"The Girl From Colombia" by Julián Rodríguez revolves around an arranged marriage, a mystery around a young girl, and a love affair. The first chapter had me very intrigued and excited to read more, but I was a little disappointed in the mystery/thriller aspect. The story felt more like a drama with an arranged marriage and love triangle. The writing style at times was wordy and/or confusing. All this being said, it was a good story, and a quick read. Overall, I enjoyed the book.

Dark twisted thrilling story that kept me hooked from beginning to end.

Starts off slow but that's not particularly a bad thing. I f you are not a fan of the slow burn then it may be hard for you to get into this one but it is worth it

I was a bit skeptical that I was going to enjoy this novela. However, I was hooked from the first page. Even though it jumped a bit causing confusion, I enjoyed this historical fiction.
Set in the Victorian era (1800s) this novel has suspense, drama, and romance.

Eu li esse livro totalmente pela capa, não fazia ideia do que se tratava e tenho que fazer menos isso, estou fazendo demais. 😅 Não conhecia o autor. O livro eu um pouco pesado pelos temas abordados e tem personagens muito oito ou oitenta ou gostamos muito ou detestamos, muito bons ou muito ruins, não tem muito escala de cinza nesse livro. Mas esse livro me fez retomar um pouco minha vontade de ler depois de uma ressaca daquelas de mais de um mês.

The Girl From Colombia is a dark, foreboding Victorian tale, with an arranged marriage, a mysterious character in Isabel, and enough intrigue to keep this a fast paced read while conveying the tenor and culture of the times.


Descriptions draw the reader into the story and make the characters believable. The first few chapters provide information in a way that felt a bit sluggish, but once you get past that you won't be able to put it down.

All in all a nice quick read, perfect for summer.

The Girl from Colombia is a dark twisted, thrilling story. The first couple of chapters start off a bit slow but it is understandable to develop the characters over time. It was definitely mysterious once you get past those chapters, and it definitely had me at breezing through the rest of the chapters. Definitely not what I thought would happen but some of the best books keep you in suspense until the end.

THE GIRL FROM COLOMBIA
by Julian Rodriguez
Pub Date 12 Mar 2020 | Archive Date 15 Apr 2022
BooksGoSocial
Historical Fiction | Mystery & Thrillers | Romance


I am reviewing a copy of The Girl From Colombia through BooksGoSocial and Netgalley:




This book takes us back to the 19th Century, New Jersey where a cold, cruel beast of a man plots an arranged marriage for his son, but the boy’s relationship with a mysterious foreign girl threatens everything.




It’s 1890 in New Jersey Joseph Johnson arrives from London to see the property that his wealthy industrialist father, Samuel, has developed on the American coast. Riding through the dunes, the 19-year-old comes across a two-room cabin that houses his father’s 18-year-old adopted daughter, Isabel. Before this visit, Joseph knew nothing about the young woman, whom his father apparently saved from drowning off the coast of Colombia when she was small. Joseph knows almost nothing about Samuel, either, as the man left him back in England to be raised by a nurse; his mother “disappeared.”





Samuel now expects Joseph to marry Elizabeth Edwards, the beautiful daughter of a local doctor. Joseph likes Elizabeth, but he can’t get his mind off the mysterious Isabel, who everyone claims has a fatal disease. Nor does he know that Isabel almost succeeded in poisoning Samuel to death when she was younger. Isabel is anything but welcoming, but as she and Joseph get to know each other, long-held secrets threaten to come to light.



The Girl From Colombia is a dark, foreboding Victorian tale, with an arranged marriage, a mysterious character in Isabel, and enough intrigue to keep this a fast paced read while conveying the tenor and culture of the times.



I give The Girl From Colombia five out of five stars!



Happy Reading!

I thought that this book would be more interesting than it was and felt throughout that something was missing. It never quite seemed to get to where it was going, wherever that was supposed to be.
The character of Samuel Johnson was overly violent and little else and the others (Joseph, Isabel, Elizabeth and Sarah) appeared lacking in depth. Although they were the 'good' characters I felt no empathy with them.
The ending felt flat somehow.
Unfortunately I found this a disappointing read.

I decided to give this book a chance off the premise it could be interesting and it fell flat. Labeled as mystery/thriller in addition to the historical fiction tag, I felt this could have done with better research.

The start was jumbled and suddenly we have our protagonist landing in New Jersey visiting an estranged father. On the estate he glimpses at a woman and becomes suddenly enamored. A story advertised as a thriller, it felt painstakingly clear what the central tension was while the story is desperately trying to make itself appear mysterious. The threads of this story did not connect well and felt shallow. The attention paid to violence against women and treating women solely as objects was heavy handed and distasteful. If there are any details to be had, many of them happened off page and left a reader disoriented.

My biggest gripe with this story has to be a one-off sentence by an ex-pat in the 1880s portion referring to what was happening in Panama as a 'coup' related to the Canal, whereas much of the resistance and eventual independence of Panama happened much later at the turn of the century. As an avid fan of historical fiction, it is frustrating to see a detail incorrect because it pulls a reader out of the story entirely.

While The Girl From Columbia, by Julian Rodriguez, is a bit dark, it is a quick read peppered with suspense and twists. Descriptions draw the reader into the setting and make the characters believable. The first few chapters provide information in a way that felt a bit sluggish, but once you get past that. you won't want to put it down.

Without a doubt a thrilling story.
I started the book with an idea and ended up finding something completely different. Of course not in a bad way, I thought I would read more about revenge, yet the book was simply perfect.
The story follows three characters, Isabel, Joseph, and Samuel. each of them carrying their personal demons. Joseph has never been to America before, he stayed in London after his mother died while his father, Samuel, went back to take care of his business. There he meets Isabel, an intriguing beautiful girl in the care of his father who allegedly saved her from drowning and being raised in his house. He never knew of her existence and now the mystery calls to him. While he is to marry Elizabeth, the girl his father chose for him to marry he gets drowned in his cold father's mysterious past. Least of all we have Samuel, a cold man who is proud of his violent ways and the power he has gained. An alliance is formed. The past more come out again.
A story about strength, of a battle of wills in which each character must decide what is what they hold most dear. An incredible tale that hooked me from the very beginning. With fun, lovable characters who are not scared to go beyond the pages to call upon you to follow them. A book I without a doubt recommend.

I love a dark and gothic tale and one that is set in the Victorian period is heaven to me. It was well written with an engaging storyline infused with a creepy gothic undertone and well developed characters that I will think about for a long time.
It was mysterious and twisty and had me on the edge of my seat, I literally read it one sitting I was not putting it down until I had finsihed. i loved it,