A review by gladiolus17
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

dark funny mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

I am so torn, because on one hand I had a viciously wonderful jaunty good time, and on the other, there were some tropes I didn’t enjoy. I also underestimated the amount of violence and gore in the book, so don’t go in here thinking it’ll be lighthearted!

I really loved hearing the backstories of the characters. The author does a very good job characterizing people in a short amount of time. Irwin’s backstory made me tear up. 

This is just personal preference, but I dislike “red herrings” or how to describe this? The first 75% of the book has the characters scrambling against challenges that actually have 1% meaning in the end, it was just all randomly set up for Carolyn’s gain. Even though I loved the lions and the weirdness with the dogs, it only mattered that Steve dropped the gun magazine.


I also didn’t like the slight instances of male gaze when Steve ogles Carolyn, but this is totally a personal preference.


I have mixed feelings, but overall I think I enjoyed this?
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