Reviews with content warning for Abortion - Shrines of Gaiety

Ugh. This book was FAR too long for what it was. I liked the story, but I hated the meandering storytelling. I wanted to like it more, but I was just toooooooo bored most of the time.

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samsearle's review against another edition

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reflective tense slow-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? Yes

3.0

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lostinthelibrary's review

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

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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ppppaula's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

Kate Atkinson can do no wrong! Another cleverly written story with memorable characters in a great setting (1920s London). Think nightclubs, gangs, runaway teens, a wily family matriarch, detectives, and a cast of strong characters.

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k_longhurst's review

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funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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bedtimesandbooks's review

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dark hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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madamelacy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.0

It took me a while to get into this book. It felt like the story didn’t really get going until halfway through, but maybe I read the first half in too many sittings. Once it got going it was a really interesting plot with some good twists along the way.

The settings of the London nightclubs in the 1920s were interesting as they’re not something I knew anything about.

The story weaves together gangsters, poverty, murders, police corruption and complicated relationships.

I liked that there were several strong female characters who were controlling their own destinies, even if I didn’t especially like their life choices.

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