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edressa's review
5.0
I was provided with an eARC by the author in exchange for an honest review. A special thanks to her!
It's always a toughie to write a story based on true crime or real tragic events. There's always a risk of veering into misery porn and all the lurid details, at the detriment of giving victims the respect and compassion they're due. And all in all, it's risky to *actually* include fairies in a retelling of Bridget Cleary's story, because you might very well find yourself with a Philippa Gregory situation where you decide to make Jacquetta of Luxemburg and Elizabeth Woodville actual witches, while that was precisely an accusation that plagued them in real life based on jealousy and wanting to tear them down from a privileged position, and that could have very well led to their death like with many other women - ya know, just a wee bit insensitive.
In this story, while this Bridget was actually involved with fairies (and that's all I'm willing to say without going into spoilers territory), it is careful to portray as a woman who was brave, hard-working, but caring and fearless, who accompanies her daughter as a guardian angel of sorts through her impossible quest to appease the Fairy Queen, and whose said involvement with fairies stops nothing short of heroic. I very, VERY rarely cry reading books, but the reveals about the Cleary family were touching enough it pulled out a few tears from me. Okay. I was bawling. And drinking a beer.
The story plays like your typical Victorian period melodrama pastiche (in a good way), with a plucky heroine, Brigid, and her fairy sisterhood of Adelaide and Florence, sisterhood, as they are pitted (among other things) against a fictional member of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood all too reminiscent of their tendency to idealize their models perhaps a bit too much (*cough* #justiceforlizziesiddal *cough*). They are much more central to Brigid's story than her love interest is, a young nobleman by the name of Edmund who's somewhere between a himbo and a male ingenue. The story plays with themes of class, oppression, Victorian gender norms, but while the revenge is brought to a satisfactory but unexpected resolution, it manages to bring on themes of forgiveness and redemption that could easily be trite and tacked on, but are well-integrated to the story and meaningful.
All in all, this is a lovely debut that I recommend checking out if you're looking for Victorian-set stories with a dash of fantasy - and I promise that the history nerd that I am didn't have any eye-twitches. You're in good hands.
It's always a toughie to write a story based on true crime or real tragic events. There's always a risk of veering into misery porn and all the lurid details, at the detriment of giving victims the respect and compassion they're due. And all in all, it's risky to *actually* include fairies in a retelling of Bridget Cleary's story, because you might very well find yourself with a Philippa Gregory situation where you decide to make Jacquetta of Luxemburg and Elizabeth Woodville actual witches, while that was precisely an accusation that plagued them in real life based on jealousy and wanting to tear them down from a privileged position, and that could have very well led to their death like with many other women - ya know, just a wee bit insensitive.
In this story, while this Bridget was actually involved with fairies (and that's all I'm willing to say without going into spoilers territory), it is careful to portray as a woman who was brave, hard-working, but caring and fearless, who accompanies her daughter as a guardian angel of sorts through her impossible quest to appease the Fairy Queen, and whose said involvement with fairies stops nothing short of heroic. I very, VERY rarely cry reading books, but the reveals about the Cleary family were touching enough it pulled out a few tears from me. Okay. I was bawling. And drinking a beer.
The story plays like your typical Victorian period melodrama pastiche (in a good way), with a plucky heroine, Brigid, and her fairy sisterhood of Adelaide and Florence, sisterhood, as they are pitted (among other things) against a fictional member of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood all too reminiscent of their tendency to idealize their models perhaps a bit too much (*cough* #justiceforlizziesiddal *cough*). They are much more central to Brigid's story than her love interest is, a young nobleman by the name of Edmund who's somewhere between a himbo and a male ingenue. The story plays with themes of class, oppression, Victorian gender norms, but while the revenge is brought to a satisfactory but unexpected resolution, it manages to bring on themes of forgiveness and redemption that could easily be trite and tacked on, but are well-integrated to the story and meaningful.
All in all, this is a lovely debut that I recommend checking out if you're looking for Victorian-set stories with a dash of fantasy - and I promise that the history nerd that I am didn't have any eye-twitches. You're in good hands.
woodsbookclub's review
4.0
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Inspired by the actual 1895 murder of Bridget Cleary by her husband Michael, The Revenge of Bridget Cleary is a story of betrayal and fear, but also about making peace with our demons.
I didn't know about the Cleary, but I would say it's risky to include fairies in a retelling of her story. Despite that, I really liked the way Bridget Cleary is portrayed and how her story is told. Though it deals with the horror of a murder, it focuses more on the strength that comes from shared trials and how to both forgive and do justice.
The book also addresses the struggle for Irish Home Rule, events surrounding the late pre-Raphaelite artistic movement, and themes of class, oppression, and Victorian gender norms.
There's romance, but I enjoyed how the sisterhood (between our main character and the wild, yet wise Adelaide, and the street-smart and loyal Florence) is much more central to Brigid's story than her love interest is. Each character was well integrated into the plot, whilst not feeling like they were there as ‘side characters.’ I didn't love Brigid, the main character, but I was invested in her quest and I cried and gasped several times.
With a clean and crisp prose, this historical drama promises true crime, healing generational trauma, wicked faeries, tender romance, feminism, and many twists and turns. I just wished it was longer to have a more balanced pace.
Inspired by the actual 1895 murder of Bridget Cleary by her husband Michael, The Revenge of Bridget Cleary is a story of betrayal and fear, but also about making peace with our demons.
I didn't know about the Cleary, but I would say it's risky to include fairies in a retelling of her story. Despite that, I really liked the way Bridget Cleary is portrayed and how her story is told. Though it deals with the horror of a murder, it focuses more on the strength that comes from shared trials and how to both forgive and do justice.
The book also addresses the struggle for Irish Home Rule, events surrounding the late pre-Raphaelite artistic movement, and themes of class, oppression, and Victorian gender norms.
There's romance, but I enjoyed how the sisterhood (between our main character and the wild, yet wise Adelaide, and the street-smart and loyal Florence) is much more central to Brigid's story than her love interest is. Each character was well integrated into the plot, whilst not feeling like they were there as ‘side characters.’ I didn't love Brigid, the main character, but I was invested in her quest and I cried and gasped several times.
With a clean and crisp prose, this historical drama promises true crime, healing generational trauma, wicked faeries, tender romance, feminism, and many twists and turns. I just wished it was longer to have a more balanced pace.
irinak's review against another edition
5.0
I was provided with an eARC by the author in exchange for an honest review. A special thanks to her!
It's always a toughie to write a story based on true crime or real tragic events. There's always a risk of veering into misery porn and all the lurid details, at the detriment of giving victims the respect and compassion they're due. And all in all, it's risky to *actually* include fairies in a retelling of Bridget Cleary's story, because you might very well find yourself with a Philippa Gregory situation where you decide to make Jacquetta of Luxemburg and Elizabeth Woodville actual witches, while that was precisely an accusation that plagued them in real life based on jealousy and wanting to tear them down from a privileged position, and that could have very well led to their death like with many other women - ya know, just a wee bit insensitive.
In this story, while this Bridget was actually involved with fairies (and that's all I'm willing to say without going into spoilers territory), it is careful to portray as a woman who was brave, hard-working, but caring and fearless, who accompanies her daughter as a guardian angel of sorts through her impossible quest to appease the Fairy Queen, and whose said involvement with fairies stops nothing short of heroic. I very, VERY rarely cry reading books, but the reveals about the Cleary family were touching enough it pulled out a few tears from me. Okay. I was bawling. And drinking a beer.
The story plays like your typical Victorian period melodrama pastiche (in a good way), with a plucky heroine, Brigid, and her fairy sisterhood of Adelaide and Florence, sisterhood, as they are pitted (among other things) against a fictional member of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood all too reminiscent of their tendency to idealize their models perhaps a bit too much (*cough* #justiceforlizziesiddal *cough*). They are much more central to Brigid's story than her love interest is, a young nobleman by the name of Edmund who's somewhere between a himbo and a male ingenue. The story plays with themes of class, oppression, Victorian gender norms, but while the revenge is brought to a satisfactory but unexpected resolution, it manages to bring on themes of forgiveness and redemption that could easily be trite and tacked on, but are well-integrated to the story and meaningful.
All in all, this is a lovely debut that I recommend checking out if you're looking for Victorian-set stories with a dash of fantasy - and I promise that the history nerd that I am didn't have any eye-twitches. You're in good hands.
It's always a toughie to write a story based on true crime or real tragic events. There's always a risk of veering into misery porn and all the lurid details, at the detriment of giving victims the respect and compassion they're due. And all in all, it's risky to *actually* include fairies in a retelling of Bridget Cleary's story, because you might very well find yourself with a Philippa Gregory situation where you decide to make Jacquetta of Luxemburg and Elizabeth Woodville actual witches, while that was precisely an accusation that plagued them in real life based on jealousy and wanting to tear them down from a privileged position, and that could have very well led to their death like with many other women - ya know, just a wee bit insensitive.
In this story, while this Bridget was actually involved with fairies (and that's all I'm willing to say without going into spoilers territory), it is careful to portray as a woman who was brave, hard-working, but caring and fearless, who accompanies her daughter as a guardian angel of sorts through her impossible quest to appease the Fairy Queen, and whose said involvement with fairies stops nothing short of heroic. I very, VERY rarely cry reading books, but the reveals about the Cleary family were touching enough it pulled out a few tears from me. Okay. I was bawling. And drinking a beer.
The story plays like your typical Victorian period melodrama pastiche (in a good way), with a plucky heroine, Brigid, and her fairy sisterhood of Adelaide and Florence, sisterhood, as they are pitted (among other things) against a fictional member of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood all too reminiscent of their tendency to idealize their models perhaps a bit too much (*cough* #justiceforlizziesiddal *cough*). They are much more central to Brigid's story than her love interest is, a young nobleman by the name of Edmund who's somewhere between a himbo and a male ingenue. The story plays with themes of class, oppression, Victorian gender norms, but while the revenge is brought to a satisfactory but unexpected resolution, it manages to bring on themes of forgiveness and redemption that could easily be trite and tacked on, but are well-integrated to the story and meaningful.
All in all, this is a lovely debut that I recommend checking out if you're looking for Victorian-set stories with a dash of fantasy - and I promise that the history nerd that I am didn't have any eye-twitches. You're in good hands.
mininea's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
I received a copy of the book in a giveaway here in storygraph. It is an intriguing take on the harrowing story of Bridget cleary. I enjoyed it very much and once I got into the book I was hooked
clairetrellahill's review
5.0
The Revenge of Bridget Cleary is a great romp of a tale, loosely based off the murder of Bridget Cleary. In THIS tale, her fairy daughter Brigid sets out to take her revenge, but along the way makes friends and falls into scrapes and flies to Stonehenge and falls in love and all sorts of things!!! SUCH a delight to read and the side characters are all wonderful too. Highly recommend!
jayzed_kay's review
adventurous
dark
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
4.0
After the disaster which was my last read for this Challenge, I immediately realised that this book was perfect for laying that ghost to rest, which is topical because that is the theme of this entire story: Brigid Cleary is driven to avenge the brutal torture and murder of her mother, Bridget Cleary, who was a real-life victim of extreme domestic violence in 1895. A historical note at the beginning of the book shares the facts.
Mathilda Zeller creates the world clearly and the characters are mostly very well developed. You find yourself longing for Brigid to find the peace that she's so desperate for; being thankful - or perhaps wishing - for friends like Florence and Adelaide, and falling in love with Edmund and willing him not to let you down. Perhaps the only character who convinced me less than entirely was Mr Baxby. I felt like the whole story could have been rewritten from his point of view and he would have been a sorry character. How lovely to be back with characters who you felt like you could properly invest in though!
The pace of the book is very good. I usually read one chapter a night and, occasionally, could absolutely not wait to find out what happened next so would need to keep reading. You always feel as though there is something happening, rather than just any chapters which are in as fillers. I also loved the use of chapter headings such as, "In Which Our Heroine Confronts a Villain," as they really give an added sense of time to the story.
This should have been a five star book: I loved it and was gripped from beginning to end (did I mention, the ending is spectacular!)
The reason is isn't a five star review from me is because it was like an almost-finished product. The copy I received was in need of a final edit and proofread, and there were occasions throughout where this jerked me out of the world which was created by the story. Mostly, they were typos or formatting errors (the use of italics is essential in the story because they demonstrate when Brigid is hearing the voice of her dead mother in her head) but there were a couple of historical inaccuracies too. The Ireland described in the books is more in line with 19th century rather than 1910, which I believe is when the story is set. Irish history is a passion of mine, so I am certain that some of the things which didn't sit right with me wouldn't bother anyone else.
Mathilda Zeller is a talented author and, in The Revenge of Bridget Cleary, she has cleverly created a world which draws you quickly and deeply into an adventure with a great deal at stake. It just makes me annoyed that good authors can't always access affordable editorial support - and this is something which we're attempting to address with Crowvus Piapiac.
Mathilda Zeller creates the world clearly and the characters are mostly very well developed. You find yourself longing for Brigid to find the peace that she's so desperate for; being thankful - or perhaps wishing - for friends like Florence and Adelaide, and falling in love with Edmund and willing him not to let you down. Perhaps the only character who convinced me less than entirely was Mr Baxby. I felt like the whole story could have been rewritten from his point of view and he would have been a sorry character. How lovely to be back with characters who you felt like you could properly invest in though!
The pace of the book is very good. I usually read one chapter a night and, occasionally, could absolutely not wait to find out what happened next so would need to keep reading. You always feel as though there is something happening, rather than just any chapters which are in as fillers. I also loved the use of chapter headings such as, "In Which Our Heroine Confronts a Villain," as they really give an added sense of time to the story.
This should have been a five star book: I loved it and was gripped from beginning to end (did I mention, the ending is spectacular!)
The reason is isn't a five star review from me is because it was like an almost-finished product. The copy I received was in need of a final edit and proofread, and there were occasions throughout where this jerked me out of the world which was created by the story. Mostly, they were typos or formatting errors (the use of italics is essential in the story because they demonstrate when Brigid is hearing the voice of her dead mother in her head) but there were a couple of historical inaccuracies too. The Ireland described in the books is more in line with 19th century rather than 1910, which I believe is when the story is set. Irish history is a passion of mine, so I am certain that some of the things which didn't sit right with me wouldn't bother anyone else.
Mathilda Zeller is a talented author and, in The Revenge of Bridget Cleary, she has cleverly created a world which draws you quickly and deeply into an adventure with a great deal at stake. It just makes me annoyed that good authors can't always access affordable editorial support - and this is something which we're attempting to address with Crowvus Piapiac.
piperkitty's review
5.0
Brigid was banished from the Fairy Court because he failed to stop his father from murdering his mother. She needs to return the proper offerings to the court to regain access to her home by midsummer, so she takes a job as a kitchen maid at her mansion to start raising the necessary money. However, at the risk of being discovered, she escapes to the safety of an unknown artist, where she meets another woman in a similar situation to hers. Find yourself torn between trying to meet the Fairy Queen's demands. Bridget Cleary's Revenge is a great story loosely based on the murder of Bridget Cleary.In this story, fairy tale daughter Bridget embarks on revenge but along the way makes friends, clashes, and flies to Stonehenge. And fall in love with all sorts of things!!! Great fun to read and all the supporting characters are great. I strongly recommend it!I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
serinas's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
thfishie's review
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Enjoyed the story. Connected to the characters. Excellent writing. Story flowed well. Nail biting at times! Very easy read. I received an advance review copy for free. I’m leaving this review voluntarily.
ameliabee33's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I received the digital copy from winning a giveaway- thank you to the author and StoryGraph!
I have never read a book about Irish faeries before and it might have to be a genre I get into. I really enjoyed reading about Brigid and how she was a very independent character who really didn't lose sight of her end goal- to avenge her mother. I liked that she was strong in her own way and did whatever she had to to get gold and blood for the Fairy Queen. She is joined by Florence and Adelaide on her journey and they are such a fun trio! They could take on any man, any day. I would say the romance aspect of the book is mainly a romantic subplot, while it does take up a few chapters near the end of the book, I still got the impression that it wasn't the point of the book, if that makes sense. Overall, a fun and easy read.
I have never read a book about Irish faeries before and it might have to be a genre I get into. I really enjoyed reading about Brigid and how she was a very independent character who really didn't lose sight of her end goal- to avenge her mother. I liked that she was strong in her own way and did whatever she had to to get gold and blood for the Fairy Queen. She is joined by Florence and Adelaide on her journey and they are such a fun trio! They could take on any man, any day. I would say the romance aspect of the book is mainly a romantic subplot, while it does take up a few chapters near the end of the book, I still got the impression that it wasn't the point of the book, if that makes sense. Overall, a fun and easy read.