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mellomorissa's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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
2.0
kanissa's review against another edition
4.0
Started out a bit slow, but after the Delegates and their new "ward" return to New York City, the pace picks up. What really kept my interest going was the style, which was rich and a bit over-the-top at times - but this fits well with the narrator (Hugo).
By the end, the tale felt like a character study of Hugo. You'd imagine that, from the title, Bronwyn is the main subject, but in reality we never really get to know her. Everything about her is relayed from Hugo's viewpoint, which is (at turns delightfully and frustratingly) flawed. Unfortunately, getting to know Hugo so well is not great for him; at the conclusion I didn't particularly like him. And since we see Bronwyn through his eyes, I didn't much like her either!
As far as the murder mystery portion of the story goes, I found it quite disappointing. I'd rather have your worst fears play out.
By the end, the tale felt like a character study of Hugo. You'd imagine that, from the title, Bronwyn is the main subject, but in reality we never really get to know her. Everything about her is relayed from Hugo's viewpoint, which is (at turns delightfully and frustratingly) flawed. Unfortunately, getting to know Hugo so well is not great for him; at the conclusion I didn't particularly like him. And since we see Bronwyn through his eyes, I didn't much like her either!
As far as the murder mystery portion of the story goes, I found it quite disappointing. I'd rather have your worst fears play out.
lisawreading's review against another edition
Got to 20% and just couldn't bring myself to continue.
amycoles's review against another edition
3.0
In terms of the overall rating of the story, I would give it 4 stars.
In terms of how I specifically liked it (considering i like epic fantasy, and paranormal novels), I would rate it 3 stars.
For a historical fiction story, I found this book to be really exciting. This first half of the book is a little slow (but I might just think that because I just finished reading a Game of Thrones book 3 before reading this). The character development is a main theme in this story as "The Savage Girl" is introduced into high society of late 1800's New York. The one thing I found was lacking in this book was a strong connection to the characters. I was just not strongly emotionally invested in Hugo or Bronwyn. That being said, there were lots of interesting characters that you would not expect in a novel such as this (including Tu-Li,Queen Zuni,and Sage Hen).
The mystery aspect of the novel seemed to come and go. When the first murder happens, there is a lot of hype from the characters, but that quickly fades and goes back to a calm flow of events for a long time - until the next murder. What I loved is that I never guessed who the killer was. There were a few times when I was sure of the murderer, but I was proven wrong in the last chapter. The last chapter of the book, and the epilogue concluded that story perfectly. It answered all questions that arises in the climax during chapter 31.
What I absolutely love is the cover of this book. It is beautiful! And that is exactly how I pictured Bronwyn to look during her transition into high society.
In terms of how I specifically liked it (considering i like epic fantasy, and paranormal novels), I would rate it 3 stars.
For a historical fiction story, I found this book to be really exciting. This first half of the book is a little slow (but I might just think that because I just finished reading a Game of Thrones book 3 before reading this). The character development is a main theme in this story as "The Savage Girl" is introduced into high society of late 1800's New York. The one thing I found was lacking in this book was a strong connection to the characters. I was just not strongly emotionally invested in Hugo or Bronwyn. That being said, there were lots of interesting characters that you would not expect in a novel such as this (including Tu-Li,Queen Zuni,and Sage Hen).
The mystery aspect of the novel seemed to come and go. When the first murder happens, there is a lot of hype from the characters, but that quickly fades and goes back to a calm flow of events for a long time - until the next murder. What I loved is that I never guessed who the killer was. There were a few times when I was sure of the murderer, but I was proven wrong in the last chapter. The last chapter of the book, and the epilogue concluded that story perfectly. It answered all questions that arises in the climax during chapter 31.
What I absolutely love is the cover of this book. It is beautiful! And that is exactly how I pictured Bronwyn to look during her transition into high society.
100pagesaday's review against another edition
5.0
"...beauty and terror often bump up against each other."
From Manhattan's Gilded Age society Hugo Delegate finds himself confronted with a murder. Left alone in the room with the body of his dead friend, Hugo surmises that it is possible that he committed the crime and has no recollection, he also knows that it is possible that his family's ward and the girl he loves has committed the murder. Hugo recounts his entire story of the murders and the Savage Girl as he sits in the Tombs with his lawyers, desperately trying to convince them that it was he who murdered this man - and others- and not his beloved Savage Girl.
While on a trip to Virginia City to visit the family silver mining operation, the Delegate family comes across a side show featuring a feral child. Anna Maria Delegate, Hugo's mother and Freddy Delegate, Hugo's father each become enamored with the feral girl featured in the show. They decide that they would like to take this Savage Girl back to New York with them and attempt to 'civilize' her and prepare her for a debut into New York society. Is the person the Delegate's brought home the girl that they want her to be, or is she still a savage girl at heart?
The mystery in this story is very intriguing. There are a lot of different layers and it unfolds continuously until the very end. The entire story is told from Hugo's point of view while contained within a prison cell. So, we only know what he knows about Bronwyn (the Savage Girl) which was really frustrating to me, but kept up the mystery. I really wanted to know her character and her motivations better. We find some of this out slowly throughout the story and a little bit in the epilogue. The setting Manhattan's Gilded Age was beautifully described, we are taken on a beautiful personal train that traveled across the country, into a Manhattan mansion and behind the scenes at a debutante ball. All of this glittering and rich society was well contrasted with the darkness of the brutal murders.
Savage Girl was received for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
From Manhattan's Gilded Age society Hugo Delegate finds himself confronted with a murder. Left alone in the room with the body of his dead friend, Hugo surmises that it is possible that he committed the crime and has no recollection, he also knows that it is possible that his family's ward and the girl he loves has committed the murder. Hugo recounts his entire story of the murders and the Savage Girl as he sits in the Tombs with his lawyers, desperately trying to convince them that it was he who murdered this man - and others- and not his beloved Savage Girl.
While on a trip to Virginia City to visit the family silver mining operation, the Delegate family comes across a side show featuring a feral child. Anna Maria Delegate, Hugo's mother and Freddy Delegate, Hugo's father each become enamored with the feral girl featured in the show. They decide that they would like to take this Savage Girl back to New York with them and attempt to 'civilize' her and prepare her for a debut into New York society. Is the person the Delegate's brought home the girl that they want her to be, or is she still a savage girl at heart?
The mystery in this story is very intriguing. There are a lot of different layers and it unfolds continuously until the very end. The entire story is told from Hugo's point of view while contained within a prison cell. So, we only know what he knows about Bronwyn (the Savage Girl) which was really frustrating to me, but kept up the mystery. I really wanted to know her character and her motivations better. We find some of this out slowly throughout the story and a little bit in the epilogue. The setting Manhattan's Gilded Age was beautifully described, we are taken on a beautiful personal train that traveled across the country, into a Manhattan mansion and behind the scenes at a debutante ball. All of this glittering and rich society was well contrasted with the darkness of the brutal murders.
Savage Girl was received for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
kuyemura's review against another edition
2.0
This book was quite confuzzling. Despite an initial interesting premise (wild child taken in by rich family to prove that nurture is superior to nature) I felt like the book was trying to settle in the audience the entire time. The character development left much to be desired. For example, the girl was able to learn English incredibly quickly, the narrator was constantly hanging out in brothels etc. etc. but was in love with the girl, and the narrator's friend, Bev, seems like a pretty nice guy, even helping Bronwyn design a new wardrobe, until bang it turns out he raped the narrator's ex-fiancé? Resulting in her eventual death due to an abortion? What?
Really, the only character I liked at all was Nicky, who seemed a much better fit for Bronwyn despite being twelve or so. Of course, he got basically no screen time, the most character development was done on the Oriental (who conveniently carries a shoto on her person that she handy dandily uses to kill a guy trying to kill Bronwyn) and the berdache, who, well honestly I'm not even sure why he needed to be in the story at all. Seriously.
The love story itself was mainly about how awesome Bronwyn was and how insane Hugo was both before and while being in love with her (can't even tell if he's the murderer, is constantly sick probably from an STD from all those prostitutes, faints quite often, and is creepily obsessed with knives and the human body). Here, in the epilogue, where they finally end up together, is some of their dialogue.
Hugo: Then how did you know Charlie wouldn't go for me?
Bronwyn: Well, that I didn't know, but I figured at least one of you two would survive, Delegate or Flenniken, so either way I'd have a husband.
FYI, Charlie is a man eating Tigon from India. Don't these romantic words send shivers down your spine?
Lastly, at the resolution of this mystery, you find out who's been murdering and mutilating all these guys and turns out it's not Bronwyn, or Hugo, but.......some random character you're supposed to remember from the beginning of the book who was in about ten pages! Wow, isn't that satisfying?
So really, the only reason this book isn't a one is because it did pull me in enough that I just kept reading in the hopes that it would get better, and it never did, but I did read the book. So hooray for that.
Really, the only character I liked at all was Nicky, who seemed a much better fit for Bronwyn despite being twelve or so. Of course, he got basically no screen time, the most character development was done on the Oriental (who conveniently carries a shoto on her person that she handy dandily uses to kill a guy trying to kill Bronwyn) and the berdache, who, well honestly I'm not even sure why he needed to be in the story at all. Seriously.
The love story itself was mainly about how awesome Bronwyn was and how insane Hugo was both before and while being in love with her (can't even tell if he's the murderer, is constantly sick probably from an STD from all those prostitutes, faints quite often, and is creepily obsessed with knives and the human body). Here, in the epilogue, where they finally end up together, is some of their dialogue.
Hugo: Then how did you know Charlie wouldn't go for me?
Bronwyn: Well, that I didn't know, but I figured at least one of you two would survive, Delegate or Flenniken, so either way I'd have a husband.
FYI, Charlie is a man eating Tigon from India. Don't these romantic words send shivers down your spine?
Lastly, at the resolution of this mystery, you find out who's been murdering and mutilating all these guys and turns out it's not Bronwyn, or Hugo, but.......some random character you're supposed to remember from the beginning of the book who was in about ten pages! Wow, isn't that satisfying?
So really, the only reason this book isn't a one is because it did pull me in enough that I just kept reading in the hopes that it would get better, and it never did, but I did read the book. So hooray for that.
guitarlisa's review against another edition
3.0
Not bad....no strong feelings one way or another. A mystery with a twist, but by the end I really just wanted to find out the truth so that that book would end.
miwo6's review against another edition
3.0
I won this book through the Goodreads giveaway. Overall, I liked the book. The plot was engaging and the historical setting was set up very nicely. I was constantly guessing at the murderer, which made the plot more engaging than the characters themselves.
I had a problem finding a connection to the characters they seemed a bit detached to me and I couldn't really become fully invested in Hugo or Bronwyn. The flow of the story was a bit off for me with moments of intense excitement but then a bit of a lull in the story that lasted quite a bit until the next murder occurred. The ending was okay, but it left me a bit wanting.
I might be interested in checking out other works by Jean Zimmerman because of her storytelling capabilities using interesting plot turns.
I had a problem finding a connection to the characters they seemed a bit detached to me and I couldn't really become fully invested in Hugo or Bronwyn. The flow of the story was a bit off for me with moments of intense excitement but then a bit of a lull in the story that lasted quite a bit until the next murder occurred. The ending was okay, but it left me a bit wanting.
I might be interested in checking out other works by Jean Zimmerman because of her storytelling capabilities using interesting plot turns.
cheye13's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This was engaging enough to continue reading beyond simply wanting to know the answer. The writing itself was entertaining and the events along or aside of the plot interesting enough. I enjoyed the nod to real history and the subtle emphasis on feminist (and other leftist) action and theory at the time.
I'm not a fan of the historical genre, especially this time period, but I had hopes for the mystery/thriller aspects. As is, I felt there was no real tension or thrill to the events. The execution of the unreliable narrator was trite, the resolution inconsequential if not entirely predictable. The biggest let down for me was the "romance" element – though it perhaps is not meant to be overt, I found myself reading Hugo and Bronwyn more as genuine siblings rather than leaning into the taboo of his attraction to her.
The beginning is slow, the middle interesting, the end ruinous – too rushed, and too well-tied.
I'm not a fan of the historical genre, especially this time period, but I had hopes for the mystery/thriller aspects. As is, I felt there was no real tension or thrill to the events. The execution of the unreliable narrator was trite, the resolution inconsequential if not entirely predictable. The biggest let down for me was the "romance" element – though it perhaps is not meant to be overt, I found myself reading Hugo and Bronwyn more as genuine siblings rather than leaning into the taboo of his attraction to her.
The beginning is slow, the middle interesting, the end ruinous – too rushed, and too well-tied.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Abortion, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Gun violence, Body horror, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Child death, and Gore
Minor: Grief, Dementia, Trafficking, Stalking, Vomit, Rape, and Forced institutionalization
while used with intention, the topics of mental illness are not approached with careemilymahar's review against another edition
4.0
Savage Girl is a mysterious and dark historical fiction woven with family scandal, murder, and a haunting romance.
Read my full review on my blog: http://simplyyareviews.tumblr.com/post/78253441825/savage-girl-by-jean-zimmerman
Read my full review on my blog: http://simplyyareviews.tumblr.com/post/78253441825/savage-girl-by-jean-zimmerman