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applegould's review against another edition
4.0
did not understand the ending but you know what fuck yeah!!! lots of fun and spooky and smart
moonpie's review against another edition
4.0
The Supernatural Enhancements is a novel told in epistolary format, which is a style that I know puts some readers off. And sometimes it doesn't work. I think it works well enough here, though, where the story is told through letters, transcripts, a few photos and telegrams, articles, and diary entries. A.'s writing voice is stilted but it works with the Gothic feel of the novel. The exception to the "worked for this novel" rule would be the descriptions of video footage, which I found hard to follow at times. Mostly because: someone's shoes appearing on footage from a handheld camera, that's not riveting stuff for me.
The relationship between A. and Niamh is a bit odd. I could never keep Niamh's age straight -- is she 14? 17? but it seems like she's supposed to be young enough to make the possibility of a romantic relationship kind of weird.
I do wish there had been more ghost stuff, though. And maybe fewer explanations of cryptography, which I ended up skimming most of the time.
(three-and-a-half stars)
The relationship between A. and Niamh is a bit odd. I could never keep Niamh's age straight -- is she 14? 17? but it seems like she's supposed to be young enough to make the possibility of a romantic relationship kind of weird.
I do wish there had been more ghost stuff, though. And maybe fewer explanations of cryptography, which I ended up skimming most of the time.
(three-and-a-half stars)
pirategirl91's review against another edition
3.0
The format of the book makes reading kinda confusing
yokorie's review against another edition
5.0
I wish I could be amazed at how stunning this book was, but unfortunately I had already read Edgar Cantero’s “Meddling Kids” earlier this year, so I knew a bit of what to expect from him.
Longer review to come
Longer review to come
lbaesen's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved this. Not what I expected but so, so, so much better.
morcades's review against another edition
2.0
No está mal, aunque no acaba de enganchar. Ni remotamente inquietante
camilleisreading24's review against another edition
4.0
This book has some similar vibes to Cantero's recent "Meddling Kids," which I enjoyed last year. There's a secret (oc)cultish society and a big creepy house and a lot of sardonic humor. The mystery here is pretty solid, too, while poking fun at haunted house tropes. The narrator, A., inherits Axton House from a heretofore unknown second cousin, and he moves in with his friend Niamh (which I think is pronounced "neev" but don't @ me). The house comes with a few "supernatural enhancements": a ghost, a secret society, scary dreams, a weirdly potent electromagnetic field, and a missing butler. A. and Niamh try to unravel the secrets of the house before the society convenes for its annual meeting on the night of the Winter Solstice...
This book is told in a mixed-media fashion with A.'s diary entries, handwritten notes between A. and Niamh (who is mute), letters sent to A.'s Aunt Liza, and audio/video recording transcripts. It was a fun format and I found it very readable (imagine a "House of Leaves" that you can actually follow!) Only quibble is that I found the romantic will-they-won't-they aspect of A. and Niamh's relationship gross, because Niamh is only 15 or 16 and constantly fetishized based on her extremely young/anorexic/punk appearance. That was icky. But I like her spunk and wit.
This book is told in a mixed-media fashion with A.'s diary entries, handwritten notes between A. and Niamh (who is mute), letters sent to A.'s Aunt Liza, and audio/video recording transcripts. It was a fun format and I found it very readable (imagine a "House of Leaves" that you can actually follow!) Only quibble is that I found the romantic will-they-won't-they aspect of A. and Niamh's relationship gross, because Niamh is only 15 or 16 and constantly fetishized based on her extremely young/anorexic/punk appearance. That was icky. But I like her spunk and wit.
biblio_amy's review against another edition
4.0
this was super fun! It was an awesome book that had many great quirks to it that I was not expecting. It was mysterious, filled with ciphers and cryptography, plot twist that I semi expected but not as it played out and a great relationship between the main characters A and Niamh. There are times that I did have to go back a re-read passages because I got lost or confused and had a love hate feeling towards the excerpts that were included from other books to explain things with the supernatural or cryptography to help the characters understand what they are dealing with. I would recommend this book to people who are into mystery because it really wasn't a horror or supernatural read as much as I thought it was mystery.
rinnnles's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
craiggors's review against another edition
3.0
Fun spooky read with puzzles, ghosts, and conspiracies.