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nicoles_reading_corner's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Physical abuse, Gore, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Blood
_jaybee_'s review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore and Physical abuse
fortunavhs's review
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
None are depicted on page, but it is either insinuated or told that it has happened offpage.bookphenomena_micky's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Headlines:
Creepy atmosphere
Plundering of other countries
You can literally smell the evil
Pandora was such an all consuming read. I loved how it brought Georgian England together with Greek mythology. The result was a stunning story, with clever characters, ones to really invest in and some to revile.
Pandora ‘Dora’ was the orphaned daughter of two archeologists-excavators-plunderers but they were respected experts and sellers of antiquities prior to their deaths. Dora relied on her uncle Hesakiah who quite frankly was one of the most revolting characters ever, but I loved how well he was written. He was a dodgy dealer in all the ways.
The arrival of the jar brought a creepy atmosphere to the page and the house Dora lived in. She had assistance from Edward with regards to the jar and there were some interesting side characters in Cornelius and Lottie. The Coombes brothers situation made me shudder and I could literally smell some of the things going on, kudos to the description. I have to mention Hermes, Dora’s animal companion in the shape of a magpie. He was fierce, wiley and protective; I enjoyed him on the page.
There’s a small part of me that was uncomfortable reading about the colonial aspects of plundering and acquisition even though that was historically correct. I hate element of British history, our museums are still full of antiquities that are not ‘ours’.
This was a superb debut, easy to read and not overtly historical-heavy. Dora the explorer (look someone had to say it) made for great reading and I’d jump on another release from this author.
Thank you to Vintage Books for the eARC copy.
Creepy atmosphere
Plundering of other countries
You can literally smell the evil
Pandora was such an all consuming read. I loved how it brought Georgian England together with Greek mythology. The result was a stunning story, with clever characters, ones to really invest in and some to revile.
Pandora ‘Dora’ was the orphaned daughter of two archeologists-excavators-plunderers but they were respected experts and sellers of antiquities prior to their deaths. Dora relied on her uncle Hesakiah who quite frankly was one of the most revolting characters ever, but I loved how well he was written. He was a dodgy dealer in all the ways.
The arrival of the jar brought a creepy atmosphere to the page and the house Dora lived in. She had assistance from Edward with regards to the jar and there were some interesting side characters in Cornelius and Lottie. The Coombes brothers situation made me shudder and I could literally smell some of the things going on, kudos to the description. I have to mention Hermes, Dora’s animal companion in the shape of a magpie. He was fierce, wiley and protective; I enjoyed him on the page.
There’s a small part of me that was uncomfortable reading about the colonial aspects of plundering and acquisition even though that was historically correct. I hate element of British history, our museums are still full of antiquities that are not ‘ours’.
This was a superb debut, easy to read and not overtly historical-heavy. Dora the explorer (look someone had to say it) made for great reading and I’d jump on another release from this author.
Thank you to Vintage Books for the eARC copy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Animal death
ballgownsandbooks's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This... was an interesting one. It was definitely a compelling read, more and more so as it went along; the historical setting was delightfully detailed (disturbingly graphic at times, even); the writing itself was good; and Dora was easy to root for!
However - I'm not sure I can quite say I loved it. One one level, I think this book was just trying to do too much. The Author's Note says it was born out of several separate ideas that Susan Stokes-Chapman decided to put together, and I think it shows. This book is over 400 pages - it's not short - so it really shouldn't feel rushed or underdeveloped! But, several of the elements felt oddly disjointed or abrupt.
The romance, in particular, felt incredibly rushed and came totally out of nowhere: I spent almost the whole book convinced they were just going to end up as friends, and would have been completely satisfied with that - so the last-minute escalation (and a steep escalation at that) that showed up with no warning at all threw me completely off, which is not what you want at the 92%-mark!
Edward's backstory, while alluded to vaguely at several points, also felt underdeveloped and like it was just glossed over, shoehorned in at the end just for the sake of it, without the appropriate weight for the subject matter. I also felt quite removed from Edward himself, and couldn't fully get behind his perspective, and most of the side characters were pretty one-note too.
The mystery of the box, and the slight speculative element around whether or not myths and Greek gods actually exist, could have been really interesting, and there were really interesting seeds there - but unfortunately, I think overall that thread is let down by the number of other things happening around it, which stop it from being explored as fully as it could have been. The ambiguity of the ending also feels more 'unfinished' than 'deliberate choice'.
However - I'm not sure I can quite say I loved it. One one level, I think this book was just trying to do too much. The Author's Note says it was born out of several separate ideas that Susan Stokes-Chapman decided to put together, and I think it shows. This book is over 400 pages - it's not short - so it really shouldn't feel rushed or underdeveloped! But, several of the elements felt oddly disjointed or abrupt.
The romance, in particular, felt incredibly rushed and came totally out of nowhere: I spent almost the whole book convinced they were just going to end up as friends, and would have been completely satisfied with that - so the last-minute escalation (and a steep escalation at that) that showed up with no warning at all threw me completely off, which is not what you want at the 92%-mark!
Edward's backstory, while alluded to vaguely at several points, also felt underdeveloped and like it was just glossed over, shoehorned in at the end just for the sake of it, without the appropriate weight for the subject matter. I also felt quite removed from Edward himself, and couldn't fully get behind his perspective, and most of the side characters were pretty one-note too.
The mystery of the box, and the slight speculative element around whether or not myths and Greek gods actually exist, could have been really interesting, and there were really interesting seeds there - but unfortunately, I think overall that thread is let down by the number of other things happening around it, which stop it from being explored as fully as it could have been. The ambiguity of the ending also feels more 'unfinished' than 'deliberate choice'.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Animal death, Murder, Blood, and Gore
Minor: Physical abuse
jamieleepilk's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Murder
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
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