Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Spoilers! DnF'd at 35% Honestly this book is a mess. Henri is a terrible character and I'm not interested in whatever half asked redemption he'll likely get at the end of the book. The setup of the plot at this point seems so silly. Idk how blackmail is going to help Emile. Especially because at this point he doesn't even seem capable of doing something like that 😠Emile also constantly excusing Henri's abusive behavior was gonna annoy me so best to DNF here lol
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Honestly, I found the main character's romantic dilemma sort of immature, which made sense upon learning his age. There's nothing new in terms of plot but I very much enjoyed Blanche and Annette, and thought the pacing and character development was great. Enjoyable read for sure.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
This book left me wanting. The major plot points, the big bad, relationships (platonic & romantic) all felt surface level. Yes to the poly rep, love to see it! Yes to the discussions of power dynamics specifically with love interests of varied social/financial status in a historical setting. All the gothic themes are there, mostly in the last third of the story, racing to the end. That said, the depictions of gore/horror and general creepiness were well done. - Readers with arachnophobia may want to skip this book.
If the audiobook is an accessible option I highly recommend. The timber, range and style of the narrator paired well with gothic storytelling.
If the audiobook is an accessible option I highly recommend. The timber, range and style of the narrator paired well with gothic storytelling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Death of parent
Detailed descriptions of spiders and the fears around them.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Okay so first this book is soooo preeettty!!!! Like it's shimmery, and the inside is gorgeous and everything about this is just beautiful.
I found this enjoyable and I liked it very much but my two biggest issues were 1) While it was a fast read the plot moved sooo slowly. It didn't really seem to ever speed up or get exciting and 2) for a story thats supposed to be mysterious and have the main character be questioning what is going on he doesn't really question a lot of the strange stuff going on and just accepts it and it's mildly infuriating.
The ending though was a very nice surprise and I was glad it ended the way it did!
I found this enjoyable and I liked it very much but my two biggest issues were 1) While it was a fast read the plot moved sooo slowly. It didn't really seem to ever speed up or get exciting and 2) for a story thats supposed to be mysterious and have the main character be questioning what is going on he doesn't really question a lot of the strange stuff going on and just accepts it and it's mildly infuriating.
The ending though was a very nice surprise and I was glad it ended the way it did!
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No