I finished this this morning and I also give it 4 out of 5 stars. The writing style was very good but some of the topic matter was difficult. I was not too connected to any of the characters, it was a tad depressing but written well.
Yes, Lydia was definitely lost. I think since she lost her mother very young and her father was anything but a parent to her she never learned self-confidence or independence etc. She was very impressionable so for her to meet Father Tim it was easy for him to get her to believe his side of things. I was not a big fan of Annie's either, and Simon Haas did not sound like a catch to me!
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