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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
I knew the author but not the story when I saw it at the library. It was a delightful surprise. I enjoyed the story and characters the whole way through.
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What’s in the trunk? THAT was unexpected. This book has great characters, storytelling, and a little bit of surprise horror. Loved it.
Completely enjoyable. This is my third Lavelle and although it’s not my favorite, but it is pretty dang good. Recommended for those wanting to tiptoe into the horror genre.
If this wasn’t a book club pick I probably wouldn’t have picked it up at all. I don’t typically enjoy horror or general western type stories, unless they’re post westerns, which, this sort of was, but not in a way I found interesting.
Initially, it seemed interesting. There’s commentary on culture and times, and more overt things, such as racism. But also just finding out why Adelaide would burn down her house and what is in the trunk is compelling enough. By the time it actually gets there, though, we go through just the most boring build up, so that when it actually is time to learn these things, I did not care anymore.
I also had a notion of what was in the trunk and I think my idea of it was more interesting to me than what it actually was, so the reveal actually worked against the story, for me. Rather than ramp tension, all the narrative tension, for me, wasn’t present, making the end kind of a bombastic finish without any punch. I was already tuned out.
But. This is to be expected, given what I know about myself as a reader already, so I am not surprised that it worked for most people, who are probably picking this up because they like certain aspects of it, and not in spite of them.
Initially, it seemed interesting. There’s commentary on culture and times, and more overt things, such as racism. But also just finding out why Adelaide would burn down her house and what is in the trunk is compelling enough. By the time it actually gets there, though, we go through just the most boring build up, so that when it actually is time to learn these things, I did not care anymore.
I also had a notion of what was in the trunk and I think my idea of it was more interesting to me than what it actually was, so the reveal actually worked against the story, for me. Rather than ramp tension, all the narrative tension, for me, wasn’t present, making the end kind of a bombastic finish without any punch. I was already tuned out.
But. This is to be expected, given what I know about myself as a reader already, so I am not surprised that it worked for most people, who are probably picking this up because they like certain aspects of it, and not in spite of them.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I went in blind and I’m glad I did. I ended up liking this so much more than I had anticipated. I’ve read 20 books so far this year, and this was the first book I gave 5 stars. I enjoyed the characters, the setting, and the plot. The pacing was perfect for me too. There was one chapter I enjoyed so much that I read it three times.
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
All characters lack depth and I felt nothing for all of them.
It reads like someone’s first attempt to write a book and no one has reviewed it.. is this book western? Historical? Horror? Fantasy? LGBTQ+? Feminist? Well why not everything just for S&G?
I was tempted to DNF this but wanted a stupid reading challenge award…if not for that I would have DNF it.