Reviews

Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell

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jason0278's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-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

3.5

sucrose11's review

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dark mysterious sad 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

5.0

sklus's review

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2.0

Boy howdy I was incredibly confused to see that this book had such good reviews. Like, it had all the makings of a good book but it just wasn't. My first clue that this book was headed on the midnight train to terrible town (I'm working on very little sleep and having fun writing this, I will not apologize), was when the paranormal activity started right off the bat after two teenagers used a ouija board in a crowded dinner in the middle of the day. Like there was no lead-up, they used the board and immediately ghosts start messing with the lights and burning a woman. The ghost ominously that the boy is going to die tonight.... and he does! But the ghost is the girl's cousin who is benevolent and only trying to help the girl, but she also murders someone and burns someone. Anyway, the ghost (Rebecca) is inconsistent, but that isn't my main gripe with the book. This is a spoiler so don't read it if you don't want the book spoiled but in the end, the main villain was a mentally ill girl- but not like actually mentally ill, i.e. has depression or anxiety or schizophrenia, but the vague, non-existent mentally ill of the horror genre. She hates her family for some reason and does violence to them because of it. The main character, whose name I immediately forgot, made it a point to say she wasn't crazy because of the dolls but just crazy in general. So, obviously, I hate that.

I also hate how the Frozen Charlotte dolls have no explanation. They're just dolls, why were they possessing people in 1910 and now? Why did it only start in 1910? Am I supposed to believe that some random dolls got possessed just because their backstory is a little creepy? Everything about the Victorian era is a little creepy. Girls were given dolls and a kit to help them prepare to hold funerals! One last thing, I hate, hate, hate, hate that one of the main characters continually calls her cousin attractive and seems to like him. I don't care that they're step-cousins, it's still weird. And now I'm going to watch some football (just kidding I'm gonna read some more).

feeby's review

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5.0

10/10 i loved this so much, read it when i was younger and many times since

clairedrinkstea's review

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5.0

Read this for Amy McCaw’s #YABookClub2023 January pick.

I fully expected a cheesy horror with a haunted house and a possessed doll. All the stuff I like. The premise sounded fun, but the execution exceeded my expectations. This book is NOT cheesy, it’s creepy AF. I absolutely loved it! Possibly even one of my books of 2022 I enjoyed it that much.