Scan barcode
jessicabax's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
actuallyitsmary's review against another edition
5.0
This book is the most confusing I’ve read in probably months (but in a good way). There are so many unexpected twists and turns and I couldn’t put the book down as soon as I started reading it. The author is amazing at giving you that on-edge feeling you feel while watching horror movies. I normally don’t get that feeling while reading horror books, but boy did I feel it with this book. All of the characters are like-able in their own way, even the stick in the mud characters. Basically… I just loved this book and I’d probably do anything to read it again for the first time. I highly recommend it!!
bookymac95's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mehsi's review against another edition
5.0
I received this book from the publisher/tour host in exchange of an honest review.
This was one of my most OMG I NEED TO READ books of 2021 and I am so happy I got to read it earlier. I absolutely flew through the book, it was just what I needed. A book with a dash of romance, with horror movies, pranks, and tons of exciting moments. Oh, and a big twist! Throughout the book I will use spoiler tags. I really need to talk about those things, so don’t click on things unless you want to know all or most as I will still be vague.
Meet Rachel, a year ago the girl went through something horrific and she has now moved to another part of New York to get away from it all. She gets a chance to start all over again, though I did agree that maybe a fancysmancy school is not the way to go. Haha. But she finds out something when during a party there is a prank. I loved how she found the Mary Shelley Club. More on that in a bit. I really loved Rachel. She was a fun and sweet girl, and my heart broke that she had to go through something horrific. I loved how she clicked with Saundra who was totally an opposite for this new Rachel. I did have to say that as the book went on I wanted to shake Rachel at times for the decisions she made for instance her Fear Test, in which she lets a girl who bullies her go through a similar kind of thing that Rachel went through a year ago, I found it very disgusting and a big WTF. I am glad that someone else of the club also mentioned it and I wished that Rachel had listened…. .
I loved the idea of a club about horror and pranks. The pranks I am maybe a bit on the fence on, I do like the idea of pranking people and I do love that they used horror tropes to make a prank work, but I am still unsure if it is so kind. I mean a prank should be fun for all parties, not just the one doing it. And in this one our club goes pretty far to get their revenge on people they aren’t a fan of. But I do love the club and love that they love horror. While, I am not such a big horror buff as they are and I probably would have gotten the punishment for being scared all the time, I still would have loved to join and watch the movies and talk about horror movies. I also love that the club is called the Mary Shelley club and that we get tons of information about her and the whys of the club being named with her name. Haha, hope that makes sense, I am quite tired while writing this review.
The various characters: Saundra, she was just the best, and I really liked her. She is funny and while I am normally not a big fan of gossips, I still loved that she magically knew all the rumours, all the little tidbits on everyone. Felicity, who was pretty horrible throughout the book. I had kind of hoped that the girl would bond over their love for horror. For spooky things. Instead Felicity keeps being a bitch, later we understand her feeling a bit more… but still. Girl, please. Bram, I am still not sure on my feelings about him. On the one hand, cute guy and I recognise the doing various masks for various people, I do the same thing. I am only myself with myself. But on the other hand.. Bram was frustrating with how he acted. How cold he was. Thayer, I don’t really have much to say about this guy. I don’t know… I am neutral towards him. Freddie, OMG I just loved that guy, he was my favourite and I hate (but also love because it was so well-written) that he turned out to be a manipulative little rat. . Despite, as you can see, not being a fan of most of the characters, for some reason it worked for me. It made me all the more curious about them and made me more invested in the story. Funny how that works!
The book begins with a scary scene and it ends with it as well. Throughout the book we get a great build-up to the finale and the author did a great job on it, though maybe it could have started a bit earlier than 60%.
This was one of my most OMG I NEED TO READ books of 2021 and I am so happy I got to read it earlier. I absolutely flew through the book, it was just what I needed. A book with a dash of romance, with horror movies, pranks, and tons of exciting moments. Oh, and a big twist! Throughout the book I will use spoiler tags. I really need to talk about those things, so don’t click on things unless you want to know all or most as I will still be vague.
Meet Rachel, a year ago the girl went through something horrific and she has now moved to another part of New York to get away from it all. She gets a chance to start all over again, though I did agree that maybe a fancysmancy school is not the way to go. Haha. But she finds out something when during a party there is a prank. I loved how she found the Mary Shelley Club. More on that in a bit. I really loved Rachel. She was a fun and sweet girl, and my heart broke that she had to go through something horrific. I loved how she clicked with Saundra who was totally an opposite for this new Rachel. I did have to say that as the book went on I wanted to shake Rachel at times for the decisions she made for instance her Fear Test, in which she lets a girl who bullies her go through a similar kind of thing that Rachel went through a year ago, I found it very disgusting and a big WTF. I am glad that someone else of the club also mentioned it and I wished that Rachel had listened…. .
I loved the idea of a club about horror and pranks. The pranks I am maybe a bit on the fence on, I do like the idea of pranking people and I do love that they used horror tropes to make a prank work, but I am still unsure if it is so kind. I mean a prank should be fun for all parties, not just the one doing it. And in this one our club goes pretty far to get their revenge on people they aren’t a fan of. But I do love the club and love that they love horror. While, I am not such a big horror buff as they are and I probably would have gotten the punishment for being scared all the time, I still would have loved to join and watch the movies and talk about horror movies. I also love that the club is called the Mary Shelley club and that we get tons of information about her and the whys of the club being named with her name. Haha, hope that makes sense, I am quite tired while writing this review.
The various characters: Saundra, she was just the best, and I really liked her. She is funny and while I am normally not a big fan of gossips, I still loved that she magically knew all the rumours, all the little tidbits on everyone. Felicity, who was pretty horrible throughout the book. I had kind of hoped that the girl would bond over their love for horror. For spooky things. Instead Felicity keeps being a bitch, later we understand her feeling a bit more… but still. Girl, please. Bram, I am still not sure on my feelings about him. On the one hand, cute guy and I recognise the doing various masks for various people, I do the same thing. I am only myself with myself. But on the other hand.. Bram was frustrating with how he acted. How cold he was. Thayer, I don’t really have much to say about this guy. I don’t know… I am neutral towards him. Freddie, OMG I just loved that guy, he was my favourite and I hate (but also love because it was so well-written) that he turned out to be a manipulative little rat. . Despite, as you can see, not being a fan of most of the characters, for some reason it worked for me. It made me all the more curious about them and made me more invested in the story. Funny how that works!
The book begins with a scary scene and it ends with it as well. Throughout the book we get a great build-up to the finale and the author did a great job on it, though maybe it could have started a bit earlier than 60%.
bookgrrrlsclub's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The Mary Shelley Club had SO MUCH POTENTIAL, but I feel like the ending was so so so rushed. the main conflict of the story happened about 75% of the way through for the conclusion to only be about 5 pages long. while i respect keeping this a “stand alone” i’m so torn because i feel like it would’ve had SO MUCH MORE IMPACT if it was a series.
abbellire's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
clonegarden's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
waateey's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75