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A review by kaitie_reads
The Last Heir to Blackwood Library by Hester Fox
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This was an interesting read. I really loved the premise of the story, but it felt chaotic, and like a lot of the plot was smashed together half-heartedly.
What I loved:
- The Abbey... what lady doesn't dream of inheriting basically a castle with a gigantic library? My inner Belle could sing.
- The library itself and the mystery surrounding it
- The historic setting
- The suspense and creepiness in the first half of the book
What I didn't love:
- The *love story* feels forced
- The blank spots don't make a ton of sense to me
- There were plot points that I felt were a far stretch or never concluded
- The attitude of some of the characters shifted too quickly. It would go from a character being dead set on something, and then somebody says one thing to them, and their outlook does a 180.
- I feel like the reaction to some of the more gruesome or interesting parts of the story were too soft or easily brushed away
- Ivy is dumb, I understand she's meant to be confused, but she's very irritating a lot of the time
- What happens to Susan?!
Also, where are the authorities? Why is no one ever suspicious of anything ever?
I know it's magical realism, and obviously some of the ideas are quite fantastical but I just felt like with the real world setting, things could've been more realistic. A lot of entire plot points felt like an afterthought. "Well, I'll just throw this in here, and it explains it all!".
I did keep reading because I wanted to know what was going on, it's well enough written and had me engaged but I feel like with the premise more could've been done and the author could've gone a lot deeper. She didn't set up the love story very well either, and then it became the whole focus of the story, which was odd when there was so much more going on.
What I loved:
- The Abbey... what lady doesn't dream of inheriting basically a castle with a gigantic library? My inner Belle could sing.
- The library itself and the mystery surrounding it
- The historic setting
- The suspense and creepiness in the first half of the book
What I didn't love:
- The *love story* feels forced
- The blank spots don't make a ton of sense to me
- There were plot points that I felt were a far stretch or never concluded
- The attitude of some of the characters shifted too quickly. It would go from a character being dead set on something, and then somebody says one thing to them, and their outlook does a 180.
- I feel like the reaction to some of the more gruesome or interesting parts of the story were too soft or easily brushed away
- Ivy is dumb, I understand she's meant to be confused, but she's very irritating a lot of the time
- What happens to Susan?!
Also, where are the authorities? Why is no one ever suspicious of anything ever?
I know it's magical realism, and obviously some of the ideas are quite fantastical but I just felt like with the real world setting, things could've been more realistic. A lot of entire plot points felt like an afterthought. "Well, I'll just throw this in here, and it explains it all!".
I did keep reading because I wanted to know what was going on, it's well enough written and had me engaged but I feel like with the premise more could've been done and the author could've gone a lot deeper. She didn't set up the love story very well either, and then it became the whole focus of the story, which was odd when there was so much more going on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence