Scan barcode
maggiereadz's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
dilchh's review against another edition
3.0
Honestly what’s not interesting about this book? To be completely honest I’m not a big fan of classics, but who wouldn’t know (or at least heard of) Jekyll, Hyde, Frankenstein, Rappaccini, and Moreau (honestly though, I’m not quite familiar with The Island of Dr Moreau)? That being said, of course this book is interesting, the daughters (and I use this term incredible lightly) of these big names all gather together to play detectives in order to solve the gruesome murders that have been happening around them, damn my inner feminist is raging just from reading the book’s blurb.
Like I said, the interesting characters (look, we have Holmes and Watson here too) and the plot are very very very promising. I wanted to see how the so called daughters came to be, surely not all of their fathers actually marry a woman and produce these children, right? I have to say, the backstory to all of the daughters are incredibly entertaining and I am totally here for it. And then, the idea of having a group of female detectives in 1890s just fired me up big time. I love that the ladies are very diverse, and you can see different outlook and views on things that seems taboo at the time, such as views on female clothing of the time, views about what it means to be feminine and strong. You know what, basically this book won big time through its characters. It’s as if the characters came out to life.
That being said, the overall story evolves incredibly slow. I understand that this was going to be the first with the second one coming out July 2018, so it is understandable that almost more than half of the books are only filled with the story on how the girls eventually meet up and share their backstory, but here’s what I have to say, I was incredibly disappointed at how the story ends. All the build ups throughout the book and only to have the ending to that anticlimactic? Oh boy, the book really didn’t end on a good note for me. But, fear not, for I still love the characters and I can’t wait to meet them again on the second book, which I hope would not be as slow as this one.
Like I said, the interesting characters (look, we have Holmes and Watson here too) and the plot are very very very promising. I wanted to see how the so called daughters came to be, surely not all of their fathers actually marry a woman and produce these children, right? I have to say, the backstory to all of the daughters are incredibly entertaining and I am totally here for it. And then, the idea of having a group of female detectives in 1890s just fired me up big time. I love that the ladies are very diverse, and you can see different outlook and views on things that seems taboo at the time, such as views on female clothing of the time, views about what it means to be feminine and strong. You know what, basically this book won big time through its characters. It’s as if the characters came out to life.
That being said, the overall story evolves incredibly slow. I understand that this was going to be the first with the second one coming out July 2018, so it is understandable that almost more than half of the books are only filled with the story on how the girls eventually meet up and share their backstory, but here’s what I have to say, I was incredibly disappointed at how the story ends. All the build ups throughout the book and only to have the ending to that anticlimactic? Oh boy, the book really didn’t end on a good note for me. But, fear not, for I still love the characters and I can’t wait to meet them again on the second book, which I hope would not be as slow as this one.
bzliz's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
The best I can say is that this sure is a book I listened to. It’s like Disney’s Descendants meets classic monster stories and also Sherlock Holmes is there. The lead character is Mary Jekyll. She ends up bringing together her maybe-half-sister Diana Hyde, a poisonous woman, a woman developed from a puma, a lady Frankenstein, her housekeeper and her former maid to form a club living together and investigating a secret society of men who do inhumane experiments on women.
The characters all get lost because of the attempt to create an ensemble cast and none are interesting enough on their own to warrant undivided attention. There are several asides and interjections within the story from the characters themselves which was charming at first but it quickly became tedious. At least three were Diana asserting that the author can accurately capture her voice when she wants to. Even with this crew of women brought together, they still need Sherlock Holmes to help them investigate and lend them credibility because they are women living in a deeply misogynistic world. On top of that, the villains were so cartoonish that they helpfully spew exposition for the benefit of readers in a way that nobody has ever talked or ever will talk.
I cannot subject myself to the next book no matter how much I need something to listen to while I clean my house. It’s 700 pages long and this entire book felt like a preamble to explain how these women met and I can’t bear to recount it all over again.
The characters all get lost because of the attempt to create an ensemble cast and none are interesting enough on their own to warrant undivided attention. There are several asides and interjections within the story from the characters themselves which was charming at first but it quickly became tedious. At least three were Diana asserting that the author can accurately capture her voice when she wants to. Even with this crew of women brought together, they still need Sherlock Holmes to help them investigate and lend them credibility because they are women living in a deeply misogynistic world. On top of that, the villains were so cartoonish that they helpfully spew exposition for the benefit of readers in a way that nobody has ever talked or ever will talk.
I cannot subject myself to the next book no matter how much I need something to listen to while I clean my house. It’s 700 pages long and this entire book felt like a preamble to explain how these women met and I can’t bear to recount it all over again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma
Moderate: Sexism and Misogyny
Minor: Sexual assault
I’ve tagged sexual assault specifically for a mention of Justinelurker_stalker's review
3.0
I did have some issues with the style of writing - random interjections in the middle of the narrative - but overall I enjoyed this book a lot. Going to move on to the sequel.
mari_library's review
Murder mystery and retellings are not my favorite genre so it makes sense that I wouldn't be that invested in this book.
gamz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
5.0
deathsmarkmoth's review against another edition
5.0
I loved the weaving of characters this book offered and how they all came to be. It was a fun read that I always looked forward to picking up again. Not a huge fan of the excerpts from the characters throughout but they were easy enough to skip over and not have the story be affected.
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review
4.0
Last weekend I finished another one of the big classics. I was pretty certain that I had now tackled all the bigger gothic science novels. Dracula, Jekyll and Hyde, Frankenstein. While reading this book, and most of all the afterword, I discovered that I have missed another one, the Isle of Dr. Moreau, which is something I'm gonna make up for in the near future. But, I was totally ready to start this read and to enjoy it to the fullest.
Let me start with telling that I do think the story also works without having read those classics. Everything you need to know is explained at some point. Some things earlier in the story, some things later in the story. It's a great way to get to know the classics without actively having to read those classics. Not all of them have aged well, after all. However, I think it's a lot more fun if you actually read them, because you have a little more knowledge, background and context.
But, even though Goss mixed quite a few of those Gothic novels, I think she did it brilliantly. She came up with an amazing bigger story arc that connects all those different stories and makes them all part of a bigger whole. And then she managed to give women their chance to shine and tell their side of the story. The result is an amazing ensemble of unique, different and in their own way powerful women taking on the world. What I like is that no women in this book is shamed for her choices or being held back. Everything is okay, as long as it is what THEY want.
Another thing Goss did amazingly is capturing the writing style of the old gothic novels. For some reason they all had those insane structures. And although this one is not insane, Goss did pull a trick like that. One of the characters is also writing the story, as an author, while the others, in between certain paragraphs and just that often that it's funny, but never annoying, comment on how the author described their feelings or thoughts. It's quite amusing and a nice wink to all those letters, paraphrasing transcripts within those letters and diary-like stories this book is based on.
I had originally planned to read a bit of this book today and the rest tomorrow. But I kept on stealing moments to read another chapter and another one and now I already finished. No need to say that I will certainly get myself the second book in this series too!
Let me start with telling that I do think the story also works without having read those classics. Everything you need to know is explained at some point. Some things earlier in the story, some things later in the story. It's a great way to get to know the classics without actively having to read those classics. Not all of them have aged well, after all. However, I think it's a lot more fun if you actually read them, because you have a little more knowledge, background and context.
But, even though Goss mixed quite a few of those Gothic novels, I think she did it brilliantly. She came up with an amazing bigger story arc that connects all those different stories and makes them all part of a bigger whole. And then she managed to give women their chance to shine and tell their side of the story. The result is an amazing ensemble of unique, different and in their own way powerful women taking on the world. What I like is that no women in this book is shamed for her choices or being held back. Everything is okay, as long as it is what THEY want.
Another thing Goss did amazingly is capturing the writing style of the old gothic novels. For some reason they all had those insane structures. And although this one is not insane, Goss did pull a trick like that. One of the characters is also writing the story, as an author, while the others, in between certain paragraphs and just that often that it's funny, but never annoying, comment on how the author described their feelings or thoughts. It's quite amusing and a nice wink to all those letters, paraphrasing transcripts within those letters and diary-like stories this book is based on.
I had originally planned to read a bit of this book today and the rest tomorrow. But I kept on stealing moments to read another chapter and another one and now I already finished. No need to say that I will certainly get myself the second book in this series too!
danaburrreads's review
adventurous
dark
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse and Misogyny