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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
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:
No
Fantastic creepy historical story
⭐️2.5
The City Beautiful tells of a young Jewish Romanian immigrant in Chicago, Alter Rosen. Young men in his community have been disappearing and when his best-friend/roommate/romantic interest is found dead he begins to suspect there is something darker at play. And he's right.
My ratings are usually a reflection of my own personal enjoyment. A 2-star for me is equivalent to "I didn't like it very much," and I didn't. It was too dark, too grim for me. Which is funny, because I think one of the biggest detractions was the audiobook and that it didn't feel dark or grim enough. The narrator did a lighthearted New York "Jewish" accent the entire time even though the characters were recent immigrants from Eastern Europe, did not speak English, and lived in Chicago
The City Beautiful tells of a young Jewish Romanian immigrant in Chicago, Alter Rosen. Young men in his community have been disappearing and when his best-friend/roommate/romantic interest is found dead he begins to suspect there is something darker at play. And he's right.
My ratings are usually a reflection of my own personal enjoyment. A 2-star for me is equivalent to "I didn't like it very much," and I didn't. It was too dark, too grim for me. Which is funny, because I think one of the biggest detractions was the audiobook and that it didn't feel dark or grim enough. The narrator did a lighthearted New York "Jewish" accent the entire time even though the characters were recent immigrants from Eastern Europe, did not speak English, and lived in Chicago
A vivid, beautifully written historical narrative of queer Jewish grief and joy, pain and peace. I had no idea how badly I needed this book until I'd read it.
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
dark
mysterious
tense
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:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
*Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review*
Set during the Chicago world's fair of 1893, this book is about Alter, a Jewish immigrant from Romania working to save money for his mother and sisters to join him. One of his roommates, Yakov, becomes the latest in a line of Jewish boys found murdered, and Alter's life is turned on its head when Yakov's dybbuk possesses him. Driven by Yakov's desire for revenge and with only a few days before his dybuuk fully possesses him, Alter is thrown into the underworld of Chicago to try and hunt down Yakov's killer. Along the way, he runs into Frankie, an old friend who offers to help if Alter can get over the way things ended between them. There was a lot to love about this book, the setting was a great choice since there was actually a notorious serial killer that operated in the area at the time, and the gothic/paranormal vibe really played well with that. The pacing was good, things moved quick and there were some good twists and surprises along the way. The characters were great, the main three, Alter, Frankie, and Raizel (Alter's neighbor) were all interesting and likeable, and the chemistry Frankie and Alter have is very good. I don't have anything but good things to say, this was a fun and engrossing book that was thrilling to read and had a satisfying ending.
Set during the Chicago world's fair of 1893, this book is about Alter, a Jewish immigrant from Romania working to save money for his mother and sisters to join him. One of his roommates, Yakov, becomes the latest in a line of Jewish boys found murdered, and Alter's life is turned on its head when Yakov's dybbuk possesses him. Driven by Yakov's desire for revenge and with only a few days before his dybuuk fully possesses him, Alter is thrown into the underworld of Chicago to try and hunt down Yakov's killer. Along the way, he runs into Frankie, an old friend who offers to help if Alter can get over the way things ended between them. There was a lot to love about this book, the setting was a great choice since there was actually a notorious serial killer that operated in the area at the time, and the gothic/paranormal vibe really played well with that. The pacing was good, things moved quick and there were some good twists and surprises along the way. The characters were great, the main three, Alter, Frankie, and Raizel (Alter's neighbor) were all interesting and likeable, and the chemistry Frankie and Alter have is very good. I don't have anything but good things to say, this was a fun and engrossing book that was thrilling to read and had a satisfying ending.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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:
No