3 stars. As a fan of Emma Donoghue's book ROOM I was looking forward to reading LEARNED BY HEART, however I found myself disappointed. I thought LEARNED BY HEART would be primarily historical fiction with an element of romance. Instead it was a romance set in a historical setting. I didn't realize it was based on real people until I reached the end of the book and read the notes. I wish I had known this information prior to reading the book, as I think it would have added some interest to the storyline while I was reading. I sometimes found the location and setting (a key reason I read books) a bit confusing and difficult to follow, which was a big letdown as I don't have much background knowledge of York and would have loved to learn more. It was as though Donoghue's missed the mark when translating her research notes into a novel format, and thus the novel read more like research notes at times, resulting in dry and uninteresting location/historical descriptions (unless maybe you specialize in York history, or already have a strong grasp of the local and can relate to the sites being referenced). I also found the cast of boarding school classmates (aside from the 2 main characters) difficult to remember due to the quick introduction of multiple girls at the beginning of the book. With so many introduced in close succession it was a struggle to remember "who was who" throughout the book. I wish I could give this book a higher rating due to it's classification as LGBT and queer romance, however I found it to be only a so-so read in regards to clarity of setting, supporting character, and effectiveness of the historical setting and details.

Emma Donoghue is a fantastic storyteller. I absolutely loved getting immersed in her work yet again. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review another of her wonderful works!

I couldn’t get into this for some reason—the story was too quiet for me and felt nearly subdued. That said, I could have started it at the wrong time, so I am going to try again. Emma Donaghue is a stunning writer and I think perhaps I just need a different setting.

4.5 stars


I absolutely loved this book!! Donoghue's knowledge as a historian shines through in the best possible way, making the novel feel very grounded in its setting yet approachable to the modern reader. I loved how she described York and the characters' movements through it; while I've only spent a few days in that city, it was still very fun to be able to visualize the characters' journeys through space. I also absolutely loved Eliza's character. It was so beautiful to see the care and thought Donoghue put into building this character, from the fleeting glimpses we have of the historical Eliza Raine's life.

So, so thoroughly recommend this book!!!

This book really had no plot but something about it is sticking with me. The way that these two characters are written and their yearning for each other is so compelling and I am so sad for our main character for how her story ended. I thought the authors note was also really interesting.

So overall - vibes - incredible - plot - mediocre

As a long-time Emma Donoghue fan (Room remains one of my all-time favorite novels), it pains me to say that Learned By Heart is quite boring. It has so many elements I love: fiction based on real women, lesbian love herstory, and boarding school. It's impeccably researched historical fiction, and Donoghue is faithful to that history. The result, however, is very little plot and lots of boarding school girls talking. Aside from the two main characters, I struggled to care about any of the other classmates. I appreciated Raine and Lister and their love. I liked the glimpse into the realities of boarding school in the early 1800s England. I'm glad to know the history of these two women. But mostly I was bored, caring enough to finish and enjoying the author's note more than the novel itself.

Loved this captivating story by one of my favorite authors. The characters are wonderful and the setting very clear and unexpected. I loved the time period this took place and the inclusion in the story line.
One of my favorites by Donohughe

Emma Donoghue has done it again! A masterful work of historical sapphic fiction, per usual. Donoghue is an auto-read author for me, as well as many others, and this certainly did not negatively impact that status.

I read other books by this author years ago so i was happy to read her again. she is just as good as i remember and i have reccomemnded her and her books including this one to manay

I don't know what exactly I was waiting for from this book. I just know it wasn't for me.
There were so many great opportunities and somehow, considering how great other works of Donoghue have been, this one missed the mark.

I won't go into full details because I know people were thorn. I am just on the 'No, thank you' side and that is okay.

While I liked this story and this book, I didn't love it as much as I had hoped to. I feel like Donoghue hasn't written a novel as compelling and consuming as "Room" yet, though I'll keep reading them and hoping the next one will be it! I found the story of two young girls who fall in love in a time and place where they are forbidden to very good and well written, but I wasn't super excited to turn the page or read on to the next chapter.

The result of Emma Donoghue's decades-long obsession with Anne Lister, Learned by Heart is the heart-breaking and intimate reinvisioning of Lister's time at an all-girls boarding school and her blossoming relationship with Eliza Raine. What starts out as a familiar tale of young, forbidden love quickly turns into a darker exploration of obsession, classism and racism. I love Donoghue's writing but the emotional impact of this story didn't land as much for me as previous works.

Highly anticipated this novel based on Donoghue's previous books but ultimately it was a letdown. Well researched, eventually picks up, but just too slow and seems like just the beginning of the whole story.

I loved this book! I will definitely recommend it. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This was a bit slow for my liking. Emma donaghue seems to pick very fascinating topics to write about but they don’t always have mass appeal. The plot moved at a snail’s pace but the writing was top notch per usual. 4 stars thru and thru!

Generally I am not a huge historical fiction reader but something about this story pulled me in. Based on the true story of these two young women we watch as they develop and grow from young women struggling with school and bigger life issues to women managing their friendship and the world. I enjoyed the voices of both of the characters although the dialogue sometimes felt clunky, but really who knows how teenagers then would speak! I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

I was really excited to read this one - Room was such an excellent story and so well written.

For me, this one was just ok. The dialogue was a killer for me. I know that it is teenagers but I didn't enjoy the way the story flowed. It was a little stiff in its telling. And while the story itself was good, I just didn't like how it was written.

Well researched historical sapphic novel about Anne Lister and her partner Eliza Raine. This title didn't grab me like Donoghue's others, and left me adrift similar to how I felt after reading Haven. I so wanted to love them both but the just fell flat. Will continue to read future work by Donoghue.

An awesome sapphic/coming-of-age/historical fiction! I loved Eliza's voice, I felt so immersed in her every day interactions. It was also so fun to see a young Anne Lister too!

This book did not really hold my interest but I was able to finish it. Maybe because it was based on real people and events, it just did not have the excitement of Room or The Wonder. Emma Donoghue is one of those authors where I am never sure if I will love the book or just find it ho-hum. I feel like her non-fiction sources for this book might be more interesting. I gathered from the notes that this is a book close to the author's heart and wonder if maybe didnt get the polishing it needed.