Scan barcode
fatalamelia's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
ab_30's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
fast-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
4.25
the_sunken_library's review against another edition
3.0
Eerie and surreal but the ending fell a bit flat for me sadly.
tregina's review against another edition
5.0
I don't think there is anything about this book that I didn't love. The setting (the history, the architecture, the time period, the library), the characters (every voice utterly distinct), the story (unreliable narrators galore in a maybe paranormal mystery), the style (interview/storytelling, news articles, all those points of view)...it was all pretty much exactly what I love. As if someone came to me and asked me to give them a list of everything I wanted to see, and tailored it for me.
Right from word one it snared me and kept me there. Even now that I'm finished, it still keeps me.
Right from word one it snared me and kept me there. Even now that I'm finished, it still keeps me.
hollyn_middle's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
awelsh's review against another edition
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
3.0
I wanted to like this more. Love the premise and the build up but I just needed more background and suspense. Once the girl appears in the pub the story is just over. There’s not enough about her in the earlier parts of the book to speculate on where she came from or who she is so it just didn’t feel all that sinister to me. Three stars for the premise and the overall atmosphere (not dark, really, but I did feel like the folk band era was captured well), but this one fell flat for me.
lexandall's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mehsi's review against another edition
3.0
What happened that summer so many years ago? What kind of spooky things lurk in this book?
Thanks to .... for recommending this one. I have to say it was a pretty good read, but it wasn’t that scary or haunting or spooky. It was slightly unsettling at times, especially the descriptions of the house (which I would never ever visit, and I would have left way before things got truly out of hand). And yes, there were a few moments that had me scared or creeped out, but I had expected much more. The blurb made it seem like something huge happened, but yeah, I was kind of sad about what actually happened.
The book is told through various POV. Throughout each of them we find out what happened during that summer. The summer that they were recording an album and trying to recover from the death of one of their bandmembers, Arianna. The summer that their lead singer/leader disappeared and was never seen (well….).
Unlike some books with multiple POV I didn’t have any problems discerning between the bandmembers, each of them had their own unique voice, their own story to tell. And I really wanted to get to know all of them. See what kind of personalities they had, what they saw in that summer, how they experienced the band, how that time was for them (as it was a time of sex, drugs, and folk music). Of course, I wasn’t a fan of all of them, but for most they were quite likeable. My favourite would be Nancy or Lesley, followed by Jon and Will.
I quite liked the idea that this book takes place so many years after the event, that they are finally agreeing with telling their story.
I hated how the police, but also the manager, took so long to act. Maybe Julian could have been saved, then again, I think the moment he went to do dark arts, and whatever that girl was, he was screwed. Then again, the question remains, did he mind what happened? And what truly happened to him?
The photographs, well, for once I didn’t mind not seeing them. The descriptions were horrific enough to have my imagination spin a nice image for me in my head. Thank you!
That last chapter, from Jon(no)’s POV gave me some serious goosebumps. That is sure one way to end this book, and it was a perfect way.
All in all, I flew through this book, and I would still recommend it even if it wasn’t as creepy as I had hoped.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
Thanks to .... for recommending this one. I have to say it was a pretty good read, but it wasn’t that scary or haunting or spooky. It was slightly unsettling at times, especially the descriptions of the house (which I would never ever visit, and I would have left way before things got truly out of hand). And yes, there were a few moments that had me scared or creeped out, but I had expected much more. The blurb made it seem like something huge happened, but yeah, I was kind of sad about what actually happened.
The book is told through various POV. Throughout each of them we find out what happened during that summer. The summer that they were recording an album and trying to recover from the death of one of their bandmembers, Arianna. The summer that their lead singer/leader disappeared and was never seen (well….).
Unlike some books with multiple POV I didn’t have any problems discerning between the bandmembers, each of them had their own unique voice, their own story to tell. And I really wanted to get to know all of them. See what kind of personalities they had, what they saw in that summer, how they experienced the band, how that time was for them (as it was a time of sex, drugs, and folk music). Of course, I wasn’t a fan of all of them, but for most they were quite likeable. My favourite would be Nancy or Lesley, followed by Jon and Will.
I quite liked the idea that this book takes place so many years after the event, that they are finally agreeing with telling their story.
I hated how the police, but also the manager, took so long to act. Maybe Julian could have been saved, then again, I think the moment he went to do dark arts, and whatever that girl was, he was screwed. Then again, the question remains, did he mind what happened? And what truly happened to him?
The photographs, well, for once I didn’t mind not seeing them. The descriptions were horrific enough to have my imagination spin a nice image for me in my head. Thank you!
That last chapter, from Jon(no)’s POV gave me some serious goosebumps. That is sure one way to end this book, and it was a perfect way.
All in all, I flew through this book, and I would still recommend it even if it wasn’t as creepy as I had hoped.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
helloremi's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.25