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lawbooks600's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Representation: N/A
Score: Six points out of ten.
At first I enjoyed this when I first read it in the early days of 2023 but looking at it now I wouldn't pick this back up again since I found some issues retroactively within this and even though the concept is actually quite interesting the execution is a bit lacking to say the least, where do I even begin. It starts off with the main character Isabel Aird living in a Scottish historical urban fantasy world which is quite a mouthful by the way and she can't be a mother because of her body at least that's what the book thinks but that is soon proven wrong which I'll get to later. There were a couple of subplots involving minor characters but the author couldn't find a way to make these characters actually relatable and thus I couldn't care nor could I connect to them. By the way the fantasy aspects of this novel were just barely there and this felt more like a historical book, nothing much happens in the middle of the book but it's probably to build up some suspense leading up to the end of the story, in the end I think the villain revealed himself just before a big battle could happen. The epilogue was interesting since I could see Queen Victoria visiting the Glasgow Waterworks Project or whatever it's called, I don't remember and Isabel has her ninth child, hence the title ending this on a high note.
Score: Six points out of ten.
At first I enjoyed this when I first read it in the early days of 2023 but looking at it now I wouldn't pick this back up again since I found some issues retroactively within this and even though the concept is actually quite interesting the execution is a bit lacking to say the least, where do I even begin. It starts off with the main character Isabel Aird living in a Scottish historical urban fantasy world which is quite a mouthful by the way and she can't be a mother because of her body at least that's what the book thinks but that is soon proven wrong which I'll get to later. There were a couple of subplots involving minor characters but the author couldn't find a way to make these characters actually relatable and thus I couldn't care nor could I connect to them. By the way the fantasy aspects of this novel were just barely there and this felt more like a historical book, nothing much happens in the middle of the book but it's probably to build up some suspense leading up to the end of the story, in the end I think the villain revealed himself just before a big battle could happen. The epilogue was interesting since I could see Queen Victoria visiting the Glasgow Waterworks Project or whatever it's called, I don't remember and Isabel has her ninth child, hence the title ending this on a high note.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage
out_with_lanterns's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
When Isabel arrives in rural Scotland with her husband Alexander, the doctor for the new water works going being built, she’s immediately taken in with the enchantment of the otherworldliness of it all. Isabel loves the freedom of walking in the wilderness. She finds friends among the locals, including a mysterious Robert Kirke. Robert appears out of nowhere, always ready to walk with Isabel. No one knows who he is or where he’s come from. Isabel thinks he smells like autumn, but it’s summer.
Isabel has lost 8 children before birth and no one can figure out why. She believes she is done trying to have a baby. But when her husband has an accident and they become closer, she once again finds herself pregnant.
One day Robert asks Islabel to walk to his home town, some hours away. When they arrive Isabel realizes something isn’t quite right: she sees Robert’s grave - from two hundred years ago…
Steeped in Scottish folklore, The Ninth Child, will take you back in time on a wild chase through the Scottish highlands. An expertly crafted novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat (I actually read this in a day, I just had to know) turning pages well into the night.
Isabel has lost 8 children before birth and no one can figure out why. She believes she is done trying to have a baby. But when her husband has an accident and they become closer, she once again finds herself pregnant.
One day Robert asks Islabel to walk to his home town, some hours away. When they arrive Isabel realizes something isn’t quite right: she sees Robert’s grave - from two hundred years ago…
Steeped in Scottish folklore, The Ninth Child, will take you back in time on a wild chase through the Scottish highlands. An expertly crafted novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat (I actually read this in a day, I just had to know) turning pages well into the night.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Miscarriage and Pregnancy
rogankeira's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I actually listened to the audiobook, and the audiobook itself is definitely 5 stars, the voices matched the actors so carefully and I don't think the book would have felt quite so immersive and, well, Scottish, had it not been for the audiobook. This is partially, of course, because many people would not read the book in a Scottish accent (although the language itself is quite Scottish).
With regards to the book itself, I have no complaints whatsoever. The plot was intriguing and compelling, the characters multidimensional and interesting, the narrator's voice very strong, and all of the POVs enjoyable. The pacing was also good and I never found myself bored or wanting to skip something, and I found myself appropriately worried, tense etc.
However, for how emotional some of the topics talked about were I didn't feel particularly strong emotions. Which, I think, is also a kind of feature of the particular kind of narrator and listener relationship that is established in this book (which I can't explain, because *spoilers*), but still means that I'm sticking with 4 stars instead of 4.5 stars. (There's hardly any need for me to say why I am not giving 5 stars because that basically doesn't happen.)
DEC 2022: I've bumped this up to 4.5 stars because it has stay especially well in my memory.
JAN 203: Getting rid of half stars, I've kept this at 4.
With regards to the book itself, I have no complaints whatsoever. The plot was intriguing and compelling, the characters multidimensional and interesting, the narrator's voice very strong, and all of the POVs enjoyable. The pacing was also good and I never found myself bored or wanting to skip something, and I found myself appropriately worried, tense etc.
However, for how emotional some of the topics talked about were I didn't feel particularly strong emotions. Which, I think, is also a kind of feature of the particular kind of narrator and listener relationship that is established in this book (which I can't explain, because *spoilers*), but still means that I'm sticking with 4 stars instead of 4.5 stars. (There's hardly any need for me to say why I am not giving 5 stars because that basically doesn't happen.)
DEC 2022: I've bumped this up to 4.5 stars because it has stay especially well in my memory.
JAN 203: Getting rid of half stars, I've kept this at 4.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Death
Minor: Death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
bethanylouise17's review
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Infertility, and Death
abbieinwonderland's review
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
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