3.25k reviews for:

The Essex Serpent

Sarah Perry

3.53 AVERAGE

rlse's review against another edition

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Hmm. Always a strange sign when I feel relief when finishing a book. This is one of those books where you know it’s good and has a lot of chewy thought-stuff in it, but my enjoyment was very sporadic.

Spoiler

The timeline of the climax makes no sense to me.

hksmith's review against another edition

4.75

mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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A truly unique historical novel with the myth of the essex serpent at its heart. I couldn't stop reading

kiersten620's review against another edition

4.5

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

racheljane96's review against another edition

4.5

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

daphne_the_library_elf's review against another edition

3.25

mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

antheia_dashwood's review against another edition

4.0

mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

kpeeps111's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

chlo4876's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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A phenomenal read that challenges current ideas about victorian era life and roles of women. At times this book felt a little confusing, but I found the overall plot and characters fascinating and engaging.

larkken's review against another edition

4.5

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

camilla_p's review against another edition

3.5

emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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• the writing style is very reminiscent of older books, more something from the 20th century than the 21st, but it’s very well written
• it’s much more emotionally driven than I expected but i wouldn’t say that’s a bad thing, just something to be aware of
• the ending isn’t necessarily incomplete, but it did feel the slightest bit unsatisfactory, especially since you can alegou half of the characters now have worse lives
• i don’t know that it’s a book i would reread again but i’m glad i read it at least once