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tani's review against another edition
4.0
I've been waiting for my brain to let me write a nice, coherent review of this, but it doesn't seem like it's going to happen, so instead, I present you with mush.
What I liked about this novella:
- The writing style was really easy for me to slip into
- The ethical murkiness
- The creepiness of the infected, and the mystery of how they were becoming so
- The commitment to Evelyn as a hard-to-like character
What I didn't like as much:
- The vagueness of the setting
- The pacing, which was a bit slow
- The way the plot meandered to the conclusion
Conclusion: Gotta read Caitlin Starling's other works. She might be an author to watch for me.
What I liked about this novella:
- The writing style was really easy for me to slip into
- The ethical murkiness
- The creepiness of the infected, and the mystery of how they were becoming so
- The commitment to Evelyn as a hard-to-like character
What I didn't like as much:
- The vagueness of the setting
- The pacing, which was a bit slow
- The way the plot meandered to the conclusion
Conclusion: Gotta read Caitlin Starling's other works. She might be an author to watch for me.
bethtabler's review against another edition
3.0
Yellow Jessamine by Caitlin Starling started incredibly strong but pittered out and ending with a whimper.
Evelyn Perdanu is a shipping magnate, the only living survivor of her family. She walks the city veiled and hidden away from the eyes of those around her. Her country is slowly dying, rotting away like food left out to spoil. Arriving from her last voyage out, she discovers that a plague has visited her city, and it is traced back to her crew. They act erratically and slip into catatonia. She begins to investigate the plague as much for the city's sake and those in it as for her own company and family name. What she finds is complicated and horrific.
Also highly confusing to me as a reader.
This story started beautifully. It was atmospheric and enchanting. We learn little bits of the background of Evelyn's life; we know a bit about the relationship she has with her assistant. We realize that Evelyn is a master herbalist, and she has used her herbal concoctions all over town, both for good and evil. This fantastic backstory for Evelyn gave me a solid foundation to picture her character in my mind.
This all takes place in the first act of the story.
When we start the second act, additional ideas and characters are added to the mix; the police captain, for instance. It gets confusing, and I was not sure of the importance of things. Should I, as a reader, be concerned by the Police Captain sniffing around? Or with the plague? Or with Evelyn's business interests?
By the third act, the story gets a bit stranger and still very confusing, and it just ends. I don't want to give it away, as the ending is very out of the left field.
Conceptually, this is a remarkable book. Starling absolutely knows how to work words into magic in the mind of the reader. During the story's first half, my mind's eye was covered in yellow smoke, twisted and thorny vines, and a woman sitting amongst it all veiled in black lace. It lost me in the second and third acts. The atmospheric description was constant, though, and that is why I finished the story.
Evelyn Perdanu is a shipping magnate, the only living survivor of her family. She walks the city veiled and hidden away from the eyes of those around her. Her country is slowly dying, rotting away like food left out to spoil. Arriving from her last voyage out, she discovers that a plague has visited her city, and it is traced back to her crew. They act erratically and slip into catatonia. She begins to investigate the plague as much for the city's sake and those in it as for her own company and family name. What she finds is complicated and horrific.
Also highly confusing to me as a reader.
This story started beautifully. It was atmospheric and enchanting. We learn little bits of the background of Evelyn's life; we know a bit about the relationship she has with her assistant. We realize that Evelyn is a master herbalist, and she has used her herbal concoctions all over town, both for good and evil. This fantastic backstory for Evelyn gave me a solid foundation to picture her character in my mind.
This all takes place in the first act of the story.
When we start the second act, additional ideas and characters are added to the mix; the police captain, for instance. It gets confusing, and I was not sure of the importance of things. Should I, as a reader, be concerned by the Police Captain sniffing around? Or with the plague? Or with Evelyn's business interests?
By the third act, the story gets a bit stranger and still very confusing, and it just ends. I don't want to give it away, as the ending is very out of the left field.
Conceptually, this is a remarkable book. Starling absolutely knows how to work words into magic in the mind of the reader. During the story's first half, my mind's eye was covered in yellow smoke, twisted and thorny vines, and a woman sitting amongst it all veiled in black lace. It lost me in the second and third acts. The atmospheric description was constant, though, and that is why I finished the story.
jmpconstant's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ghost_of_a_car's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-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
3.5
jenny_reads_books's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
3.5
nea_aubry's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
alandd's review against another edition
5.0
Caitlin Starlight tiene una voz poderosa en Yellow Jessamine. Creó una novela que recupera lo mejor de los clásicos góticos, agregó un poco de fantasía y terror para hacerla más actual, y decoró con un poco de romance, ¿y a quién no le gusta un cuento de hadas sobrenatural salido del infierno? ¡Necesitamos más libros así en el mercado, por favor!
Full review (11-Ago): https://tintanocturna.blogspot.com/2020/08/resena-review-yellow-jessamine.html
Caitlin Starlight has a powerful voice in Yellow Jessamine. She created a novel that recovers the best from Gothic classics, added some fantasy and horror to make it more current, and decorated with a bit of romance, and who doesn’t like a supernatural fairy tale out of hell? We need more books like this in the market, please!
Full review (Aug-11): https://tintanocturna.blogspot.com/2020/08/resena-review-yellow-jessamine.html
Full review (11-Ago): https://tintanocturna.blogspot.com/2020/08/resena-review-yellow-jessamine.html
Caitlin Starlight has a powerful voice in Yellow Jessamine. She created a novel that recovers the best from Gothic classics, added some fantasy and horror to make it more current, and decorated with a bit of romance, and who doesn’t like a supernatural fairy tale out of hell? We need more books like this in the market, please!
Full review (Aug-11): https://tintanocturna.blogspot.com/2020/08/resena-review-yellow-jessamine.html
jinjejik's review
I can't focus on this one, I think it's the narrator's cadence that's annoying me. every sentence ends with the same inflection.