Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn

11 reviews

bessadams's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Alcoholism, and Death

Moderate: Death of parent, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Sexual content, Colonisation, Ableism, and Infidelity

emilywemily6's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! If you like witty banter, a clever FMC who strays from the stereotypical, and a historical mystery, this book is for you. I found that I really liked the writing style and was sucked in to these characters. The only thing I didn’t like was the pacing of this book, which made many of the dramatic moments in the book feel inconsequential. I guess I expected more drama in the writing considering how much their lives were threatened, but we breezed through a lot of perilous scenes. I adore Veronica and found her relatable yet refreshingly distinct, and while she would be considered an odd duck in this time period it felt like her characterization fit in with the story and felt realistic. Though she was overly stubborn when Stoker thought she was connected to the murder (which she was!). I loved the direction this book went and I definitely did not see the major plot line going the direction it went, which was so fun to read. I’m looking forward to reading the next one!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Alcohol, Death of parent, Death, Violence, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Minor: Cursing, Colonisation, and Pregnancy

97reads's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Kidnapping

hannahs_library_'s review against another edition

funny 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism

Minor: Death of parent and Death

eleek0609's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Violence, Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Death, Fatphobia, Murder, Ableism, Abandonment, Animal death, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, and Misogyny

wilybooklover's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

2.0

I would’ve liked Veronica’s characterisation as bold and before her time if she also didn’t feel so disdainful of and superior to other women and anything she perceives as feminine. As it was, it came across as Not Like Other Girls style internalised misogyny and combined with the caricatural portrayal of almost every other woman but Veronica it really ruined my enjoyment of the book. 

Also, exactly how many skills is Stoker supposed to have before it strains my credulity? He’s a natural historian and taxidermist, a tracker and hunter, a former expedition leader, a former magician/knife-thrower in a circus, a surgeon who served in the Navy... all of which he is apparently exemplary at. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Classism, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Sexism, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Xenophobia

Minor: Colonisation and Sexual content

carissa230's review against another edition

adventurous funny medium-paced

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

3.25

Veronica Speedwell is a woman after an adventure. She is interested in Science especially butterflies. 

When Veronica is almost killed by an intruder a stranger takes her away to be safe. She doesn't believe she is in any danger, but she needs to go to London and is always ready for adventure. When she meets Stoker her life really gets exciting. They embark on a mission to figure out what is going on and why their friend was murdered. 

Veronica was a fun character and I liked Stoker. I think that the book seemed a little long and drug in the middle. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Kidnapping

nebraskanwriter's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

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

2.0

I found the pages and pages of witty dialogue, though enjoyable at first, they became incredibly tedious. I found myself skimming the majority of the end until the twist/revelation around the 70% mark. From there, the story gets interesting! But all the meandering side plots before then really weighed the story down, in my opinion

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Bullying, Cursing, Pregnancy, Animal death, Alcohol, Blood, Sexism, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, and Kidnapping

hazelgirl21's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Death

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Animal death

genny's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

This book is tagged as mystery/historical fiction which had me expecting a classic, slow-paced "whodunnit", but this was much more of an Adventure with a capital A. It feels like a classic quest story. Angèle Masters as the audiobook narrator is a perfect fit. It's just a good (ludicrous, often unrealistic) time!

The highlight, of course, is the budding relationship between Veronica and Stoker. I love them! I like that they have actual jobs separate from their "investigators" shtick. They go through so many classic tropes

- forced proximity, there's only one bed, hurt and comfort, fake marriage, "pretend we're kissing so the police don't look too closely"

...and yet I can't get enough of them! They have real chemistry so the tropey-ness doesn't feel corny. I like that Veronica admits to herself that she finds Stoker attractive, but it's still a very slow burn. I look forward to seeing their friendship (and eventual romance, I expect) develop throughout the series.

The "big reveal" made me raise an eyebrow because it was outlandish and cliché, and was resolved too neatly for all the political implications that they talked about. I'm hoping that consequences will pop up in the next book/s because I wasn't satisfied with that. I was into the characters way more than I was into the plot. A Perilous Undertaking better deliver on the actual mystery! Give me some good ol' sleuthing, come on!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, and Death of parent