Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Shrines of Gaiety

This was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I was pulled in from the start by the setting and the intriguing plot. A lot of mystery was set up early on and the fast paced plot and short chapters kept me reading. I did however find the ending a bit unsatisfying and rushed with a lot of the plotlines dropped or very hastily wrapped up.

I can't believe how many characters were suddenly killed off in the last 5% of the book!

.

There are a lot of characters in this book and they are not given equal care and attention. There were characters I loved (Gwendolen, Freda, Kitty and Ramsey to name a few) characters I hated who I was supposed to like (Frobisher!) and countless characters who were very thinly drawn. For such a character based novel, I found this disappointing.

However, saying all this, I can't deny that I had a lot of fun reading this book and it makes me want to read more from this era.

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why_not's review

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mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This novel is interesting and very well written. It is character driven though I feel as if the characters aren't really explored. My favorite parts explored the point of view from Nellie and Gwendolen, but those from the Coker children, Frobisher, and Florence fall a little flat.
The point of views from a female mob boss losing the reigns of her empire is novel and performed quite well imo. And that from a nurse hardened in the first world war despite being a bit of a "not like the other girls" trope is fun as we see her expectations of police work differ from reality.
Other than that the characters feel flat. I know Frobisher is supposed to be our Niven foil. I won't go too much into Florence, but her story doesn't feel complete.
My biggest gripe is the slow start. SoG takes nealy half the book to finish explaining the case and the Coker empire. Then the rising action and climax all come very quickly and take something of a backseat to the love triangle. Then everything is wrapped up in a nice bow. I wish the story challenged me more and spent a bit more time with Florence who had a chance to be an extremely interesting character.

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