Review: The Page Turner

The Page Turner by Viola Shipman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I am afraid I will be one of the very few who did not fall in love with this novel. If it weren't for the retribution toward the 'villain' at the end of the book, I would not have finished it. Curiosity got the best of me, and I was disappointed.

The characters are annoying snobs with a hearty dose of pretentiousness and elitism thrown in. And this was just the secondary characters! The main character, Emma, is a composite of every cliche out there—strong yet childish, smart yet naive, and I could go on, but I won't bore you.

The 'villain' is just too evil, complete with evil laughs and mannerisms, and there is no subtlety whatsoever.

The parents...well, what can I say? Snobs, elitist, entitled, and on and on. And this includes the influencer sister Jess.

About the only person that I did like, and was an honest character, was VV.

Please read the other reviews. You might find that my opinion on this book is not in line with yours.

*ARC supplied by the publisher Graydon House/HarperCollins, the author, and ATTL/Edelweiss.

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Summary: "A young romance writer finds success and vindication when she discovers a hidden manuscript at her family's summer home that throws her snobbish parents' high-brow literary careers into chaos. A sharp, insightful family drama for fans of Elinor Lipman and Jennifer Weiner.

Emma Page grew up the black sheep in a bookish household, raised to believe that fine literature is the only worthy type of fiction. Her parents, self-proclaimed “serious” authors who run their own vanity press, The Mighty Pages, mingle in highbrow social circles that look down on anything too popular or mainstream, while her sister, Jess, is a powerful social media influencer whose stylish reviews can make or break a novel.

Hiding her own romance manuscript from her disapproving parents, Emma finds inspiration at the family cottage among the “fluff” they despise: the juicy summer romances that belonged to her late grandmother. But a chance discovery unearthed from her Gigi’s belongings reveals a secret that has the power to ruin her parents’ business and destroy their reputation in the industry—a secret that has already fallen into the hands of an unscrupulous publishing insider with a grudge to settle. Now Emma must decide—as much as she’s dreamed of the day when her parents are forced to confront their own egos, can she really just sit back and watch The Mighty Pages be exposed and their legacy destroyed?

From the wealthy enclaves of the Hamptons to the sparkling shores of Lake Michigan, The Page Turner is a delectable glimpse inside the world of publishing, and Viola Shipman’s most glittering achievement yet!