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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
I love all of Carol Goodman's books, but this one was by far my favorite.
I *LIKE* Goodman's fantasy stuff as Juliet Dark, so I wanted this to be more a Carol Goodman novel -- more realism than magical -- and less like the Fairwick Chronicles. It was good, interesting, but clearly the first in a series and real fantasy as opposed to vaguely magical realism with human motives behind the seeming magic. A little disappointing but not enough to stop me reading her under any name.
Why on earth this isn't marketed as YA I don't know. It falls right in line with the I'm secretly from faerie and only I can (fill in the blank) because I have special powers. There are competing love interests, all romance, no sex, and a parent/family mystery that needs to be sorted before the protagonist can discover herself. Midway through, it starting feeling like a 1 of 3 and I was getting prepared to be very annoyed (I hate it when books don't announce that they're the start of a series). That doesn't come to pass, although the door is certainly open for a follow up.
So, all that said, every time I read a Carol Goodman novel, I have a very strong sense that I already know this story. I don't know if it's becasue she's been reworking the same tropes since *The Lake of Dead Languages* of if she's really good at tapping into some zeitgeist. Whatever it is, I continue to enjoy them, although I find them increasing less mesmerizing and powerful. Given the ones previous to this, explcit paranormal romances written under the pseudonym Juliet Dark, perhaps she's dividing her work -- some things appropriate for one name, some for the other.
So, all that said, every time I read a Carol Goodman novel, I have a very strong sense that I already know this story. I don't know if it's becasue she's been reworking the same tropes since *The Lake of Dead Languages* of if she's really good at tapping into some zeitgeist. Whatever it is, I continue to enjoy them, although I find them increasing less mesmerizing and powerful. Given the ones previous to this, explcit paranormal romances written under the pseudonym Juliet Dark, perhaps she's dividing her work -- some things appropriate for one name, some for the other.
This is a great book! I need the next one and it's not even out, sadness. Love the ending!!
Wholly unexpected elements thrown together and really fantastic and fun.
I enjoyed Blythewood immensely! There were so many interesting things about this book! First off, the characters. I really liked all of the characters in this book...at least the ones we were supposed to root for. Ava Hall is our main character. I loved her. She is compassionate, hard-working, and fierce when her friends are in danger.
Speaking of her friends, Ava's were quite a diverse bunch. There was Tillie, a factory worker like Ava; Helen, Ava's wealthy and somewhat spoiled friend; and Daisy, a kind and down-to-earth girl from Kansas City, Kansas. Although there were more girls featured in this book, these were Ava's main friends. I was glad that they were so different, personality-wise. It made them more enjoyable to read about. The bad characters were evil, but still had some humanity in them, which I liked. We get their backstories and what made them the way they are, which really provided some depth to them as well as to the plot.
The plot was, for the most part, fast-paced. There were some places where the story dragged a little. There were some things that I thought could have been taken out, which would have made the book drag less. I enjoyed the twists in this book, most of which I didn't see coming. I did figure out that Gillie was supernatural in some way before it was explicitly stated. I was completely surprised that Sarah was Judicus's servant/spy at Blythewood, though. I enjoyed the new aspects I saw in this supernatural story, too. For example, I liked that the author kept some of the known characteristics of the faeries she named, but also gave them new traits that made them fresh and unique. One example was the lamp sprites. They were based on Will-O'-the-Wisps in that they led people astray with their light. Carol Goodman added characteristics such as if they brushed their wings across your face, you could hear them speak.
There were a couple of things that bothered me in this book, however. One thing was that I found several typos while reading this book. This might bother me more than it would bother others, though, so don't let it turn you away from this book. The other thing that jolted me out of the reading haze I was in was the Titanic incident. It was just too abrupt, in my opinion. Ava receives a letter from Mr. Farnsworth, who is bringing her an important book from Scotland, and finds out that he, Ava's grandmother, and Helen's parents all just happen to be on the same boat at the same time. Ava figures this out literally one page before Helen tells Ava that the Titanic sunk. I just felt that there needed to be more time between those two events. But that might just be me.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book! I'm glad I'm starting off 2017 right with a four-star book!
Speaking of her friends, Ava's were quite a diverse bunch. There was Tillie, a factory worker like Ava; Helen, Ava's wealthy and somewhat spoiled friend; and Daisy, a kind and down-to-earth girl from Kansas City, Kansas. Although there were more girls featured in this book, these were Ava's main friends. I was glad that they were so different, personality-wise. It made them more enjoyable to read about. The bad characters were evil, but still had some humanity in them, which I liked. We get their backstories and what made them the way they are, which really provided some depth to them as well as to the plot.
The plot was, for the most part, fast-paced. There were some places where the story dragged a little. There were some things that I thought could have been taken out, which would have made the book drag less. I enjoyed the twists in this book, most of which I didn't see coming. I did figure out that Gillie was supernatural in some way before it was explicitly stated. I was completely surprised that Sarah was Judicus's servant/spy at Blythewood, though. I enjoyed the new aspects I saw in this supernatural story, too. For example, I liked that the author kept some of the known characteristics of the faeries she named, but also gave them new traits that made them fresh and unique. One example was the lamp sprites. They were based on Will-O'-the-Wisps in that they led people astray with their light. Carol Goodman added characteristics such as if they brushed their wings across your face, you could hear them speak.
There were a couple of things that bothered me in this book, however. One thing was that I found several typos while reading this book. This might bother me more than it would bother others, though, so don't let it turn you away from this book. The other thing that jolted me out of the reading haze I was in was the Titanic incident. It was just too abrupt, in my opinion. Ava receives a letter from Mr. Farnsworth, who is bringing her an important book from Scotland, and finds out that he, Ava's grandmother, and Helen's parents all just happen to be on the same boat at the same time. Ava figures this out literally one page before Helen tells Ava that the Titanic sunk. I just felt that there needed to be more time between those two events. But that might just be me.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book! I'm glad I'm starting off 2017 right with a four-star book!
Eh. I wanted to like this book. Annoying and forgetful characters. Forgetful plot. A lot of the book was unnecessary. Is there suppose to be a sequel? Oh and the romance was awkward and I wasn't feeling it.
I absolute loved this book! Now I am just looking for the second book Ravencliffe but I can’t find it anywhere!