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shakerhymns's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
4.25
mya_jt's review against another edition
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? Yes
4.0
This book has ruined my life for a short while. Too exciting, almost, for me to take. I really appreciated the writing.
The sun warm my back, and the bittersweet scent of black tea drifted up into my face.
Which is simple enough but provoked such a longing in me to be in that class? In general, for a tragedy, it really had me wishing to be there. I enjoyed both the plot and the characterization. Bittersweet ending. But I am glad I read it, for now at least, as long as it refrains from haunting me the rest of my days!
dyone_fran's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0
LOVEEEDD this book. picked up the book a year ago and finally read it and man i’m so glad i did. sometimes i couldn’t even put it down but i really had to sleep.
most of all: loved the way M.L. Rio wrote. so captivating, so engulfing.
Others: Loved the way the chapters were divided into scenes, Loved how Shakespeare was being brought into it every single time, loved how Oliver told the story, loved how we got to learn so much yet so little about the characters, loved how i already had a hunch about who did it but still having my doubts and YET STILL !! being surprised by the ending.
This will definitely be a reread someday
most of all: loved the way M.L. Rio wrote. so captivating, so engulfing.
Others: Loved the way the chapters were divided into scenes, Loved how Shakespeare was being brought into it every single time, loved how Oliver told the story, loved how we got to learn so much yet so little about the characters, loved how i already had a hunch about who did it but still having my doubts and YET STILL !! being surprised by the ending.
This will definitely be a reread someday
jen_reads_books_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
caseymenges's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
thecurseofchris's review against another edition
4.0
4.5/5, but I can't bring myself to give this 5 stars because there were a few parts that I was like "okay just get on with it already." But for the most part, I absolutely adored this story and the writing and the drama (no pun intended) of it all. The "mystery" at hand was engaging and kept me wanting to turn the page to get to the conclusion. I also think there are a lot of things about this book that are left open to interpretation, and not everything is what you might think it is at first glance.
I will tell you, the characters in this book are very annoying and it's hard to find sympathy for them when they experience trauma or tragedy in their life, so that may turn off some people if you are someone that needs to relate to a character in order to enjoy a story. However, that is how they are designed to be, so that just makes it effective by the author.
Overall, a highly recommended read!
I will tell you, the characters in this book are very annoying and it's hard to find sympathy for them when they experience trauma or tragedy in their life, so that may turn off some people if you are someone that needs to relate to a character in order to enjoy a story. However, that is how they are designed to be, so that just makes it effective by the author.
Overall, a highly recommended read!
sh00bs's review against another edition
4.0
This was a great read!
I love the style of this author. It was delightful. Rio was able to weave the clues together seamlessly and poetically. The plot unfolded naturally and was paced well enough that in moments where I was starting to lose interest it quickly drew me back in again.
It was heavy handed with Shakespeare, which made sense for the plot and characters, but it meant that a non-Shakespeare-lover like myself had to fumble around for context clues in several parts. I also felt like I missed a lot of nuance and clever homages without much knowledge of his individual plays.
The character development was good, in that it was intriguing and made me care for the characters, but, it did feel rather sudden and choppy.
If you love Shakespeare and Mystery I highly recommend this book. Even if you don’t like either, I still recommend it as a worthwhile use of your time.
I love the style of this author. It was delightful. Rio was able to weave the clues together seamlessly and poetically. The plot unfolded naturally and was paced well enough that in moments where I was starting to lose interest it quickly drew me back in again.
It was heavy handed with Shakespeare, which made sense for the plot and characters, but it meant that a non-Shakespeare-lover like myself had to fumble around for context clues in several parts. I also felt like I missed a lot of nuance and clever homages without much knowledge of his individual plays.
The character development was good, in that it was intriguing and made me care for the characters, but, it did feel rather sudden and choppy.
If you love Shakespeare and Mystery I highly recommend this book. Even if you don’t like either, I still recommend it as a worthwhile use of your time.
lisa_bookss's review against another edition
5.0
je ne m’attendais pas à ça, mais j’ai tout simplement adoré ma lecture, les personnages, la plume de l’auteur - c’est en fermant le livre que je me suis dit que je ne pourrais plus jamais le lire comme pour la première fois, et c’est quand j’ai ce sentiment que je sais que ça a été une bonne lecture