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A review by flaviathebibliophile
Brimstone by Cherie Priest
4.0
3.5 stars
A physical copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.
I went into reading this book expecting (and hoping) to read a steamy historical romance! But I suppose it’s my own fault for making that assumption based on the summary. All throughout the first chapter, I was still expecting that the book would be like the historical romances I was used to, but by the second chapter, I was no longer sure. The book is written in the first person with alternating perspectives (one chapter dedicated to Alice, and the next chapter to Tomas, and so forth). It was definitely interesting to get the personal viewpoint of both of the main characters, and I also liked that one of the main characters (Tomas) is a POC!
I was very excited about the plot in this book ever since first reading about it many months ago! And I was very happy when after requesting an ARC of this book, I was surprised by receiving it in the mail! When I finally got to reading it a few days ago, I was very happy and looking forward to experience the plot I’d been awaiting for so long.
It turned out being a different plot than what I had expected, however, in many regards. I found Brimstone almost to be written in the Bram Stoker style seen in Dracula, in that the story was told from the perspectives from the main characters, with a lot of self-reflection and contemplation (of which Alice’s was quite annoying a lot of the time). I believe that I would have enjoyed this book more thoroughly if I had gone in with the knowledge that it was written in this style. There was a lot of dialogue which, though it may have been interesting in other circumstances, felt more like filler to me because I wanted the main plot to take off properly.
And I had to wait quite a while. I believe that I was about two thirds into the book before it really took off, and before the two main characters even met! There was also zero romance between the two mains, …so, you can understand my disappointment. As for the main plot itself (which alas, was not romance, but rather a paranormal adventure of sorts) was interesting once it took off, and only very slightly predictable near the end. That being said, I liked that this is one of the rare books out there where the focus is on community and friendship, when it comes to characters…even the main two (yes, I can appreciate that while also being disappointed that I didn’t get the romance I hoped for, haha).
Overall, I believe that this book had a lot of potential to be quite spectacular, but that it fell a little bit short, at least for me. I will still recommend it to readers who enjoy historical horror, however, just with the caution that they should not be expecting what I had expected, when diving in.
A physical copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.
I went into reading this book expecting (and hoping) to read a steamy historical romance! But I suppose it’s my own fault for making that assumption based on the summary. All throughout the first chapter, I was still expecting that the book would be like the historical romances I was used to, but by the second chapter, I was no longer sure. The book is written in the first person with alternating perspectives (one chapter dedicated to Alice, and the next chapter to Tomas, and so forth). It was definitely interesting to get the personal viewpoint of both of the main characters, and I also liked that one of the main characters (Tomas) is a POC!
I was very excited about the plot in this book ever since first reading about it many months ago! And I was very happy when after requesting an ARC of this book, I was surprised by receiving it in the mail! When I finally got to reading it a few days ago, I was very happy and looking forward to experience the plot I’d been awaiting for so long.
It turned out being a different plot than what I had expected, however, in many regards. I found Brimstone almost to be written in the Bram Stoker style seen in Dracula, in that the story was told from the perspectives from the main characters, with a lot of self-reflection and contemplation (of which Alice’s was quite annoying a lot of the time). I believe that I would have enjoyed this book more thoroughly if I had gone in with the knowledge that it was written in this style. There was a lot of dialogue which, though it may have been interesting in other circumstances, felt more like filler to me because I wanted the main plot to take off properly.
And I had to wait quite a while. I believe that I was about two thirds into the book before it really took off, and before the two main characters even met! There was also zero romance between the two mains, …so, you can understand my disappointment. As for the main plot itself (which alas, was not romance, but rather a paranormal adventure of sorts) was interesting once it took off, and only very slightly predictable near the end. That being said, I liked that this is one of the rare books out there where the focus is on community and friendship, when it comes to characters…even the main two (yes, I can appreciate that while also being disappointed that I didn’t get the romance I hoped for, haha).
Overall, I believe that this book had a lot of potential to be quite spectacular, but that it fell a little bit short, at least for me. I will still recommend it to readers who enjoy historical horror, however, just with the caution that they should not be expecting what I had expected, when diving in.