Reviews

I don’t know how much can be blamed on translation (perhaps in the original the actual language is transcendent) but this was just okay for me. Any one of the plot threads would be fine on its own, but taken together there was just too much of a muchness. It’s not clear if I just read a mystery, a fantasy, or not anything in particular, and what I did read for a large part doesn’t make sense or is stretched beyond credibility, e.g. a plane accident so that the protagonist can conveniently lose quite a bit of memory.

Characters come and go, major ones, viewpoint characters even--they'll appear for a chapter or two, and then are forgotten with no consequence. (It works for Douglas Adams, it doesn't work here). The author gives you innumerable pointless and unnecessary details about characters. Hey, Antoine: not everyone needs a back story!

Upon reflection, really, this ends up being only 2 stars for me. It's a disappointment. I enjoyed reading it more than most 2 star books because I was hopeful that something would happen to tie the disparate elements together, but no, that wasn't the case. (Obviously, a certain amount is revealed at the climax, but not enough to explain all my concerns or all his red herrings).

May 2022 update: less than two years later, I didn't recall this book at all, and was wondering why I hadn't marked it as "did not finish." So I read my review, and a summary, and it came back to me. So you can add "unmemorable" to my list of complaints regarding it.

That said, I have written a novel (not yet published), so now I will suffer pangs of guilt every time I offer less than five stars. In my subjective opinion, the stars suggest:

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!

robertasguedes's review

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3.0

não foi ruim, muito pelo contrário, mas queria um final diferente

servasan's review against another edition

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1.0

For a while I was thinking this book still deserved 3 stars, that ended in one of the last pages. I honestly really dislike this book and I'm sad about it. I wanted to like it

ruba0327's review against another edition

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4.0

I've read a few books by Antoine Laurain, "The Red Notebook" remains my favorite, but "The Reader's Room" is a comeback book for the author, it is much better than some of his recent books that did not appeal to me. The story is cleverly written, with a murder mystery that plays out quietly with some unexpected turns. It reminded me of French movies, and it was interesting to learn about the book publishing world in Paris. One of my favorite reads this year so far.

clemen95's review

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mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

happi_mess's review against another edition

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2.0

Violaine,
I wish you no harm.
The book has a life of its own outside my control. And those who must die will die. All debts will be repaid.
CD

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

When the Readers' Room received the manuscript for Sugar Flowers, they all voted for it to be published ASAP. Things get complicated when the writer of the book refused to reveal their identity, and what was worse, the contents of the book depicted real-life crime investigations with details that were never disclosed to the public.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

TRIGGER WARNING: RAPE

Rating: ★★

When I read the little blurb in the bookstore, I was so hooked. I could not wait to get my hands on this book. I was completely sold with the idea and premise of this. I love the mystery genre, unfortunately, this book came a little shorthanded on that field.

I have tried to read [b:The Red Notebook|23129712|The Red Notebook|Antoine Laurain|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1422320393l/23129712._SY75_.jpg|42677555] before but I don't remember if I finished it. Probably not. So I was surprised to know that this was written by the same writer!

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The things that I like

☽ The premise. Anonymous writer could be a killer? Book got published with unreleased information on how the murders happened? Hold my other book and I'll pick this one up!

☽ The journey. I enjoyed the entirety of the path that this book has taken to have the answers revealed. It all unfolded at the right time and kept the interest until the very end.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The things that I DID NOT like

☾ The mystery in itself. I loved the idea of it at first, but when we get the answer... it was not that impressive at all. I wish that it had gone deeper and threw in some more fog in our way.

☾ Filler chapters. There were a lot of side stories for the side characters, which I loved, but when you're rushing through finding the answers, you're going to end up pushing these stories aside. Which I somehow did.

☾ The tone. Was it possible that some part of this came in a cheery voice? At some point, I could not take it seriously.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

In sum:

If you are up for a quick mystery read, you're going to enjoy this one. Short and sweet. Straight to the point (which might not be everyone's cup of tea, like me).

The story was wrapped nicely and was created with good characters, however, I feel like this book could have gone further with its premise. There could have been more. I just wished that it maxed out its own potential, but it did not, unfortunately.

Still, the mystery was great and was engaging.

dragonantlers's review against another edition

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dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

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