Scan barcode
itsviviactually's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Some horror stories work by hiding things from you. Others let you see exactly what is coming and leave you helpless to watch it play out. The Stradivarius is one of the latter, a tense exploration of one woman struggling against emotional manipulation and the echoes of personal tragedy. I couldn’t put it down!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Transphobia, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
minimicropup's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Main POVs 👍:
- An adult in their 20s, trauma bonded to their verbally abusive aunt after the loss of their father under tragic circumstances. As a result, they devalue their own opinions and desires.
- An adult in their 20s. They are eager, friendly, and enthusiastic. They are used to facing judgement for being genderqueer so try to avoid those situations, but their insatiable curiousity about the new arrivals in town (and the historic murder mystery) cause them to let their guard down.
Atmosphere 🫥: Vague and detached, building to complex and urgent
- Set in a small town at the inherited Victorian mansion of our MCs father
Cred Rating 👍: Mix of suspended disbelief realism
The overall plot and events are suspenseful but could be ruined if you’re an overthinker so go in with some suspended disbelief. Realistic depictions of gaslighting and abuse cycles; has all the obvious red flags to outsiders mixed in with the subtle ones that make it so hard to identify abuse.
Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐺🐕:
- The atmosphere starts off thin and stuttering, but eventually finds its footing later in the plot. A lot of this was because the first ~20% of the story had jarring transitions (paragraphs where we have no idea where the characters are) and seemingly abrupt behaviours (the first time Mae’s husband acts ‘out of character’, we don’t understand why she wouldn’t at least question why he’s so angry). As the story proceeds these jarring moments are minimized and I wasn’t knocked out of the story anymore.
- The commentary on narcissistic abuse, and gender identity was not OTT or hit-you-on-the-head. It was subtle and sometimes direct, but relevant to the plot. For example, there are moments where you aren’t sure if someone is just in need of some perspective and empathy because they have biases from their privilege, or if they are truly narcissistic, toxic people. There are men behaving badly, but women too. Without giving away spoilers, it feels balanced, particularly with Mae’s family dynamics.
- Haunted house vibes done right! Our MC has reason to believe the house is haunted but isn’t in a mindset to be able to telland she has nowhere else to go and no resources – although she still tries to figure it out. It’s not the typical haunted house trope that relies solely on the ambivalence of the haunted.
- The cover is misleading. It looked like a steamy romance involving a violinist, which just isn’t for me (not yucking yums, I just can’t help judge a book by its cover). After reading the synopsis I decided to try it out and glad I did.
Reading Journey 👍: Road trip with a rough start but got it all sorted out.
Mood Reading Match-Up:
- Subtle haunted house vibes mystery
- Here-all-along, heartwarming romance elements
- Amateur sleuthing with consequences
- Good-for-them revenge trope
- Suspense plots with IRL horrors and fight-for-your-life thriller bits
- Commentary on prejudices and biases against women, non-binary, non-male (coming from men and women and both well intentioned and not) and covert narcissism
Vibes: 😨😡🙂
Content Heads-Up: Drug use (intentional and unintentional). Gaslighting and narcissistic abuse. Homophobia/transphobia. Genderqueer rep (seems healthy and accurate).
Format: Digital from BookSirens on Kindle (I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, and Physical abuse
Minor: Infidelity and Abandonment
More...