Review: When An Apple Tree Blossoms by Bruno Bernard

Published: August 2016

Pages: 265

Synopsis: “The haunted story Horatio Rees, a London stock broker who inherits a troubled farm house in present day Wales. Read the gradual mounting mystery of a ghost tale set in the United Kingdom.”

Rating: **

I received a free copy of When An Apple Tree Blossoms in exchange for an honest review.

The first thing I noticed was that this had an old-fashioned tone, which fit with the earlier period setting. First test passed. Unfortunately, the same tone continued into the modern day plot (2015), which made the book feel very dry and a little difficult to read. There were however some good references to events, such as the Greek referendum in 2015.

Author Bruno Bernard definitely knows something about stocks and trading, as these sections seemed very well informed.

Despite the old-fashioned tone, the descriptions were long vivid and emotive.

Horatio's frequent use of the word 'gosh' made him seem quite pompous and added to the difficulty I had in warming to him. I didn't feel that I connected with any of the characters, which again made the book difficult to get in to.

I would recommend When An Apple Tree Blossoms to readers who enjoy literary fiction, as I would class this as almost prose. Overall, was mainly well written just not for me.