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A review by dbguide2
The Lamplighter by Crystal J. Bell
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I’ll be down for reading more gothic books if they’re like this. I liked Temperance, thankfully, almost from the get-go. When you have a small cast (or rather the focus is mostly on a group of people) and the story is in a first person POV; it’s important (at least for me) to connect easily and early on with the main character/s. Family is a big part of Temperance’s life, her personality. Why she does what she does.
There’s also Temperance’s job, which is taking over as the town’s Lamplighter after her father passed away. The job has to be done as there are dangers in the fog. For the first bit I did want the dangers to be revealed or at least for us to understand what’s really in there. But as we carried on I preferred that we were in the dark much like the town and Temperance through most of the book. That way we learned through her and shared her experiences. It’s also characteristic of a gothic novel, I believe. Even though I’m not so clued up on the genre, I know some things. Like when there’s monsters, you won’t typically see them, if at all, for most of the story. It’s about how the creatures makes the characters feel, what roles they play in the story, even what themes and morals the characters possess because of the antagonists.
Temperance isn’t necessarily a quiet character but she’s in a time and community where women are meant to be seen, not heard, perfect wives or planning to be perfect wives. She was out there with a job and giving opinions, trying to have her say – which of course, no one wanted to listen to her. Which means she had to go it alone and discover what was happening herself. I liked the subplot of her sister potentially marrying someone in the town but he’s not a good person though Temperance is the only one to see that. It added some more mystery to the book and also added to her personality as you can see she cares a lot for her sister.
I really liked the creatures and everything surrounding them. I could’ve done with a lot more focus on them than anything else. Of course I understand why they were pushed into the background but a bigger focus on them would’ve been great.
There’s also Temperance’s job, which is taking over as the town’s Lamplighter after her father passed away. The job has to be done as there are dangers in the fog. For the first bit I did want the dangers to be revealed or at least for us to understand what’s really in there. But as we carried on I preferred that we were in the dark much like the town and Temperance through most of the book. That way we learned through her and shared her experiences. It’s also characteristic of a gothic novel, I believe. Even though I’m not so clued up on the genre, I know some things. Like when there’s monsters, you won’t typically see them, if at all, for most of the story. It’s about how the creatures makes the characters feel, what roles they play in the story, even what themes and morals the characters possess because of the antagonists.
Temperance isn’t necessarily a quiet character but she’s in a time and community where women are meant to be seen, not heard, perfect wives or planning to be perfect wives. She was out there with a job and giving opinions, trying to have her say – which of course, no one wanted to listen to her. Which means she had to go it alone and discover what was happening herself. I liked the subplot of her sister potentially marrying someone in the town but he’s not a good person though Temperance is the only one to see that. It added some more mystery to the book and also added to her personality as you can see she cares a lot for her sister.
I really liked the creatures and everything surrounding them. I could’ve done with a lot more focus on them than anything else. Of course I understand why they were pushed into the background but a bigger focus on them would’ve been great.