Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Death in the Spires by KJ Charles

7 reviews

purrson's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense 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

5.0

Absolutely loved it. Fantastic main character—stubborn, brave, compassionate—and I appreciated the disability/chronic pain representation. I would have loved some spice to the second-chance romance subplot, but it’s truly a perfect book, and handles turn of the (20th) century queerness (in relationships, as seen by society, its potential weaponization) well. I’m not surprised Charles does murder mystery so well. Just a top-notch read. Kept me guessing and rereading. And it is dark, but not terribly so—there is a lot of love and compassion the main character feels for his friends that uplifts the plot. 
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purrson's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense 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

5.0

Absolutely loved it. Fantastic main character—stubborn, brave, compassionate—and I appreciated the disability/chronic pain representation. I would have loved some spice to the second-chance romance subplot, but it’s truly a perfect book, and handles turn of the (20th) century queerness (in relationships, as seen by society, its potential weaponization) well. I’m not surprised Charles does murder mystery so well. Just a top-notch read. Kept me guessing and rereading. And it is dark, but not terribly so—there is a lot of love and compassion the main character feels for his friends that uplifts the plot. Excellent narration.
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renee_85's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.0

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blewballoon's review

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dark mysterious reflective tense 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? Yes

4.0

 I knew I was in good hands with KJ Charles. It took me a while to warm up to the cast of characters, but I was pretty invested in the mystery by about 30% of the way in, and by the end the characters had grown on me to the point I was reluctant to part with them. I guessed some revelations and was surprised by others, which makes for a good mystery reading experience in my opinion. I would be happy to see more in this genre by KJ Charles for sure. The audiobook narrator was pretty good, some of the voices were more distinct than others. I listened on 1.4 speed. 
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rainbowbrarian's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

From goodreads: “1905. A decade after the grisly murder of Oxford student Toby Feynsham, the case remains hauntingly unsolved. For Jeremy Kite, the crime not only stole his best friend, it destroyed his whole life. When an anonymous letter lands on his desk, accusing him of having killed Toby, Jem becomes obsessed with finally uncovering the truth.”

But what if the truth Jem uncovers will destroy them all?  Is it worth digging up the painful past if danger still lurks within it?

Favorite Parts - The atmosphere, KJ Charles is amazing at historical scene setting.  I literally changed my mind about who I thought was the murdered so many times.  I also changed who I wanted to have done the deed multiple times.  I didn’t see it coming.  The characters were all so well done and the story was complex.  I was worried the ending would be terrible, but I was pleasantly surprised.  

Read This If You - love murder mysteries, want more queer historical fiction, love a story about a group of college friends
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rynn82's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I'm sure it's possible for someone to write a murder mystery that is more exactly suited to my tastes, but I'm not sure it's probable. I told myself "I'll finish reading this on my lunch break" and then took my life into my own hands by finishing it on my walk in to work instead. It's a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, with some cool twists.
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srm's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

Given that Charles's Romance novels often have wonderfully constructed mystery plots, I had no doubts that she could pull of a straight Mystery, and I was right. I love the dual timeline between the present and 10 years earlier when Jem and all his friends were at Oxford and one of them committed murder. Fantastic characters and twists and just an all around delight. 
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