Reviews

A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

marieintheraw's review against another edition

3.0

I really loved the first quarter and last quarter of the book, but that middle 50% seemed had such an odd flow to it, but I really enjoyed it's depiction of friendship and how insane asylums were run in the past.

brianne_k's review against another edition

2.0

DNF page 131. *2/5*

I so desperately wanted to like this book. But I just couldn't get in to it. I just don't have the will or want to continue.

ambeesbookishpages's review against another edition

4.0

The full review can be found at The Book Bratz closer to the release date!

What I liked:

-I LOVED the setting. 1800s? Insane asylums? Sign me up!
Mindy obviously did a lot of research on the time period and asylums. The world building was incredible!
-I really loved the main character Grace. When we first meet her she is pregnant, locked away in the asylum due to her pregnancy.
All the characters were well done. As I said, a lot of research went into this book. How patients were treated, what was big during that time. Each character was well defined and entertaining in their own way.
-There is no love interest in this book. The story worked well with out it.
-This book is gruesome and cringe worthy. Mindy's work is metaphorical and jumps off the page. A Madness so Discreet was beautifully written!
That cover! It is gorgeous!

What I didn't like:

-There were a few slow moments in the plot but overall things kept a steady pace.
-I felt like the big conflict was resolved too easily. They spent more then half the book looking for this murder... and then in the span of two pages it was over.

Overall:

I really enjoyed this one. I loved Mindy's other two books so I knew I would love this one just as much, There were several "oh shit" moments. Despite my dislikes I do highly recommend this one to everyone who enjoys a good mystery, thriller, or horror novel.

jilligin's review against another edition

5.0

This was amazing. This is the kind of story that sticks with you. So well written, good plot twists great story telling and movement. The characters were well fleshed and so interesting while being flawed. Yeah, read this book it is fantastic.

vtlism's review against another edition

Both dull and predictable, and I don't care about the characters 

tasha131's review against another edition

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

3.5

steph01924's review against another edition

3.0

This was a strange one. The beginning part when Grace is in an asylum in Boston is quite horrifying. So much happened to her page after page, that I had to look up some reviews to figure out if I wanted to keep reading. Luckily it doesn't last too long, and we dive into the main narrative of the novel, which, as many have said, becomes more about solving mysteries and Grace getting revenge than a tell-all about an abusive asylum (which is what many assumed this would be based on the synopsis).

Maybe knowing this made me more okay than others with how the story went. I wasn't supremely captivated by Grace and this story, yet I found myself picking my Nook back up when I had a moment to keep going.

I don't think this is going to be a book I remember for a long time, but it was a decent enough way to pass a few hours. I enjoyed the friendship between Grace, Lizzie, and Nell, and the friendship between Thornhollow and Grace. I was a bit confused about Falsteed and Lizzie and

Spoiler

their somewhat supernatural sounding abilities. Is this a supernatural book? Magic realism? Are we supposed to believe they're just a little bit mad but there's a perfectly logical non-magical explanation for a man who can sniff out people's personalities and secrets and a girl who knows things that no one should know? I suppose Lizzie could just be extraordinarily good at eavesdropping, as Thornhollow assumes, but we're told about the baby and her Grandma and how she knew Grandma had died, so...what? I just don't like this types of things to be casually dangled in front of us and then not answered. If you're going to be a mystical book then I want to know that upfront, darn it

.

the_horror_maven's review against another edition

3.0

This book was interesting. I got it with my OwlCrate box and I thought it had a good concept but there were MANY events in it that I felt weren't resolved and I left the book confused and wanting more. If you are interested in early Asylums this book does give some good incite into that, but many of the events in the book were confusing and I felt like maybe some of them should have been discarded so that the story didn't take so many directions that it then didn't choose to go into.

ominouslilraven's review against another edition

3.0

This was not at all what I was expecting. Dark, gritty, and twisted! I was loving it. However, the last 20% or so took so many twists that I wasn't even sure what the author was going for anymore. Interesting characters, but some were so vague. I would have really of liked to have read more about them. It was enjoyable but that ending made me want to just to throw the book as the story kept changing directions.

julieabe89's review

challenging 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? Yes

5.0

This book was heartwrenchingly good. I love the way Grace grows and changes over the book. However I will warn it deals with a lot of heavy subjects. If you have issues with reading traumatic events, make sure you look up a content warning.