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mayamere's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
You have to be accustomed to the tone of a noir to really sink into this. I am not and so I found the main character's narration/voice annoying and her development/hardening kind of hard to follow/poorly backed up.
smcheney16's review against another edition
2.0
The writing in this is clever in a way that is grating. It’s like the author writes each line with the purpose of you chuckling, shaking your head and saying “My, isn’t this writing so clever!”
The mystery was a rats nest of betrayals and reveals and twists all told in the most plodding way possible. I didn’t feel like a mystery was being unraveled, it felt like Gilda was just trudging from location to location as though through heavy snow. Every step was a labor and I was reading it just to finish. I was weary of this book by the end.
The mystery was a rats nest of betrayals and reveals and twists all told in the most plodding way possible. I didn’t feel like a mystery was being unraveled, it felt like Gilda was just trudging from location to location as though through heavy snow. Every step was a labor and I was reading it just to finish. I was weary of this book by the end.
corlaine's review against another edition
3.0
The story is intriguing but has too many complications to sort through. It started out grabbing my attention and begging for a resolution but as one story gets twisted into the next in an unending twist of fates, It mostly fostered a sense of exhaustion induced apathy. It could do with a second read but I’m not sure I can muster the interest to do just that. The characters are interesting enough but there are one too many stories within the story. It’s not bad, it’s just too much and could do well with a simpler story after the halfway point. Too much happens in the last chapters that get lost in the chaos.
I received an advanced reader copy for an honest review.
I received an advanced reader copy for an honest review.
lostinagoodbook's review
4.0
Disclaimer: I received this book free from Netgalley in return for an un-biased review
First things first, this book is wholly original. The world building is fantastic! Imagine a New York of the early 1920’s … a little dangerous, colorful, fully jazzed and ginned up … now cut New York in half. A fence runs down the island splitting New York into the East and Westside. The East is fairly normal, maybe a little too crowded and a mess of corruption, but nothing too out of the ordinary. The Westside though … the buildings are rotting, shadows rule the night, and both possessions and loved ones disappear into the darkness with alarming frequency, never to be seen again. Who would want to live there?
Gilda Carr would. She is a fascinating character. A bold, gutsy, broken young woman in her mid-20’s, she is also the daughter of detective who disappeared years ago. She follows in his footsteps to a certain degree. She doesn’t get involved in serious crimes but does like to solve “tiny mysteries”. Of which there are plenty in this strange place. But the mystery of a missing glove grows exponentially into death and drama she doesn’t really want to be involved in but can’t she can’t seem to quit.
The writing in this book is excellent. The premise and world building are unique and very interesting. I was reminded a little of the grit and imagination of Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. I read about 20 pages before I started raving about it to friends. I found it un-put-downable. Excellent read. I fully recommend this to everyone.
Song for this book: Welcome to the Black Parade – My Chemical Romance (New Orleans Marching Band Cover) ft. Joey Cook
First things first, this book is wholly original. The world building is fantastic! Imagine a New York of the early 1920’s … a little dangerous, colorful, fully jazzed and ginned up … now cut New York in half. A fence runs down the island splitting New York into the East and Westside. The East is fairly normal, maybe a little too crowded and a mess of corruption, but nothing too out of the ordinary. The Westside though … the buildings are rotting, shadows rule the night, and both possessions and loved ones disappear into the darkness with alarming frequency, never to be seen again. Who would want to live there?
Gilda Carr would. She is a fascinating character. A bold, gutsy, broken young woman in her mid-20’s, she is also the daughter of detective who disappeared years ago. She follows in his footsteps to a certain degree. She doesn’t get involved in serious crimes but does like to solve “tiny mysteries”. Of which there are plenty in this strange place. But the mystery of a missing glove grows exponentially into death and drama she doesn’t really want to be involved in but can’t she can’t seem to quit.
The writing in this book is excellent. The premise and world building are unique and very interesting. I was reminded a little of the grit and imagination of Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. I read about 20 pages before I started raving about it to friends. I found it un-put-downable. Excellent read. I fully recommend this to everyone.
Song for this book: Welcome to the Black Parade – My Chemical Romance (New Orleans Marching Band Cover) ft. Joey Cook
amym84's review
4.0
Originally posted at Vampire Book Club
It’s 1921 and ever since her father’s disappearance, two years prior, Gilda Carr has taken up the mantle of private detective in his stead. She only focuses on the tiny mysteries. Gilda doesn’t want to get caught up in the bigger mystery of the Westside—such as its slow deterioration where the introduction of new technology is quickly rejected from the land, and how so many people from the Westside vanish every day or the way the shadows move in the dark.
When one of Gilda’s tiny mysteries—finding a lost glove for a client before her husband finds out about the missing gift—ends up embroiling her in the bigger mysteries, Gilda will be confronted with her father’s past, and the entanglements that could have ultimately led to his disappearance. Those same entanglements that also threaten the very lives of those who remain in the Westside.
Westside is author W.M. Akers’ debut novel. It succeeds at being an engrossing, gritty, and an often-dark look at an alternate history of New York in the 1920s. It was easy to get pulled in. The setting is wonderfully developed. It was also equally just as easy for me to be a little slower to pick it up again from those times when having to put it down, as the developing plot is a slow and steady pace.
The story takes place over the course of roughly a week. Gilda, who every day comes home to a house that’s a little less than what it was the day before, has been hardened from her time living on the Westside and having to fight tooth and nail to survive amongst everyone else trying to stay alive in a portioned off city with dwindling resources.
Because of this, Gilda is not the most compassionate character, she’s not easy to like, but I also didn’t outright dislike her either. She’s very much a product of her circumstances and she shows enough of a care—especially for her former nanny who is one of the only people left in her life that she cares about—that you can’t discount her completely.
I think the solving of the mystery was my favorite aspect of the story. The unfolding of her father’s past along with the mysterious shadows that reside in the dark leads readers and Gilda to follow a trail through the crumbling city with each stop adding a different piece to the puzzle. As interesting as this was, however, I felt like getting to the final answers, and seeing the bigger picture unfold, almost twisted around itself too much in the back and forth. Those spots were where I would start to be ok with setting the story aside for a little while and wouldn’t be driven to quickly pick it up again.
Regardless, the moments that I was immersed within the story, I was blown away by how vivid the setting—time and place. While Gilda solves the bigger mystery by the end, as well as a few tiny ones along the way, there is definitely room for more adventures. With the story so contained within New York proper, I’d be game to see Gilda’s investigations expanded a little more.
It’s 1921 and ever since her father’s disappearance, two years prior, Gilda Carr has taken up the mantle of private detective in his stead. She only focuses on the tiny mysteries. Gilda doesn’t want to get caught up in the bigger mystery of the Westside—such as its slow deterioration where the introduction of new technology is quickly rejected from the land, and how so many people from the Westside vanish every day or the way the shadows move in the dark.
When one of Gilda’s tiny mysteries—finding a lost glove for a client before her husband finds out about the missing gift—ends up embroiling her in the bigger mysteries, Gilda will be confronted with her father’s past, and the entanglements that could have ultimately led to his disappearance. Those same entanglements that also threaten the very lives of those who remain in the Westside.
Westside is author W.M. Akers’ debut novel. It succeeds at being an engrossing, gritty, and an often-dark look at an alternate history of New York in the 1920s. It was easy to get pulled in. The setting is wonderfully developed. It was also equally just as easy for me to be a little slower to pick it up again from those times when having to put it down, as the developing plot is a slow and steady pace.
The story takes place over the course of roughly a week. Gilda, who every day comes home to a house that’s a little less than what it was the day before, has been hardened from her time living on the Westside and having to fight tooth and nail to survive amongst everyone else trying to stay alive in a portioned off city with dwindling resources.
Because of this, Gilda is not the most compassionate character, she’s not easy to like, but I also didn’t outright dislike her either. She’s very much a product of her circumstances and she shows enough of a care—especially for her former nanny who is one of the only people left in her life that she cares about—that you can’t discount her completely.
I think the solving of the mystery was my favorite aspect of the story. The unfolding of her father’s past along with the mysterious shadows that reside in the dark leads readers and Gilda to follow a trail through the crumbling city with each stop adding a different piece to the puzzle. As interesting as this was, however, I felt like getting to the final answers, and seeing the bigger picture unfold, almost twisted around itself too much in the back and forth. Those spots were where I would start to be ok with setting the story aside for a little while and wouldn’t be driven to quickly pick it up again.
Regardless, the moments that I was immersed within the story, I was blown away by how vivid the setting—time and place. While Gilda solves the bigger mystery by the end, as well as a few tiny ones along the way, there is definitely room for more adventures. With the story so contained within New York proper, I’d be game to see Gilda’s investigations expanded a little more.
rpych2's review against another edition
4.0
Westside seemed like a super interesting concept for a book, and it was just as entertaining as I expected it to be in practice. It was a mystery with fantasy elements, which is something that I really enjoy. The mystery was pretty good, not very easy to figure out, but not entirely surprising either. I was satisfied with the ending though.
I enjoyed the main character, Gilda Carr. Her inquisitive nature was my favorite quality, but I also liked her bravery in the face of danger. The supporting cast wasn’t super memorable though.
I also loved the setting, NYC is always going to be my favorite setting, but this alternate version of the city was awesome. The way that it was split down Broadway where the east side was prosperous and the west was a land of mysterious disappearances and lawlessness was cool. It was also great that most of it took place in the village, which is my absolute favorite part of the city.
This was a cool story, and definitely one that I’d read again at some point. It was a quick read, but an entertaining one.
I enjoyed the main character, Gilda Carr. Her inquisitive nature was my favorite quality, but I also liked her bravery in the face of danger. The supporting cast wasn’t super memorable though.
I also loved the setting, NYC is always going to be my favorite setting, but this alternate version of the city was awesome. The way that it was split down Broadway where the east side was prosperous and the west was a land of mysterious disappearances and lawlessness was cool. It was also great that most of it took place in the village, which is my absolute favorite part of the city.
This was a cool story, and definitely one that I’d read again at some point. It was a quick read, but an entertaining one.
tobinlopes's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting premise but the writing was inconsistent. There were a number of times when I was just plain confused about what was going on, where the characters were, etc. Got 120+ pages in and called it quits.
lisawreading's review
2.0
After an initially interesting premise, the story bogs down in the middle. I ended up skimming through the last third or so of the book -- it just did not hold my attention.
aarongaribay's review against another edition
2.0
For a writter debuting this is a great book, it contains a lot of character and it is a light read but that is my main problem with the book.
Westside brings you into a whole new world with it's own rules and mechanics but then it does not let you reach into the world as much as you'd like, it feels like the author thought of a great world but at the end decided to have it all limited to NYC.
A light read and a interesting story, I'm sure W.M. Akers will write something spectacular someday.
Westside brings you into a whole new world with it's own rules and mechanics but then it does not let you reach into the world as much as you'd like, it feels like the author thought of a great world but at the end decided to have it all limited to NYC.
A light read and a interesting story, I'm sure W.M. Akers will write something spectacular someday.
ewg109's review against another edition
3.0
The best part of the book, a detective who specializes in tiny mysteries, gets completely lost in the the steam punk/whitewalkers/Gangs of New York storyline.