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A review by onestephatatime
The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I read this concurrently with season 3 (it aired once a week where I’m from) and I felt burnt out and over the story by the end of it. Now that some time has passed, I think I can give my opinion on it.
I found that too much and not enough happened in this book. Despite it being 700+ pages, the ending still felt rushed and still, there were a lot of loose ends still untied.
The things I did like were that Matthew was significantly less of a prick (but that's a low bar to begin with lol), and fluffy domestic feels with Diana and the fam. I also liked that Matthew’s recovery process took time, and it showed the effects it had not only on him, but the people around him as well - the one thing I wished the show had adapted, rather than his one and done recovery (because I know he would have ATE that scene). My other favourite thing about this book was that I can pretend that Baldwin was never recasted (iykyk).
And my favourite line of the entire book: “Answer your FUCKING email!”
TLDR; entertaining, fun. What I would have expected for a book that was Twilight for Adults™️. The first two books were *chefs kiss* the finale just felt rushed like the author was writing like she was running out of time.
I found that too much and not enough happened in this book. Despite it being 700+ pages, the ending still felt rushed and still, there were a lot of loose ends still untied.
The things I did like were that Matthew was significantly less of a prick (but that's a low bar to begin with lol), and fluffy domestic feels with Diana and the fam. I also liked that Matthew’s recovery process took time, and it showed the effects it had not only on him, but the people around him as well - the one thing I wished the show had adapted, rather than his one and done recovery (because I know he would have ATE that scene). My other favourite thing about this book was that I can pretend that Baldwin was never recasted (iykyk).
And my favourite line of the entire book: “Answer your FUCKING email!”
TLDR; entertaining, fun. What I would have expected for a book that was Twilight for Adults™️. The first two books were *chefs kiss* the finale just felt rushed like the author was writing like she was running out of time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy and Torture
Moderate: Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Murder
Minor: Injury/Injury detail