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defymavity's review against another edition
5.0
This is a fun book to read
The ending honestly surprised me, though I feel it shouldn't have. Tillie is such a relatable character she's hard not to just love. This was such a fun book and I'd like to read more by this author.
The ending honestly surprised me, though I feel it shouldn't have. Tillie is such a relatable character she's hard not to just love. This was such a fun book and I'd like to read more by this author.
almondcookies's review against another edition
3.0
This book has a real 'who did it?' vibe going for it, and that's not a bad thing. It also had a crap tonne of red herrings, which was also not a bad thing. It has a lot more of Tillie's downward spiral into opium addiction than the murder mystery though, take that as you will.
Good book, crazy ending, brilliant cover.
Good book, crazy ending, brilliant cover.
chris_hope__'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.75
emily_bg's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-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
3.25
duchessofreadin's review against another edition
4.0
When her sister, the perfect daughter is murdered, Tillie is shocked, but determined to find out more - that is, as soon as she is feeling better.
This was an interesting story, wrapped in the hysteria of the newly released Dracula. I enjoyed reading through this book! Great for weekend reads or those rainy days where you want to stay on the couch! Perfect for book clubs too!
This was an interesting story, wrapped in the hysteria of the newly released Dracula. I enjoyed reading through this book! Great for weekend reads or those rainy days where you want to stay on the couch! Perfect for book clubs too!
leonoor's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
The pacing was off. The midsection of the story was quite slow and uneventful, whereas the whole ending of the book was wrapped up in 30 pages. The author used two cliches in this last part: having the evil villain explain in detail why they did what they did, and the protagonist fainting at the end of the story so others can fill in what happened after they wake up . It feels like many details in the slower part of the book are unnecessary and don't make much sense. Some characters feel like caricatures of themselves.
Overall, this book feels rushed and not quite put together. Still, I appreciate the details about opium use and I think the setting of 1899's New York was quite nice.
Overall, this book feels rushed and not quite put together. Still, I appreciate the details about opium use and I think the setting of 1899's New York was quite nice.
itputsthebookupontheshelf's review against another edition
3.0
I struggle to give this a rating. While I found the story generally enjoyable, there were times I just didn't want to read it. I'm sitting between a 3 and a 3.5.
They story wasn't bad, it was well written, however I felt it focused so much on Tillie's drug addiction that it took away from other areas of the book that could have been more detailed or fleshed out. I honestly got really tired of hearing about all these drugs she kept getting addicted to.
I know the book is called Opium and Absinthe, but come on...
The characters were ok, besides being annoyed by Tillie's addiction most of the time. She did have her good points, she was strong and determined, she cared very much about finding her sisters killer, and she loved learning things a woman of that time had no business knowing.
Tom was perhaps one of my favorites, the way he cared for the children, Tillie, and his interest in always helping Tillie. I wanted a bit more from some of the other characters, though I suppose it fit together well with the storyline.
The world building wasn't too bad either. It set the mood for that time period and how certain things would have been taboo or what was expected of certain characters.
Fort the most part, I did like the ending once things started to unreavel. It was interesting to hear the killers motive and technique. I'd be interested to see what comes next from this author.
They story wasn't bad, it was well written, however I felt it focused so much on Tillie's drug addiction that it took away from other areas of the book that could have been more detailed or fleshed out. I honestly got really tired of hearing about all these drugs she kept getting addicted to.
I know the book is called Opium and Absinthe, but come on...
The characters were ok, besides being annoyed by Tillie's addiction most of the time. She did have her good points, she was strong and determined, she cared very much about finding her sisters killer, and she loved learning things a woman of that time had no business knowing.
Tom was perhaps one of my favorites, the way he cared for the children, Tillie, and his interest in always helping Tillie. I wanted a bit more from some of the other characters, though I suppose it fit together well with the storyline.
The world building wasn't too bad either. It set the mood for that time period and how certain things would have been taboo or what was expected of certain characters.
Fort the most part, I did like the ending once things started to unreavel. It was interesting to hear the killers motive and technique. I'd be interested to see what comes next from this author.