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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence
I had the honor and the privilege to receive an advance copy of this book. Shelley Gray does such a remarkable job of creating characters that you care about, root for and a mystery that had me guessing until the end. So well written and a delight to read. I highly recommend it and look forward to the next book in the World's Fair Mystery series!!
This book wasn’t very good. Shallow characters. Sappy romance. Mystery that I didn’t really care much about. I kept hoping for it to get better but it never did. Disappointing. Not recommended.
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Secrets of Sloane House by Shelley Gray - A twisty and mysterious plot with a great leading lady! Happy Reading!
This was a very enjoyable historical mystery that will appeal to those who know Chicago.
With a mystery that could be solved by the end of page 3 and a romance that threatens to overpower the focus of the story, Sloane House is definitely a book to read if you enjoy watching shallow characters interact and adore reading the same words over and over.
This book was fascinating because it excelled in showing me how extremely beneficial and important a book editor can be.
Sloane House is probably the worst book I've read thus far. The plot was horribly predictable, the characters were shallow and confused, and the end plummeted toward a lackluster conclusion like a deflating balloon.
1. The story is hardly immersive
I don’t have a good idea of what the characters look like, and the book lacks descriptions. It often feels as though you’re reading an account of an event rather than a narrative tale. People pop in to say dialogue and then abruptly disappear; or they do something random, and you’re like, “Why in the seven suns did they do that?”
2. Redundancy = not good
One of the most annoying aspects about this book was the amount of redundancy. To tell about an emotion, you don’t have to say, “He is happy.” You can say something like, “He woke up to see the sunny windowsill and felt a current of energy spread through his being, causing a smile to creep onto his face.”
Gray, thankfully, does describe the emotions of her characters. However, she also tacks an explanation after the description such as; “She was like this BECAUSE SHE WAS SO SAD.”
Thanks. I wouldn't have been able to figure that out by myself.
Here are two examples of redundancy:
Chapter 5 on page 46: “’I don’t know how! Can you believe our luck? We both get tomorrow afternoon and evening off. And Mr. Sloane has given us tickets for admission to the fair and tokens for the midway!’
Just a few hours before, Mr. and Mrs. Sloane had lined up all the staff and presented them each member with tokens and tickets for both the fair admission and the Ferris wheel in the midway.”
Chapter 22 on page 222: “[His] expression looked to be a cross between profound relief and unexpected joy. ‘Rosalind, thank God.’
She stepped to the aisle and met him. When he held out his hands, she grasped his with a mixture of pure relief and bountiful joy.”
3. Douglass Sloane
See, I don’t title this point because there’s no need to title this error. Douglass Sloane: in general, he is the shallowest character I have ever come across.
And because he is a bad guy, he has all the bad guy stuff: a sensual, dangerous tone when talking to women; bad vibes; shifty eyes; mysterious behavior that isn’t really all that mysterious (for crying out loud, you KNOW what he’s doing with the ladies!).
That’s his character; and not even “in a nutshell.” No, that is his character in its entirety.
If the story were a piano, his character would be flatter than the lowest key.
4. Miranda is distracting
“I wonder if this was how Miranda had felt” “I wonder if this is what happened to Miranda” “I need to find Miranda” “Miranda, my sister Miranda, is missing” “My sole motivation for living and breathing is to find my missing sister Miranda who went missing here in this city where I work so that I can find my lost sister, Miranda”
MIRANDA, YOU’RE NOT THE MAIN CHARACTER; STOP DISTRACTING THE READERS.
Goodness gracious. By the end of page 50, I wanted Miranda to be dead so Rosalind would stop mentioning her name so often.
5. The motivations of the characters switch back and forth throughout the book
This was unnervingly distracting, annoying, and mechanistic. The characters don’t seem to know what they’re doing. (And by characters, I mean Rosalind and Reid since they’re the only ones that have much depth at all.)
One moment, Rosalind is meek, timid, quiet, and quite frankly scared of the big city. The next moment, she’s asking everybody about Miranda. The next moment, she vows never to do that again. The next moment, she’s asking everybody with fervor. The next, she wants to be silent around the Sloanes. The next, she’s asking everyone in the Sloane house.
What the heck, Rosalind?! Get your act straight! With the number of times Miranda is mentioned within the first 100 pages, the reader would think that you would do absolutely anything to help the sister you dearly love.
This book was fascinating because it excelled in showing me how extremely beneficial and important a book editor can be.
Sloane House is probably the worst book I've read thus far. The plot was horribly predictable, the characters were shallow and confused, and the end plummeted toward a lackluster conclusion like a deflating balloon.
1. The story is hardly immersive
I don’t have a good idea of what the characters look like, and the book lacks descriptions. It often feels as though you’re reading an account of an event rather than a narrative tale. People pop in to say dialogue and then abruptly disappear; or they do something random, and you’re like, “Why in the seven suns did they do that?”
2. Redundancy = not good
One of the most annoying aspects about this book was the amount of redundancy. To tell about an emotion, you don’t have to say, “He is happy.” You can say something like, “He woke up to see the sunny windowsill and felt a current of energy spread through his being, causing a smile to creep onto his face.”
Gray, thankfully, does describe the emotions of her characters. However, she also tacks an explanation after the description such as; “She was like this BECAUSE SHE WAS SO SAD.”
Thanks. I wouldn't have been able to figure that out by myself.
Here are two examples of redundancy:
Chapter 5 on page 46: “’I don’t know how! Can you believe our luck? We both get tomorrow afternoon and evening off. And Mr. Sloane has given us tickets for admission to the fair and tokens for the midway!’
Just a few hours before, Mr. and Mrs. Sloane had lined up all the staff and presented them each member with tokens and tickets for both the fair admission and the Ferris wheel in the midway.”
Chapter 22 on page 222: “[His] expression looked to be a cross between profound relief and unexpected joy. ‘Rosalind, thank God.’
She stepped to the aisle and met him. When he held out his hands, she grasped his with a mixture of pure relief and bountiful joy.”
3. Douglass Sloane
See, I don’t title this point because there’s no need to title this error. Douglass Sloane: in general, he is the shallowest character I have ever come across.
Spoiler
He is a bad guy for the sake of being a bad guy; it seems he literally has no motivation for living except to harm women, and his reaction (or lack thereof) when everyone found out what he had been doing was very confusing.And because he is a bad guy, he has all the bad guy stuff: a sensual, dangerous tone when talking to women; bad vibes; shifty eyes; mysterious behavior that isn’t really all that mysterious (for crying out loud, you KNOW what he’s doing with the ladies!).
That’s his character; and not even “in a nutshell.” No, that is his character in its entirety.
If the story were a piano, his character would be flatter than the lowest key.
4. Miranda is distracting
“I wonder if this was how Miranda had felt” “I wonder if this is what happened to Miranda” “I need to find Miranda” “Miranda, my sister Miranda, is missing” “My sole motivation for living and breathing is to find my missing sister Miranda who went missing here in this city where I work so that I can find my lost sister, Miranda”
MIRANDA, YOU’RE NOT THE MAIN CHARACTER; STOP DISTRACTING THE READERS.
Goodness gracious. By the end of page 50, I wanted Miranda to be dead so Rosalind would stop mentioning her name so often.
5. The motivations of the characters switch back and forth throughout the book
This was unnervingly distracting, annoying, and mechanistic. The characters don’t seem to know what they’re doing. (And by characters, I mean Rosalind and Reid since they’re the only ones that have much depth at all.)
One moment, Rosalind is meek, timid, quiet, and quite frankly scared of the big city. The next moment, she’s asking everybody about Miranda. The next moment, she vows never to do that again. The next moment, she’s asking everybody with fervor. The next, she wants to be silent around the Sloanes. The next, she’s asking everyone in the Sloane house.
What the heck, Rosalind?! Get your act straight! With the number of times Miranda is mentioned within the first 100 pages, the reader would think that you would do absolutely anything to help the sister you dearly love.
Wow! I absolutely loved this book! This was the first non-Amish book by Shelley Shepard Gray (writing as Shelley Gray)that I have read. I was a little hesitant to read it but am I ever glad I did!
Set against the backdrop of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, Rosalind Perry has left her family in Wisconsin to find out what happened to her sister who disappeared while working for the Sloane family in their house full of secrets. Rosalind is warned against uncovering the many secrets of Sloane House but nothing will stop her from finding her sister.
Shelly's writing in this book is superb! The story takes off right away and the reader is quickly transported to 1893 Chicago. The descriptions of the houses, city and fair are so well written it is almost like being there!
Rosalind is easy to immediately like and sympathize with. The Sloane family is uppity, unlikeable and untrustworthy and is written so the reader automatically dislikes them without knowing exactly why. There was also the character of Reid Armstrong who almost lives in both the lower class and upper class worlds. Of course there are all the various friends of the family and house staff that keep the story interesting and moving along.
I just can't say enough how much I loved this book. I was anxious to get to the end to see what happened but was sad that the story was over. This is book one in a series and the second book won't be out until Spring 2015.
Set against the backdrop of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, Rosalind Perry has left her family in Wisconsin to find out what happened to her sister who disappeared while working for the Sloane family in their house full of secrets. Rosalind is warned against uncovering the many secrets of Sloane House but nothing will stop her from finding her sister.
Shelly's writing in this book is superb! The story takes off right away and the reader is quickly transported to 1893 Chicago. The descriptions of the houses, city and fair are so well written it is almost like being there!
Rosalind is easy to immediately like and sympathize with. The Sloane family is uppity, unlikeable and untrustworthy and is written so the reader automatically dislikes them without knowing exactly why. There was also the character of Reid Armstrong who almost lives in both the lower class and upper class worlds. Of course there are all the various friends of the family and house staff that keep the story interesting and moving along.
I just can't say enough how much I loved this book. I was anxious to get to the end to see what happened but was sad that the story was over. This is book one in a series and the second book won't be out until Spring 2015.
I'm so sorry if the author ever reads this review, but this book is not good. The writing is repetitive, the characters are undeveloped, and the author very clumsily inserts references to her faith at very unnatural times throughout the book.
I really tried but wow this MC is the most boring and self-righteous human on the planet and literally nothing happens.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot