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historianvik's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Interesting plot but overall nothing too special. Some characters were fuller and better written than others. The way the mc spoke seemed too modern which threw me off. I liked the book and the ending but its not one i would buy for myself or reread.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Gaslighting
growintogardens's review
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexism, Medical content, Grief, and Infidelity
Minor: Abandonment, Car accident, Forced institutionalization, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
soobooksalot's review
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
There's just something about New York!
I got to tour Radio City Music Hall and learn the history of the Rockettes during my first trip to NYC six years ago. So I couldn't pass up adding The Spectacular by Fiona Davis to my BOTM box as soon as I saw the gorgeous cover and book description.
It's 1956. Marion Brooks is a talented dancer and is hired as a Rockette, despite her father's plans for her to get married and be a housewife.
Meanwhile, the "Big Apple Bomber" has been terrorizing the city with pipe bombs for 16 years. His latest attack in Radio City affects Marion way too close to home, and she enlists a psych resident friend to help. Dr. Peter Griggs uses profiling techniques that aren't yet well accepted in the medical or police communities, but might lead to capturing the bomber.
What a fascinating combination of elements in this historical fiction! The bomber is based on real events from the day, which sold it for me even more.
I was completely invested in The Spectacular - recommended!
I got to tour Radio City Music Hall and learn the history of the Rockettes during my first trip to NYC six years ago. So I couldn't pass up adding The Spectacular by Fiona Davis to my BOTM box as soon as I saw the gorgeous cover and book description.
It's 1956. Marion Brooks is a talented dancer and is hired as a Rockette, despite her father's plans for her to get married and be a housewife.
Meanwhile, the "Big Apple Bomber" has been terrorizing the city with pipe bombs for 16 years. His latest attack in Radio City affects Marion way too close to home, and she enlists a psych resident friend to help. Dr. Peter Griggs uses profiling techniques that aren't yet well accepted in the medical or police communities, but might lead to capturing the bomber.
What a fascinating combination of elements in this historical fiction! The bomber is based on real events from the day, which sold it for me even more.
I was completely invested in The Spectacular - recommended!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Violence
rachelle_reads's review
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
dnpatterson2's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death of parent, Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Murder
torturedreadersdept's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
5.0
This book was way better than the other book I’ve read by this author, The Magnolia Palace. The topic (the Rockettes) combined with other details (starting to use psychological profiling to solve crimes) and the time period (mid-50s) made it feel pretty compelling and unique! I found the main characters more likeable and was much more emotionally connected with the storylines. It was a page-turner - I wanted to stay up late and finish because I really wanted to find out what happened (not because I wanted to get it over with so I could get to my next read). I really enjoyed this book and definitely feel it is a strong historical fiction for this year so far!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Body horror, Grief, Infidelity, Stalking, Dementia, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Car accident, and Pregnancy
sarahweyand's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.0
Thanks to Dutton and NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and feedback are my own.
I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book but I was pleasantly surprised! The Spectacular does a great job of teaching readers about the Rockettes and their history, and includes a lot of interesting facts and information I didn't know before reading. I would say this book is a mystery first and a historical fiction second, which is opposite from what I was anticipating, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
I liked reading about Marion's struggles and personal growth being a woman in the 50s, which was realistic and therefore extremely frustrating. I liked her as a character a lot, but some aspects of the story didn't work as well for me as I wished. The romance was sweet at the end but very insta-lovey and too full of poor communication for me to get invested. In addition, the scenes with the police officers didn't feel all that realistic (not in terms of their ineptness but in terms of their communication and information sharing with Marion and Peter).
Overall, I think people will enjoy this book if they love mysteries or historical fiction. I haven't read any books about Rockettes, so that was an interesting niche to me as well. Will definitely be on the lookout for more Fiona Davis in the future!
I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book but I was pleasantly surprised! The Spectacular does a great job of teaching readers about the Rockettes and their history, and includes a lot of interesting facts and information I didn't know before reading. I would say this book is a mystery first and a historical fiction second, which is opposite from what I was anticipating, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
I liked reading about Marion's struggles and personal growth being a woman in the 50s, which was realistic and therefore extremely frustrating. I liked her as a character a lot, but some aspects of the story didn't work as well for me as I wished. The romance was sweet at the end but very insta-lovey and too full of poor communication for me to get invested. In addition, the scenes with the police officers didn't feel all that realistic (not in terms of their ineptness but in terms of their communication and information sharing with Marion and Peter).
Overall, I think people will enjoy this book if they love mysteries or historical fiction. I haven't read any books about Rockettes, so that was an interesting niche to me as well. Will definitely be on the lookout for more Fiona Davis in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
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