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redheadreading's reviews
2113 reviews
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.5
Extremely melodramatic, what a fun ride! I loved the descriptions of the sprawling world underneath the opera house and the sheer overdramatic emotions of this. The Persian is by far the most capable figure, Raoul and Christine are both complete drips. I had a really fun time reading this, but there were a few moments where it did drag. I think because the cast is quite big? So there were a fair few moments where you'd be taken out of a plotline that was building momentum to go have a dabble with some side characters for a while who weren't very fleshed out. I do think this is a very memorable story at its core though!
Rival Queens: The Betrayal of Mary Queen of Scots by Kate Williams
informative
slow-paced
3.5
Very much focused on Mary with just a bit of Elizabeth sprinkled throughout and highly sympathetic to the Queen of Scots. There's a lot of examination of the ways Mary is mistreated by men (particularly with Bothwell), great detail on the specifics of her trial and a look at the different moments Mary misstepped and could have been more successful if she played things differently.
I think my favourite moments were those where the text does focus on the relationship between the two queens, specifically how Mary's perceived "failures" as a queen reflect back on Elizabeth and Elizabeth's very justified fear of what opening the door to putting a monarch on trial and executing them means for her own claim to queenship.
This pairs well with Blood, Fire, Gold by Estelle Peranque which looks at the relationship between Elizabeth and Catherine De Medici. Mary plays a smaller role in this one but I've found it interesting to think about that triangular relationship!
I think my favourite moments were those where the text does focus on the relationship between the two queens, specifically how Mary's perceived "failures" as a queen reflect back on Elizabeth and Elizabeth's very justified fear of what opening the door to putting a monarch on trial and executing them means for her own claim to queenship.
This pairs well with Blood, Fire, Gold by Estelle Peranque which looks at the relationship between Elizabeth and Catherine De Medici. Mary plays a smaller role in this one but I've found it interesting to think about that triangular relationship!
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
I enjoyed this, but I think the fact that my only other Moriarty was Nine Perfect Strangers left me waiting for a twist which never came - entirely my fault, not the book's! I kept wondering if there was going to be some hugely dramatic reveal for how Alice has seemingly changed so much in 10 years, I suspected the elusive Gina to be tied into far more salacious events, but really this is just an in-depth look at how a marriage can break down and people can change when they don't communicate properly. I did enjoy it, I found Moriarty's writing very easy to hoover up, but for my own personal taste it's definitely too long for the actual tale that's being told. Old Alice is very innocent and naive so she goes in circles a LOT which got repetitive - particularly because the narration often introduces a topic/person, then whizzes back to a bunch of random memories and thoughts Alice has before returning to that person and picking the plot back up.
I think Frannie's blog posts were an unnecessary addition, she didn't add anything, but I liked the presence of Elisabeth's therapy homework and exploration of her fertility struggles. It provided a real heart to the story. I think the strength of this is the way it makes you think about how we change as people, what makes us who we are, and how relationships work, but there was too much redundant information and description for my taste.
I think Frannie's blog posts were an unnecessary addition, she didn't add anything, but I liked the presence of Elisabeth's therapy homework and exploration of her fertility struggles. It provided a real heart to the story. I think the strength of this is the way it makes you think about how we change as people, what makes us who we are, and how relationships work, but there was too much redundant information and description for my taste.
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
I just love how Erdrich meanders around in the telling of her tales.
Girls Don't Play Sport: The Game-Changing, Defiant Rise of Women's Sport, and Why It Matters by Chloe Dalton
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.75
The Willows by Algernon Blackwood
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
Our narrator looking at some trees: "idk, man, the vibes are OFF"
I'm realising Blackwood is great at creating an intense level of dread and almost suffocating sense of fear that leaves you questioning what is real. The imagery of the hollows will stay with me!
I'm realising Blackwood is great at creating an intense level of dread and almost suffocating sense of fear that leaves you questioning what is real. The imagery of the hollows will stay with me!
The Mill House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
I liked piecing the puzzle together and the atmosphere that built throughout. The only woman in this is an absolute personality void, but then a lot of the other characters aren't super defined either. I did predict quite a bit of the solution (not all!) and the end took a bit of a turn that kind of lost me. Do still want to try the Decagon House Murder though!
The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth
challenging
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
An ode to rom coms with great lesbian representation, but really much more of an emotional look at a teen girl coping with her mum's early onset dementia. I actually picked this up because I wanted a lighthearted break but that's not really what this is, so just a word of warning as I'm not sure the marketing really makes that clear!
The encyclopedic knowledge of rom coms and tropes running throughout led to some cute moments, but the relationship I most enjoyed was actually Saorise and Oliver's friendship (the friendships were also my fave part of Smyth's other novel, Not My Problem, so I think I have a real soft spot for how she writes them). I actually wasn't super invested in the relationship itself and I think weirdly it might be the least memorable part of the book now I'm done?
I think Smyth has a real talent for tackling very serious topics whilst never losing the sense that her protagonists are teens. Between the two novels I've read by her, we see young girls who are really doing their best to cope, not always making the greatest decisions but you fully understand why they're behaving that way and how they're struggling. The handling of her mum's early onset dementia and the compassion extended was really moving at times.
Where I sometimes struggled was with the way Saorise actively lied to Ruby - I don't love miscommunication as a plot device anyway but this went over that to actively deceiving and lying to her, then getting very reactively angry when called out on it. I find myself torn between compassion for a teen that is hurting but also annoyed at how easily some of the conflicts are resolved (particularly with Saorise's childhood friends) after she's been quite aggressively in the wrong.
Her dad is a character I'm not fully okay with as well. I really appreciate having a nuanced portrayal of a parent where they're not wholly good or bad, but I actually feel he gets let off too easily as well. Saorise has quite clearly been put in some very inappropriate situations when it comes to caregiving but I also think the time frame in which he is bringing massive change to his daughter's life is unreasonable (not a spoiler as happens very early on but telling your child you're getting married again AND selling the childhood home all off the heels of completing final exams which is arguably one of the most stressful and intense periods of her life is just shitty dad behaviour! As is the many ways in which he refuses to face up to things! He makes me mad!!).
I do think I preferred Not My Problem overall, but Ciara Smyth has definitely solidified herself as an author that I will happily pick up again.
The encyclopedic knowledge of rom coms and tropes running throughout led to some cute moments, but the relationship I most enjoyed was actually Saorise and Oliver's friendship (the friendships were also my fave part of Smyth's other novel, Not My Problem, so I think I have a real soft spot for how she writes them). I actually wasn't super invested in the relationship itself and I think weirdly it might be the least memorable part of the book now I'm done?
I think Smyth has a real talent for tackling very serious topics whilst never losing the sense that her protagonists are teens. Between the two novels I've read by her, we see young girls who are really doing their best to cope, not always making the greatest decisions but you fully understand why they're behaving that way and how they're struggling. The handling of her mum's early onset dementia and the compassion extended was really moving at times.
Where I sometimes struggled was with the way Saorise actively lied to Ruby - I don't love miscommunication as a plot device anyway but this went over that to actively deceiving and lying to her, then getting very reactively angry when called out on it. I find myself torn between compassion for a teen that is hurting but also annoyed at how easily some of the conflicts are resolved (particularly with Saorise's childhood friends) after she's been quite aggressively in the wrong.
Her dad is a character I'm not fully okay with as well. I really appreciate having a nuanced portrayal of a parent where they're not wholly good or bad, but I actually feel he gets let off too easily as well. Saorise has quite clearly been put in some very inappropriate situations when it comes to caregiving but I also think the time frame in which he is bringing massive change to his daughter's life is unreasonable (not a spoiler as happens very early on but telling your child you're getting married again AND selling the childhood home all off the heels of completing final exams which is arguably one of the most stressful and intense periods of her life is just shitty dad behaviour! As is the many ways in which he refuses to face up to things! He makes me mad!!).
I do think I preferred Not My Problem overall, but Ciara Smyth has definitely solidified herself as an author that I will happily pick up again.