Reviews

Nettleblack by Nat Reeve

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inkyisabelle's review

adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

A whimsical queer delight. I adored the characters, the world-building was so vivid and immersive. So refreshing to read about queer characters living their lives in historical fiction, without homophobia being a major issue. Sometimes historical fiction can suffer from the characters feeling quite dusty and too serious -- -- this definitely wasn't the case! The characters are full of wit and warmth, whilst still feeling largely true to the period. My only complaint was that it's a bit unbelievable that the entire book takes place in a week (!!!!), and that there were a few moments where I was quite confused about what was going on, and had to re-read a few times. But all in all a delightful read - can't wait for the sequel!

redheadreading's review

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

Rip-roaring fun that seems uniquely designed to appeal to all of my favourite things!! Bendegedig!

houndpits's review

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adventurous funny mysterious 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

3.25

amy_park's review

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adventurous hopeful medium-paced

3.0

A very emersive story set in victorian southern england following a village of people who are investigating crimes, presented through a combination of journel entries and transcripts. This book was long! I enjoyed the emersive setting and descriptions, however I feel the length of the book wasn't worth the "pay-off".
I found the writing style and tone by the protagonist Henry, was not my cup of tea. I found these entries were slightly annoying and alot of filler, once I realised other character journal entries were going to be explored, it made me want to read Henry's sections quicker to get to the other characters. Although the setting was emmersive, the plot was very elaborate and the resolution was anticlimactic, some plot points were not resolved and the motivation behind the crimes was pretty weak. I don't think I would read a sequel, but it did give me autumnal vibes when going into the season.

questingnotcoasting's review

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I really wanted to like this but I know I'm never going to get into the writing style. I love the idea of the book but it's not going to be for me.

belllabees's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

So glad I found this book, what a gem! All of the farcical elements made me nostalgic for my college days of reading British plays. I wish there were more queer books like this because I would read all of them. It’s kind of a genius concept. On top of that, every single character in this was so much fun, even those I initially thought I would dislike. The whole experience was a charming delight with wonderful prose that’s very reminiscent of Victorian novels if you’re into that kind of thing. Deserves to become much more popular among the queer readers crowd. It would surely fit in well.