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lizzy_j's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
callingcailin1's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
3.75
pink0cto21's review against another edition
I was just not in the mood for this type of book. I’ll come back to it but I think I’ll have to restart it.
faithtrustpixiedust's review against another edition
2.0
Well that was a disappointment :/
I absolutely LOVED the prologue—very strong Red Wedding vibes, only more gothic, which is exactly what I wanted. Aaaaannd then it all came crashing down when the main story started. We got inklings of ~vibes~ and sprinklings of ~spookiness~, but the book seemed way more committed to the boring Bridgerton tea party scenes than anything of substance. If you're going to emulate ANY period drama vibe, do Jane Eyre at the most basic level, not Bridgerton. Where I expected mystery, I got the MC ogling any man within a 6-foot radius of her. Where I wanted ghosts, I got pining for a nonhuman entity that seemingly lacks a corporeal form (except for when it's sexy time apparently)
The aforementioned supposedly sexy nonhuman entity: yeah, uh, what on God's green earth??? The book is marketed as an enemies-to-lovers/reluctant partnership situation where the MC has to team up with the being that has scarred her for life (who she doesn't leave alone, mind you) but the blurb conveniently forgot to mention the overwhelming fact that:
1) Death literally watches her grow up (and first met her WHEN SHE WAS A BABY and then imprints on her like WHAT IN THE LOCH NESS MONSTER???? so thanks for that, Stephenie Meyer/The Time Traveller's Wife)
2) Death is a nonhuman entity, as stated already, who is literally older than humanity. Age gap romance? No, just jail.
Except, even if those weren't issues, there is zero build-up for this romance. We get some cyclical "arguments" where she's like ">:( you're death so I don't like you!" and he's like "ok then leave me alone" but she eats belladonna to temporarily die just to see him and then she's like "heyyy I wonder if he's hot tho" and he's like "I've been waiting for you for 5 billion years" and then his noncorporeal body somehow does corporeal things
Like yeah I'm sure that works for some people, but I found it less than intriguing, and this is coming from a Darklina girlie.
Because of the ~not like other girls~ nature of the MC, which is established in the first chapter in no uncertain terms, I found myself not particularly engaged with any threat to her person, or even to others for that matter. The plot lacked all stakes, which for a mystery suspense thriller ghost story type thing, is sort of the whole point. Similarly, transitions between scenes were abrupt. Something innocuous would start and then BAM oh no! the world is ending!! oh wait, never mind, all is well again because Death showed up and fixed it all and Signa thirsts after him, rinse and repeat.
Besides all that, there was a blatant lack of description throughout. Yes, settings were usually set up decently enough, but anything beyond that? Forget it. I rarely knew exactly where a character was or what they were supposed to be doing, especially during conversations.
The other characters were mostly ok, though like all of the male characters were really inconsistent; they flip-flopped wildly between being haughty and rude and being goofy and nice. It made no sense. Literally every single one of them did this.
The book felt like multiple drafts merged into one without any care to adjust or correct to make it make sense; phrases or set pieces were repeated ad nauseam and in such a frequency to induce deva vu. It was as though I was looking at the seams of where the drafts were sewn together like an amateur quilt of scrap clothes, only the squares were misshapen and with too much fabric to make it all fit, so the author/editors decided to just shove it in anyway, hoping it would work out in the end (spoiler alert: it didn't)
If you wholeheartedly and unironically like [b:Caraval|27883214|Caraval (Caraval, #1)|Stephanie Garber|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1465563623l/27883214._SY75_.jpg|45697227], then you'll probably really like this. If you really like gothic horror, then this ain't it, honey. I found better vibes in [b:Cruel Beauty|15839984|Cruel Beauty|Rosamund Hodge|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1371652590l/15839984._SY75_.jpg|21580669] or [b:Crimson Bound|21570318|Crimson Bound|Rosamund Hodge|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1413217438l/21570318._SY75_.jpg|40902835] by Rosamund Hodge and neither of those are even gothic novels. Same goes for [b:The Archived|10929432|The Archived (The Archived, #1)|Victoria Schwab|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1338729878l/10929432._SX50_.jpg|15846509] by Victoria Schwab, which nails the spooky ghost boy romantic interest vibes. All three have stellar atmospheres and lots of spooks to go around, things this book simply and utterly lacked.
"Because death is only a reprieve for the dead... It cares little for those it leaves behind."
I absolutely LOVED the prologue—very strong Red Wedding vibes, only more gothic, which is exactly what I wanted. Aaaaannd then it all came crashing down when the main story started. We got inklings of ~vibes~ and sprinklings of ~spookiness~, but the book seemed way more committed to the boring Bridgerton tea party scenes than anything of substance. If you're going to emulate ANY period drama vibe, do Jane Eyre at the most basic level, not Bridgerton. Where I expected mystery, I got the MC ogling any man within a 6-foot radius of her. Where I wanted ghosts, I got pining for a nonhuman entity that seemingly lacks a corporeal form (except for when it's sexy time apparently)
The aforementioned supposedly sexy nonhuman entity: yeah, uh, what on God's green earth??? The book is marketed as an enemies-to-lovers/reluctant partnership situation where the MC has to team up with the being that has scarred her for life (who she doesn't leave alone, mind you) but the blurb conveniently forgot to mention the overwhelming fact that:
1) Death literally watches her grow up (and first met her WHEN SHE WAS A BABY and then imprints on her like WHAT IN THE LOCH NESS MONSTER???? so thanks for that, Stephenie Meyer/The Time Traveller's Wife)
2) Death is a nonhuman entity, as stated already, who is literally older than humanity. Age gap romance? No, just jail.
Except, even if those weren't issues, there is zero build-up for this romance. We get some cyclical "arguments" where she's like ">:( you're death so I don't like you!" and he's like "ok then leave me alone" but she eats belladonna to temporarily die just to see him and then she's like "heyyy I wonder if he's hot tho" and he's like "I've been waiting for you for 5 billion years" and then his noncorporeal body somehow does corporeal things
Like yeah I'm sure that works for some people, but I found it less than intriguing, and this is coming from a Darklina girlie.
Because of the ~not like other girls~ nature of the MC, which is established in the first chapter in no uncertain terms, I found myself not particularly engaged with any threat to her person, or even to others for that matter. The plot lacked all stakes, which for a mystery suspense thriller ghost story type thing, is sort of the whole point. Similarly, transitions between scenes were abrupt. Something innocuous would start and then BAM oh no! the world is ending!! oh wait, never mind, all is well again because Death showed up and fixed it all and Signa thirsts after him, rinse and repeat.
Besides all that, there was a blatant lack of description throughout. Yes, settings were usually set up decently enough, but anything beyond that? Forget it. I rarely knew exactly where a character was or what they were supposed to be doing, especially during conversations.
The other characters were mostly ok, though like all of the male characters were really inconsistent; they flip-flopped wildly between being haughty and rude and being goofy and nice. It made no sense. Literally every single one of them did this.
The book felt like multiple drafts merged into one without any care to adjust or correct to make it make sense; phrases or set pieces were repeated ad nauseam and in such a frequency to induce deva vu. It was as though I was looking at the seams of where the drafts were sewn together like an amateur quilt of scrap clothes, only the squares were misshapen and with too much fabric to make it all fit, so the author/editors decided to just shove it in anyway, hoping it would work out in the end (spoiler alert: it didn't)
If you wholeheartedly and unironically like [b:Caraval|27883214|Caraval (Caraval, #1)|Stephanie Garber|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1465563623l/27883214._SY75_.jpg|45697227], then you'll probably really like this. If you really like gothic horror, then this ain't it, honey. I found better vibes in [b:Cruel Beauty|15839984|Cruel Beauty|Rosamund Hodge|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1371652590l/15839984._SY75_.jpg|21580669] or [b:Crimson Bound|21570318|Crimson Bound|Rosamund Hodge|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1413217438l/21570318._SY75_.jpg|40902835] by Rosamund Hodge and neither of those are even gothic novels. Same goes for [b:The Archived|10929432|The Archived (The Archived, #1)|Victoria Schwab|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1338729878l/10929432._SX50_.jpg|15846509] by Victoria Schwab, which nails the spooky ghost boy romantic interest vibes. All three have stellar atmospheres and lots of spooks to go around, things this book simply and utterly lacked.
jbattle32's review
5.0
This book was a poisonous mystery that kept on giving. The ending was never expected, but it was greatly accepted.
And I can’t wait to read the second book to continue her story with a new mystery.
And I can’t wait to read the second book to continue her story with a new mystery.