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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
Med school dropout Lena had a dreamy life researching ancient poisons with her historian aunt in Italy, until it was ripped away from her when her parents are thrust into poverty. Desperate for a job, she accepts a strange position as a personal doctor's assistant for a very wealthy family. When she realizes the family may be more danger than expected, Lena's poison knowledge may come in handy... except she's becoming more entranced by the young heirs by the minute.
I was recommended this for my 12 friends, 12 books, 12 months challenge, and you know what? I get why this was recommended to me specifically. On paper, I think this includes a good amount of things that I've liked before. At the beginning of this book, I was sold. Unfortunately, I don't think it really developed from there.
The first section of this, I was pretty invested. I really liked the language/writing style (was it pretentious sometimes? yes) and was intrigued by Lena peeking into the life of the rich family that's seemingly above reckoning. There was a twist somewhere around the 1/3 mark that also surprised me; I didn't expect the book to go into that direction. But from there, I didn't think this developed any - it plateaued. It didn't really go anywhere unexpected, the mystery didn't get deeper, there wasn't as much exploration into the interpersonal relationships, etc. I think calling this "a gothic novel" is correct because it is hard to pin down the genre. It's not quite suspenseful enough to be a mystery/thriller/horror, but it's got enough and bad enough things happen that it's not quite general fiction either. It's very obvious what's happening within the family and it being played as a reveal was really surprising to me. I thought that was basically the synopsis? There were some engaging parts, but I think this could have gone further to fulfill its potential.
Overall, this is clearly a debut: it has good ideas but didn't always execute on them as well as desired. I'd definitely look out from future releases from this author, though.
I was recommended this for my 12 friends, 12 books, 12 months challenge, and you know what? I get why this was recommended to me specifically. On paper, I think this includes a good amount of things that I've liked before. At the beginning of this book, I was sold. Unfortunately, I don't think it really developed from there.
The first section of this, I was pretty invested. I really liked the language/writing style (was it pretentious sometimes? yes) and was intrigued by Lena peeking into the life of the rich family that's seemingly above reckoning. There was a twist somewhere around the 1/3 mark that also surprised me; I didn't expect the book to go into that direction. But from there, I didn't think this developed any - it plateaued. It didn't really go anywhere unexpected, the mystery didn't get deeper, there wasn't as much exploration into the interpersonal relationships, etc. I think calling this "a gothic novel" is correct because it is hard to pin down the genre. It's not quite suspenseful enough to be a mystery/thriller/horror, but it's got enough and bad enough things happen that it's not quite general fiction either. It's very obvious what's happening within the family and it being played as a reveal was really surprising to me. I thought that was basically the synopsis? There were some engaging parts, but I think this could have gone further to fulfill its potential.
Overall, this is clearly a debut: it has good ideas but didn't always execute on them as well as desired. I'd definitely look out from future releases from this author, though.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I normally love a purple-prosed Gothic but something was off about the writing style - it was too laboured? I also found the main character unbearably self-obsessed. I'm cool with an unlikeable main character, but she was unlikeable in a boring way.
None of the characters were particularly interesting and I didn't feel any connection to the story. It felt rushed and superficial, and I also have no idea what kind of commentary on class Mayquist was trying to do. It reads mostly like a rags-to-riches romance wish-fulfilment fantasy rather than a criticism of greed and excess. And if that's what you're looking for, you will also be disappointed, because the romance part of it is tiny and not very exciting, in spite of all the poison going around. This seems like a very overt attempt at attracting the dark academia girlies as an audience, but not even the atmosphere justifies it. It's a contemporary novel there's not an ounce of gothic horror in this. References to Mithridates and Marlowe do not an interesting story make.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Alcohol
Moderate: Death, Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“It felt like slipping into an old skin, easy and comfortable. A eagerly state I wore so readily in the aftermath of that initial descent into their world.”
Contemporary gothic is a bit of a strange genre and I thought this debut suffered from repetition, awkward pacing and stilted dialogue (although it needed more dialogue). The medical mystery fell completely flat to me and I felt the whole debacle really dragged on. I’m still not exactly clear on what was going on and who did what, and why and who knows the truth. I liked that Lena, instead of being enchanted by the gatsbyesque gluttony around her, was disgusted and angered- moved to malice with poison. But then by the end was sort of enchanted as well, wasn’t she?
“Everywhere I looked, something glistened, and in its shadow something more sinister put a smile on eager mouths.”
☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️
Contemporary gothic is a bit of a strange genre and I thought this debut suffered from repetition, awkward pacing and stilted dialogue (although it needed more dialogue). The medical mystery fell completely flat to me and I felt the whole debacle really dragged on. I’m still not exactly clear on what was going on and who did what, and why and who knows the truth. I liked that Lena, instead of being enchanted by the gatsbyesque gluttony around her, was disgusted and angered- moved to malice with poison. But then by the end was sort of enchanted as well, wasn’t she?
“Everywhere I looked, something glistened, and in its shadow something more sinister put a smile on eager mouths.”
☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No