Reviews

The Unquiet Heart by Kaite Welsh

alexandramilne's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

avl_book_girl's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0

perjacxis's review against another edition

5.0

“I wanted the man in front of me, but I wanted a room like this of my very own more.”

I love this series more than words can say and would happily read ten more books in this series.

martina_biavati's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

koalathebear's review against another edition

4.0

I enjoyed this book as I enjoyed the first, but probably in spite of rather than because of the two main characters. Sarah is worse in this novel than she was in the first. On the one hand we're supposed to like and admire her for her intellect, her spirit and her overcoming of adversity - but in this book in particular, she comes across as somewhat entitled and a little too stupid to live.

I really enjoyed the secondary characters, the writing, the plot etc but I really, really disliked Sarah's behaviour and the way she treated other people, particularly Gregory Merchiston - who is equally stupid sometimes. They're almost codependent in their self-destructive behaviour.

Spoiler

.I was also completely flabbergasted at Sarah deciding to put herself in harm's way by going to confront a possible murderer on her own - possible rape, possible murder ... Yes she brought arsenic with her as protection, but she seemed almost determined to make herself at risk and then she stupidly dropped the bottle of arsenic, which made no sense. I was just rolling my eyes and groaning as I read it. There are elements of the Sarah-Gregory romance I like but overall, I dislike the mixed messages she sends him, I dislike his self-destructive substance abuse ...
Sarah's supposed to be a smart, liberated woman but she mostly comes across as a brat.

This makes it sound like I didn't like the book - I did like it. I just wish I liked the leads more ..

dbrhplcd's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

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

2.0

Finding out this book is a sequel makes a lot more sense lol. But I still don't understand the high ratings....

Favourite shortfalls including:
- Incessant ramblings about how unfair it is to be a woman
-  An underdeveloped romance (maybe all the development happened in book 1 but also nothing happened here so?????)
- Obvious resolution to the mystery

Look it just felt like everything and nothing was happening at once, and somehow the words all added up to hundreds of pages. I will not be nice about this book.

frnkn_stein's review against another edition

5.0

So much more than a murder mystery! It's a sensitive and well-researched book about gender, sexuality, feminism and society in late Victorian Edinburgh. It's also got poison, LGBT rep and a romantic subplot that's been building since the first book, and that has me kicking my feet like when I watch 2005's Pride and Prejudice. I have one question and one question only: where is book three!!!! Let Sarah shoot a man!!!!

jmatkinson1's review against another edition

5.0

Sarah Gilchrist has found herself a fiancee. To be more precise she has been affianced to the younger son of a friend of her uncle. Miles is dull but acquiescent and he will lend a veneer of respectability to Sarah, however he will stop her medical studies. When one of the maids at his house is murdered Sarah finds herself thrust into another investigation and when her intended father-in-law is also killed Sarah has to act.
I really enjoyed the first of these novels and the second is no different. Welsh has managed to put together a book which shouldn't work but it does. At its heart is a simple detective tale set in late Victorian Edinburgh and at this level the story is sufficiently complex to be really satisfying with a real sense of time and place. What lifts these novels above the more mundane is the feminist slant, not so much to be abrasive but integral to the characters and the story.

shirtypantser's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical content, Sexual assault, and Rape

Minor: Classism, Self harm, Violence, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Sexism

bookish_arcadia's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0