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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This sounded so promising, but it did not have the vibes I was hoping for. I found myself mostly bored and disinterested throughout this, and the writing and story didn't really pull me in. I did however love the way the romance was resolved.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
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:
Yes
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:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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:
Yes
(A Spoiler-Free Review)
Regency. Gothic.Queer. Romance. Fantasy. Mystery. Just a bit of horror. This story has a little something for everyone. We follow Emile - a marquis passing as a servant after running away from his Aunt after she threatened to have him committed for deviance after finding out he's gay. As if keeping his own secrets safe isn't enough, it seems that Emile has a knack for stumbling into other people's secrets as well, putting him in several precarious positions along his journey.
The second I saw that cover I was ready for this love triangle, and it did not disappoint. We have the obvious choice of Bram, who is a doctor by trade and an extremely kind person. He plays a perfect contrast to Henri, the Count of the family Emile works for, and an absolute entitled jerk to start. We do see a lot of improvement as he grows closer to Emile but honestly? It feels too little, too late after all the early red flags.
When there isn't a debate over who Emile likes more at any given moment, there's the matter of mysterious disappearances that are almost certainly murders and a curious illness that overcomes Henri's family once a month overnight.
When Emile learns the truth, will he be able to stay alive long enough to do something about it? And how much are Henri and Bram willing to risk to help him?
There were a few things that kept this from 5 stars for me. This story has a lot going on at times. It was difficult to decide which plot points were truly important to focus on with so many loose ends piling up along the way. I also wish we got a little more of Annette and Blanche - they always seemed to bring a great energy to a scene!!
But overall it was a story I enjoyed losing myself in for a little while and I'm glad I got the chance to pick this one up!
(Thanks to NetGalley and Page Street Publishing for my ARC audiobook! All opinions are my own. )
Regency. Gothic.Queer. Romance. Fantasy. Mystery. Just a bit of horror. This story has a little something for everyone. We follow Emile - a marquis passing as a servant after running away from his Aunt after she threatened to have him committed for deviance after finding out he's gay. As if keeping his own secrets safe isn't enough, it seems that Emile has a knack for stumbling into other people's secrets as well, putting him in several precarious positions along his journey.
The second I saw that cover I was ready for this love triangle, and it did not disappoint. We have the obvious choice of Bram, who is a doctor by trade and an extremely kind person. He plays a perfect contrast to Henri, the Count of the family Emile works for, and an absolute entitled jerk to start. We do see a lot of improvement as he grows closer to Emile but honestly? It feels too little, too late after all the early red flags.
When there isn't a debate over who Emile likes more at any given moment, there's the matter of mysterious disappearances that are almost certainly murders and a curious illness that overcomes Henri's family once a month overnight.
When Emile learns the truth, will he be able to stay alive long enough to do something about it? And how much are Henri and Bram willing to risk to help him?
There were a few things that kept this from 5 stars for me. This story has a lot going on at times. It was difficult to decide which plot points were truly important to focus on with so many loose ends piling up along the way. I also wish we got a little more of Annette and Blanche - they always seemed to bring a great energy to a scene!!
But overall it was a story I enjoyed losing myself in for a little while and I'm glad I got the chance to pick this one up!
(Thanks to NetGalley and Page Street Publishing for my ARC audiobook! All opinions are my own. )
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Among all the kinds of bookish disappointments, there are two I run into with the most frequency and therefore are the most annoying:
A.) When you go into a read thinking it's probably hot garbage, but you're also a little trash panda who sometimes enjoys particularly refined garbage, but then you discover that no, this is just horrible. I do this to myself, and have no one but my own bad judgement to blame.
B.) Then, there's when a book has the potential to be good, but manages to be horrible despite an interesting premise, passable world building and engaging imagery. This is the most disappointing, because wasted potential is almost always more bitter than sweet.
This was the latter, unfortunately, and I am bitter about it. I would have DNF'd if not for the SPECTACULAR abilities of the narrator, the talented Mr. Will Watt, who was also the narrator for the truly wonderful "A Market of Dreams and Destiny." His reading of the story made some of the MC's frankly nonsensical decisions and thought processes feel somewhat believable.
Beyond that ... big yikes.
There were some things I enjoyed:
A.) When you go into a read thinking it's probably hot garbage, but you're also a little trash panda who sometimes enjoys particularly refined garbage, but then you discover that no, this is just horrible. I do this to myself, and have no one but my own bad judgement to blame.
B.) Then, there's when a book has the potential to be good, but manages to be horrible despite an interesting premise, passable world building and engaging imagery. This is the most disappointing, because wasted potential is almost always more bitter than sweet.
This was the latter, unfortunately, and I am bitter about it. I would have DNF'd if not for the SPECTACULAR abilities of the narrator, the talented Mr. Will Watt, who was also the narrator for the truly wonderful "A Market of Dreams and Destiny." His reading of the story made some of the MC's frankly nonsensical decisions and thought processes feel somewhat believable.
Beyond that ... big yikes.
There were some things I enjoyed:
- The gothic elements to the story were fun and genre-appropriate in their horror
- Like I mentioned, the premise was interesting. A young man running away from an undesirable future, becoming a servant and running afoul of a mystery he couldn't comprehend? Yeah, sure, you betchya - that sounds like a fun read!
- The source of the curse and the effects of it made for a fun, kinda fresh take on
werewolves. I had guesses on what the mystery was, but the breadcrumbs were just enough to make me think but not enough to totally give the game away.
Now, for what rode in on the Hot Mess Express:
- Pacing? What pacing? In all seriousness, the action didn't pick up until well into the final third of the book, and even once we arrived at the main conflict of the novel there were still bits that dragged along slowly.
- That love triangle though. I could have been persuaded, had the author built a foundation to imply that
Henri and Bram had feelings for one another beyond friendship before Henri's snobishness broke them apart. Instead, the conclusion to the story - which I am TOTALLY here for, when the storytelling makes sense and is done well - felt abrupt and entirely self-serving for Emile to suggest. Had there been some scene where Bram, who was surprisingly unencumbered by societal expectations, had said something along the lines of"In fact, I could have once seen myself with him as more than friends, and I have no greater regret than how badly I misjudged him and how poorly I almost gave my heart etc." I would have believed the conclusion more. - On that same subject, but focusing on Henri - it's such a big plot point that Henri wronged Bram, but it's not really fleshed out and the explanation we get is delivered almost as an afterthought. I wanted more of Bram being bewildered and hurt, and more of Henri being defensive and heartsick over having to break off their friendship (or more than friendship??! Which would have made more sense?!) to protect his family's secret.
- Emile's inner voice was really fucking annoying, and became the definition of telling instead of showing. There was no real Yearning (what a waste) and just hemming and hawing over and over and over again. The indecision between his two suitors got old and tired, and the
"why not both?" moment at the end was more cringe than triumph. And having that conversation in front of the mom and sister?! I repeat: Big Yikes. - Blanche's
sexuality. Obviously, I am all for a bisexual werewolf queen but there was absolutely no hint at her desire for women beyond the other lady that Emile clocked as gay sending her letters. And until the very end, when it was decided that Emile actually was okay marrying Blanche to appease society (which was also bullshit, given how that was the driver of the whole conflict in the middle of the book) because she could be with her ladyfriend, it was never once hinted that Blanche returned her ladyfriend's affections in any way beyond friendship. She only ever talked about male suitors and princes, etc. Don't frickin' use bisexuality as a last-minute deus ex machina. It's annoying and lazy and biphobic. - And finally, the thing that made me consider DNF'ing the hardest. CALLING OUT THAT HENRI WAS RIDING A STALLION AND THEN USING SHE/HER PRONOUNS TO TALK ABOUT THE HORSE. IT IS THE EASIEST THING TO GOOGLE IN THE WORLD WHAT A STALLION IS, AND THE HORSE PEOPLE WILL COME FOR YOU IF YOU FUCK THAT UP.
But Mallory, you might say, so many of the things you didn't like were all about the relationships! Surely, the rest of the book - so gothic, interesting twists, good descriptive imagery - made up for just that one piece of the overall storytelling pie?
No. Because Emile spent 65% of his time thinking about romance (which I don't mind! I love romance novels! I am a trash panda for Yearning!!!) in the least productive and interesting ways instead of focusing on all the other things in front of him, like the actual murder mystery, or hiding from his vengeful aunt, or trying to maintain gainful employment while also figuring out that classism hurts everyone except for the ultra-privileged. The more I think about Emile, the less certain I am about his character arc beyond the fact that he was kind of a dick sometimes and kind of noble other times but mostly just wondered which boy he could have a period-accurate extremely unlikely future with.
Disappointing.