Reviews

The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell

gnomely's review against another edition

4.75

yes .... YES

aqeela's review

4.0

3.85 stars rounded up, could’ve been higher but the ending felt a little abrupt for me and that kind of threw off my feelings about the book as a whole

bellspeacham's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

bookytaunton's review against another edition

5.0

I love anything written by Laura Purcell. She’s so good at creating an escalating sense of dread. The Whispering Muse is set in a Victorian theatre that specialises in tragedies, where protagonist Jenny finds work, good fortune and unimaginable horrors. Somehow the author managed to sneak in little moments of humour amidst all the Faustian chaos and despair, which I found pretty impressive. **standing ovation**

Encore!

rose_paints's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

3.5

r3dgiant's review

dark 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

3.75

bethiguess's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I always enjoy stories about stories and while I'm more partial to outright supernatural and fantasy the ambiguity of this was what really made it all the more interesting

persione's review against another edition

5.0

My heart is aching I'm feeling nauseous this was so good.

How can you expect me to pick up another book after this?

bethkenx's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

4.0

I actually really enjoyed this read! I picked it up as part of a ‘blind date with a book’ thing, so didn’t get to read the blurb or anything but I’m glad I chose the one I did based off of the hints written on the wrapping! 

It was atmospheric, chilling, haunting, and even gory at times - everything a horror should be! I haven’t ever read anything of this genre, but this book has encouraged me to read more. I loved the elements of greek mythology, and the curses and superstitions were a fun twist. I love that the characters all twisted and turned throughout the story as well, you started to really feel as though you could trust nobody. I have always loved theatre, and to read a book based on this side of it (behind the curtain, where superstitions run rampant and the true grit behind the dazzle of the stage is on show) was a refreshing perspective.

I feel for poor Rachel though, I wish somehow she had made it out in the end :( speaking of the end, it was quite predictable, but then I imagine that was the intention considering the author dropped some heavy-handed hints in the final act about how flammable everything was

. 

My only cons are that it was slow to begin with - I actually didn’t really get into the story until close to 100 pages in - on the contrary, the final act felt kind of rushed in my opinion, I think maybe pacing it better might have helped. Also, I feel like the reader is left with some questions at the end as there is some ambiguity over

for example, how Silas and Anthony died? Was it suicide? Was it an accident? I know you are to believe it was Melpomene behind it all but then why did Jenny get away at the end with her life after destroying the watch? or did the watch survive and the fire was merely a distraction as well as giving Jenny what she truly desired? I don’t doubt the ambiguity was intentional, and thus maybe it shouldn’t count as a con on my part, but I think a teensy bit more clarity would have been good

But overall, a fun read that had enough mystery, excitement, and suspense to make it hard to put down! 

peanutsk's review against another edition

dark medium-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? No

3.0