This book shines on every level: sentence after sentence is beautiful and precise. The characters are complicated and sympathetic, the ideas are sweeping and profound, but are never too overt. It’s a rare novel that is as accomplished in its meaning as it is in its storytelling while also succeeding wildly on the language level as well! A novel to lose yourself in and then reflect upon again and again.

The cover is gorgeous but this was just too long and long winded and did not go anywhere. It was nice, but I could not keep up or keep track of characters and all the stories behind the stories.

<i>The American Fiance</i> is a tome covering three generations of the Lamontagne family, starting in a small French Canadian town hours outside Montreal. While I found the initial chapters entertaining, it took some time to see the threads running throughout the stories of the various, very different characters and story lines. The story winds through themes of memory, family drama, opera, faith and where we call home. As it wraps up, some factors seem almost too-good-to-be-true, and wrap up almost tell well in coming full circle. Still, an extremely enjoyable and very beautifully written, (I read the English translation of the French original), I would recommend this work to fans of John Irving, Elizabeth McKraken, and John Updike.

Thank you to NetGalley for a Kindle ARC of The American Fiancee.

First, I love the cover. It's beautiful, whimsical, like something you see in a dream and want to chase.

I'm not going to lie: the cover caught my lie and peaked my interest in the book, which is why I requested it.

The American Fiancee is a weighty tome, a multi-generational tale about the Lamontagnes, including their feisty women, all named Madeleine.

Unfortunately, the novel is too long, fraught with many names and places I ended up forgetting or wondering about their connections to the main characters.

Long tales makes it difficult for me to connect with a character, any character, and I found it hard to care about anyone.

The writing is great, but I wasn't emotionally invested in the story of the Lamontagnes.

I just couldn't find myself really interested in this book. It was a bit overwhelming with the number of characters and plot points to be remembered.

This starts off fairy strong and is a tale within a tale. It’s intriguing and really weaves a story. Unfortunately it loses steam halfway through which is when stories usually pick up and have to hold your interest. It never fully captivates you again and that’s the real shame. It was hard to decipher what was going on throughout the book which is a shame. It’s really well written however although sometimes I felt uncomfortable.

Thank you very much to Netgalley and the publisher to this copy of my ARC. All opinions are my own.