Reviews

Bellman and Black: A Ghost Story by Diane Setterfield

jen_jacob's review against another edition

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3.0

I enjoyed this book, although after reading the entire thing it isn't as good as The Thirteenth Tale. Until about half way through I couldn't put it down but somewhere in the last quarter it fell flat where it could have taken on a more macabre, gothic feel. I guess I had higher hopes because The Thirteenth Tale was great, Setterfield could have done better with the ending on this one.

rhianreads14's review against another edition

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Beautiful writing but entirely unengaging story

mrsdryoder's review against another edition

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4.0

I enjoyed the story all the way up to the end, but there it fell flat to me. I read it on my nook, which makes it difficult to read the ending first as I like to do. Hard to say if I would have read this one if I had known the ending first. I liked the author's first novel better.

abaugher's review against another edition

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5.0

what a story!

madmooney's review against another edition

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4.0

Quick thoughts: I enjoyed Setterfield's ability to give her story a placeless and timeless feel (much like she did in The Thirteenth Tale) Its difficult to effectively describe the plot of the book without describing the 1st half of it. Basically, it is a "man makes a deal with with force(s) he doesn't understand when tragedy strikes" sort of story...but it is so much more than that. I never would have guessed an author would have been able to make the textile industry sound interesting enough to read about...good on you, Diane!

s_l's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious sad slow-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

3.0

amcc92's review against another edition

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2.0

this book didnt come close to The Thirteenth Tale, which is amazing! i was honestly disappointed with this book, and i wouldnt suggest it to anyone. while there was a couple aspects i liked, such as the main character, it didnt make up for the blah plot line.

abbeygsj's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad slow-paced

2.75

coffee_and_wool's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

2.25

nancy33's review against another edition

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1.0

I kept waiting for the Ghost story or at least some plot twist! It was a long, slow plot that ended exactly nowhere. If the ending was decent, I would have give it 2 or 3 stars, as the writing was enjoyable at times. The poor ending just left me so annoyed that the rating was reduced to 1 sad star.