Reviews

I'm kind of starting to get into horror recently and so far I've really been enjoying what I have been reading. This one was recommended to me by Destiny. It did take me a little bit to get into. It had a bit of a slow start and I had to get used to the dialect but once I did I was hooked. I was getting Dracula vibes when I first started reading it but it went in a very different direction than I was expecting. Honestly I wasn't expecting any of the reveals throughout this book so they all caught be by surprise. Also even though this was horror there was a little romantic subplot happening and I loved that. Yes you could say it happened pretty quickly and I would agree but I don't even care I just really enjoyed my time with this and can't wait to read more by this author.

kandicez's review

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4.0

That was an incredibly fun read. I've become familiar with [a:Jonathan Janz|4389526|Jonathan Janz|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1644938541p2/4389526.jpg] on twitter, and he is a great guy. He very graciously agreed to join our discussion of this book in Horror Aficionados January 2023 read. He is engaging and kind and heightened my enjoyment of the book immensely.

Now to the book itself. This was a romp. It had a gothic feel, was set in the English countryside more than a century ago, and despite a few "fucks" peppered in, the language was indicative of that time. I mentioned this in our group discussion, but this story belongs on old, pulpy, vanilla colored pages with either yellow or red edges. The kind of page that bends on its own and has that lovely dusty, much loved book smell. Like an old Perry Mason. Better yet, one of the Dark Shadow pulps I collect. The bright white, almost glossy pages were jarring to me when I fell into the story and then emerged enough to notice them. The cover was perfect! But this needs an inside to match.

This is very much a mis directional, damsel in distress gothic in the vein of [a:Edgar Allan Poe|4624490|Edgar Allan Poe|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1454522972p2/4624490.jpg], with a bit of [a:Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley|11139|Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1588859766p2/11139.jpg] thrown in for good measure. There is romance, dismemberment (as promised by the title) and some good old fashioned what the fuckery, which is incredibly entertaining, proven by the fact that most of us read this in one sitting. Not only did I not want to put it down, I really couldn't until I had to, 20 pages from the end no less, for work! What a delicious day of anticipation that was.

This is only the third Janz I've read, and they were all three very, very different. I like that. I'll be looking for more. Clearly he can surprise his reader. As a bonus, this had a little bit of a tongue in cheek feel that I really needed right now.

irawnic's review

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

emosheeran's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

I never anticipated the story going the way it did, but it made for a nice change of pace (literally) in the gothic genre. I loved the writing style and the many Poe references. This being so gory and action packed was an interesting direction, though I think slightly slowing it down and creating a buildup would've made it better. Because of how fast things move, the romance aspect was quite insta-love as well. The main character switched love interests so fast, it was kind of funny. Lizzie and Dunning seemed like really intriguing characters, so I also wish it was longer so I could've read more about them.

Overall a fun but short read. I will be checking out more of Jonathan's books!

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