Reviews

Last Call at the Nightingale by Katharine Schellman

Only show reviews with written explanations

gabriellamorelli's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-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? No

4.0

juliannasiegrist's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

freadomlibrary's review against another edition

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3.0

Trigger warnings: murder, violence, sexual abuse, stalking, lying, death, xenophobia, injuries

I got an ARC for the second book in this series recently, and because it's Pride Month and I love a good historical mystery, I decided to give this book a try now. Unfortunately, it was just okay for me. Not a new favorite, but also didn't hate it. If I had to pinpoint my biggest issue, it would have to be the characters. They didn't necessarily feel underdeveloped, but they also weren't the most engaging. I need compelling, emotionally tangible characters to really drive me through a book and while I liked the main character Vivian well enough, I didn't really feel her well. I thought her perspective and reasoning was sometimes flimsy; her choices didn't seem very smart at times and got her in situations that escalated very quickly. I also felt like the plot had an awkward pacing. I was interested in the mystery and wanted to know the why behind it, but it felt like sometimes there was nothing happening and other times, there was just too many reveals and revelations at once. I almost never see endings coming in mysteries so that wasn't an issue, but I felt like it took Vivian as long as me to get to the bottom of everything which I'm not really used to. I liked the queer representation and how the author adjusted language and behavior based on the time period. I'm interested to see how the next book is and hope I can develop more connection with the characters now that I have an idea of the main cast.

antimonium's review

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adventurous mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

hsummers6's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

babs_reviews's review against another edition

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4.0

The Roarin' 20's, just...yes.

I love the women in the flapper dresses looking dazzling and the men in those dapper af suits, oof. They both just hit different.

A speakeasy, raids and a murder. Vivian just wants to let loose a little, shake up a life she isn't all that happy with, so she often spends her nights at the speakeasy owned by Honor, aka Hux, where the liquor and jazz flow easily. Until one night she finds a dead body in an alley.

Owing Hux a favor, Vivian tries to find out what she can about the murder by befriending a young man named Leo. Uncovering truths that others kept hidden she also is facing her own as she balances advances from Hux and Leo.

The mood in this one felt like velvet. Do I know what this means? No, not really.

I was on the fence with this audio at times. There were places they did a wonderful job (sultry voice of Hux) but in other places it fell flat a bit. Overall, glad I listened.

Thank you so much @dreamscape_media, @minotaurbooks, @netgalley and Katharine Schellman for the gifted copies.