Review: The Spanish Promise

The Spanish Promise by Karen Swan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I haven't read anything by this author before so I wasn't really sure what to expect.

This is another one of those books that has split timelines -the past, and the present. In the latter, Charlotte is sent to Spain to find out a little more about the woman who is at the centre of a Rich Family Scandal - she's the intendee for the entire fortune of a family who knows nothing about her. In the former - 1930s Spain - Nene is the rebellious daughter of a Rich Family trying to live life on her own terms instead of her family's. Naturally the timelines intertwine, but the mystery is unravelling how.

I enjoyed the beginning, and all the questions surrounding the mystery. There's also the question mark of Charlotte's past which makes her an intriguing protagonist who is hard to get a read on. To be honest, I never felt particularly attached to her. She's the prim and proper lady with a secret past but she seemed like a pretty generic lead to me. That made it harder to get into the story, and when we did found out more about her it still didn't really help me connect. Same with Nathan - I never really got a clear picture of him so I wasn't really fussed about their relationship.

Nene is a much more interesting character, particularly in the first half of the book. I really enjoyed the way this novel explores the theme of wealth, and how having it doesn't necessarily mean you're happy. How, in fact, having great wealth can come with great responsibilities. It was quite fascinating to see things through Nene's eyes. The book also touches on events from the Spanish Civil War which sets an interesting backdrop for history lovers. I personally could have done without the war talk but I imagine there will be plenty who really enjoy this aspect.

There was a lot involved in the story, so to me it felt a little messy and stilted, with the split timelines never seeming to fit quite right to me. It was also a shame that some of the exciting moments from the past were ruined by the blunt delivery of facts in the present.

I never felt attached to the characters, so the love story angle was a bit disappointing for me. It just felt like more effort went into describing the burdens of wealth so not much was left over to convey a proper sense of who these people were and why they made the choices they did. I kept forgetting that Marina was 40-something and it took me half the book to remember that Mateo was the son of the dying man. It's very hard to connect to a story when you don't have a clear idea of who the characters are.

The writing was decent and painted a beautiful picture of Spain, but failed to really connect emotionally. There were some beautiful descriptions and great ideas but it just felt a little flat to me. I enjoyed the mystery but it seemed to be solved rather quickly so I wondered a bit about what more there was to explain.

I enjoyed the story overall but never really felt emotionally attached. All the same, I'll probably pick up more from this author in the future.

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