such was the case with this one – I certainly enjoyed it, and I am interested in picking up Petra March’s other work.

A Different Kind of Lovely is a novel that fills you mind with wonderful images. It is beautifully descriptive, bringing to life the details of every single page. The people, the settings, the events – all of it is brought to life through the wonderful use of words. Whilst I find it easy to imagine any book in my mind, few have ever been quite as vividly detailed as A Different Kind of Lovely. The way Petra March uses her words creates truly detailed scenes in the mind. Moreover, these images occur without an overuse of words – it’s amazing how easily Petra March brings images to life.

These wonderful images accompany a story filled with tragedy. Although this is a romance novel, there is a lot of negative emotion to wade through. Not that it is a chore, merely that it is not the kind of love story where every moment is filled with joy. As with real life, A Different Kind of Lovely shows how the good and bad often go hand in hand – you can fall in love and live life, even with a darkness surrounding the heart.

This is where my rounding down rating comes from. Whilst the images were vivid and the story realistic, I found I didn’t connect with the characters in quite the way I had hoped. When a story has such a heart-breaking storyline, I prefer it if I feel as though I am in the character’s shoes. I want to experience the pain, each and every word should crack at my heart. With A Different Kind of Lovely, I felt like I was an outsider looking in. I could see their pain, I could understand it, but I did not experience it alongside the characters. This is what had me rounding down my rating – although finding the story enjoyable, I wasn’t as connected with the characters as I had hoped I would be. Towards the end I certainly felt that connection starting to build, but it was not quite enough for me to have rounded my rating up.

Overall, however, A Different Kind of Lovely is a beautiful story. It is a tragic romance many will enjoy, one that will leave you wanting more of Petra March’s wonderful words.

View all my reviews