Reviews with content warning for Sexism - A Dreadful Splendor

The writing in this novel is fine. Near the end – or the further I got into the book – the more Myers seemed to find a writing flow. However, a couple chapters or so into the book, I realized that several paragraphs were formatted nearly the same length with sentences of exactly (or nearly exactly) the same length with the same rhythm. Once I noticed this, it was hard to keep reading as it gave a very boring, dry sound to every piece of action, despite the story being utterly compelling. Eventually, this kind of fell away, but it never fully left, and it really struck me as quite hard to continue reading.

Characters: 3.5⭐️/5

Alright, so the characters are interesting, but also inconsistent at various points. I felt like some of the backstory was thrown in almost too conveniently and it gave a lack of polish to the characters. However, I did find our MC and our main love interest compelling and – as the story continued – they grew nicely (if conveniently) enough to keep me engaged and happy.

Plot: 4⭐️/5

The plot started strong. We have a crooked medium who robs her clients in order to pay her rent. We have a conveniently rich man who has need of her fake services. And we have a murder – or suicide? – that we need to solve. Compelling, right? I loved the main plot. For as predictable as some turns were, it remained fun and fresh in feeling enough to keep me thoroughly engaged. However, my main gripe is with the ending, which felt like way too much, too soon. For some reason, Myers chose to use about the final 20-30 pages to wrap up every little thread possible – including several that really should have been left alone. The overwriting of the ending was hard to deal with, especially after a fun journey.

Who Should Read This Book?

Fans of fantasy and mystery novels
Fans of mystery novels looking for a fresh plot
Fans of historical mystery novels with a side dish of romance
Readers of the above persuasion looking for plot overwriting

Content Warnings?

Murder, gaslighting, mental illness, stalking, police brutality (minor), child abuse, death, pregnancy, miscarriage, incest, violence, injury, injury detail, blood, grief, gore, confinement, drowning, infidelity, toxic relationship, misogyny, sexism, slavery (minor), emotional abuse, physical abuse, suicide, animal death (minor)

Post-Reading Rating: 3.5⭐️/5

Oh, if only it hadn’t tried to wrap up every tiny thread in the last bit of the novel, I could have loved it so much more.

Final Rating: 3.5⭐️/5

Content Warnings

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

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samandthebookstack's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes

4.0

London in the 1850s is not a kind place for a young woman with no one to rely on but herself.

Genevieve Timmons is a spiritualist, but not an authentic one. While her moral compass doesn't exactly point due north, she uses the skills her mother taught her to conduct seances that bring peace to the living and line her pockets just enough so that she can get by, all she needs is this one last job and she'll be on a train out of London for good.

But when her last job goes horribly wrong, Genevieve finds herself in jail awaiting the gallows and has no choice but to accept an offer to conduct another seance in an effort to soothe the sorrows of one Mr.Pemberton, master of Pemberton Park, an estate near the sea.

But all is not what it seems and a mystery is afoot. Mr.Pemberton's betrothed is believed to have committed suicide and everyone at Pemberton Park believes the estate is haunted and its family cursed. Genevieve will have to sift through the lives of everyone there to determine the truth and conduct a seance believable enough to root out a murderer-her life depends on it.

Trigger warnings: suicide, death of a parent, mental illness, miscarriage, sexism, incest, pregnancy

I really enjoyed this one. The mystery itself had enough twists and turns that I didn't immediately guess what I suspected might happen, although I knew early on which characters were not trustworthy. The romance wasn't overbearing to the overall plot and the story does give us a very satisfying HEA. All in all, it was an enjoyable read. If you're looking for a light read with morally gray characters, gothic romance (light on the romance), and a murder mystery with paranormal themes then you'll probably enjoy this.

Content Warnings