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coffeeandbooked's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this one and will be picking up the next book in this series when it comes out.
check out my full review here
check out my full review here
motherofladybirds's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoy this Victorian thriller series. Death of a prostitute, known to our protagonist.
surfybridge's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
bexbooksandstuff's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
This was a very intriguing murder mystery. I myself don't usually read historical fiction but this was a book club pick so took me out of my comfort zone!
I was pleasantly surprised to find I enjoyed it and I enjoyed the references to Victorian England, it wasn't a difficult read as some historical fiction can be.
I went into this blind and so found the reveal of Leo as a trans man a welcome surprise. Being a cis woman myself I'm not sure how well the trans community were represented (reading the reviews I would say it hasn't gone down particularly well).however in my limited knowledge I felt it gave me more understanding of the nature of being born a man in a Woman's body. I felt wretched for Leo, it seemed like such a dangerous and unforgiving time to be a trans person and I felt the constant danger and pressure he was under on a daily basis.
The murder element was clever and I loved all the twists and confusion along the way. There were a lot of very undesirable characters throughout and I thought it was many of them before the truth came out.
All in all I enjoyed this one and found it a different and enjoyable read that made me want to read more books about trans People.
I was pleasantly surprised to find I enjoyed it and I enjoyed the references to Victorian England, it wasn't a difficult read as some historical fiction can be.
I went into this blind and so found the reveal of Leo as a trans man a welcome surprise. Being a cis woman myself I'm not sure how well the trans community were represented (reading the reviews I would say it hasn't gone down particularly well).however in my limited knowledge I felt it gave me more understanding of the nature of being born a man in a Woman's body. I felt wretched for Leo, it seemed like such a dangerous and unforgiving time to be a trans person and I felt the constant danger and pressure he was under on a daily basis.
The murder element was clever and I loved all the twists and confusion along the way. There were a lot of very undesirable characters throughout and I thought it was many of them before the truth came out.
All in all I enjoyed this one and found it a different and enjoyable read that made me want to read more books about trans People.
junipersgarden's review against another edition
Horrible , literally awful
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
coleycole's review against another edition
Historical mystery with a trans main character. A few too many half twists but overall a good mystery. The author is a cis man, and I wanted to know what trans people make of the character... Well, it's a bad sign when trans people are writing all the negative reviews for too much trans pain.
callosaurus's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
hocuscrocus's review against another edition
Oh dear. My hopes for this book were sky high. I thought the writing style was brilliant and the detail of the era was fantastic. But oh buddy, the trans experience is not represented well at all. Yes, it's historical fiction. Yes, Leo's attitude towards his own transness probably matches what many trans people of the time experienced. But even so, there are certainly ways of writing transness and even dysphoria faithfully to the time without it being... Like that. Yikes.
krobart's review against another edition
3.0
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2023/05/08/review-2169-the-house-on-half-moon-street/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2023/05/08/review-2169-the-house-on-half-moon-street/
westenra's review against another edition
1.0
There's a special tone of rubbing salt in the wound when a cis man decides writing a trans character would be a fun gimmick for his thriller series... about violence against women. I dont usually like works set in Victorian London bc it's either voyeurism about the (white) urban poor, especially sex workers, or nostalgia for the golden age of the empire but there's so few books about trans men (especially those who haven't physically transitioned) that I suppose i'm desperate.
I dont think all trans stories should be about joy, there's room for hurt and broken people and depictions of oppression, or bad things happening in general. But I don't think a book from 2018 should necessarily be just a catalogue of gendered violence against a trans man and women around him. Even when it's historical fiction, it's being read now, and because there aren't too many trans stories, by trans people. And cis women, who the book also hates.
But this feels like a book from a cis man to cis men, about all men being bastards and the trans man, who can't take a break from being reminded of his femaleness for even one scene, having to learn this. At 25? Through the experience of being raped and getting an abortion (strong men writing "women" energy here btw, in both scenes).
This on top of excessive descriptions of dysphoria, inaccurate depiction of binding & weirdly penis-centric worldview in general, eating disorders, drug abuse, threat of homelessness and institutionalization, suicide attempts... and that's just the main character. Other content in this book includes domestic violence, child trafficking and CSA, dead sex workers, more rape, an evil lesbian villain... I dont even remember all of it. And for a book that tries to make a point about trans identity being valid, and tries to be sympathetic towards the hardships women face, the book feels unnecessarily cruel and doesn't care to depict any of these topics in a sensitive way.
When writing historical fiction, you of course have to include some values of the time. My issue is that historical fiction about oppression often has a feeling to it that since a lot of things have gotten better, all this is in the past. Even though I have personally experienced a bit too many of the awful things the main character goes through to be able to enjoy a book that simply stacks a tragedy on top of another because either the author thinks that's what trans lives are like, or is more concerned about his imagined historical accuracy (because that's always an imagined concept) than the readers of his book. I suppose it all comes down to politeness, unfortunately? Or sensitivity.
Genre matters too, since while yes a gaslamp thriller means a level of dark subjects being depicted, a thriller is also a formulaic page turner. It's not a book you pick up to learn things, it's entertainment. And I think as a trans reader, however presumptuous it is, I should be allowed to expect to be entertained instead of being reminded of my own trauma on every page. It's not a complex book, or a meaningful study of gendered violence. I dont think it's simply shock value either, I think the author meant well but is not the right person to depict any of these experiences so it comes across as using a trendy minority experience to make money.
I dont think all trans stories should be about joy, there's room for hurt and broken people and depictions of oppression, or bad things happening in general. But I don't think a book from 2018 should necessarily be just a catalogue of gendered violence against a trans man and women around him. Even when it's historical fiction, it's being read now, and because there aren't too many trans stories, by trans people. And cis women, who the book also hates.
But this feels like a book from a cis man to cis men, about all men being bastards and the trans man, who can't take a break from being reminded of his femaleness for even one scene, having to learn this. At 25? Through the experience of being raped and getting an abortion (strong men writing "women" energy here btw, in both scenes).
This on top of excessive descriptions of dysphoria, inaccurate depiction of binding & weirdly penis-centric worldview in general, eating disorders, drug abuse, threat of homelessness and institutionalization, suicide attempts... and that's just the main character. Other content in this book includes domestic violence, child trafficking and CSA, dead sex workers, more rape, an evil lesbian villain... I dont even remember all of it. And for a book that tries to make a point about trans identity being valid, and tries to be sympathetic towards the hardships women face, the book feels unnecessarily cruel and doesn't care to depict any of these topics in a sensitive way.
When writing historical fiction, you of course have to include some values of the time. My issue is that historical fiction about oppression often has a feeling to it that since a lot of things have gotten better, all this is in the past. Even though I have personally experienced a bit too many of the awful things the main character goes through to be able to enjoy a book that simply stacks a tragedy on top of another because either the author thinks that's what trans lives are like, or is more concerned about his imagined historical accuracy (because that's always an imagined concept) than the readers of his book. I suppose it all comes down to politeness, unfortunately? Or sensitivity.
Genre matters too, since while yes a gaslamp thriller means a level of dark subjects being depicted, a thriller is also a formulaic page turner. It's not a book you pick up to learn things, it's entertainment. And I think as a trans reader, however presumptuous it is, I should be allowed to expect to be entertained instead of being reminded of my own trauma on every page. It's not a complex book, or a meaningful study of gendered violence. I dont think it's simply shock value either, I think the author meant well but is not the right person to depict any of these experiences so it comes across as using a trendy minority experience to make money.