stephcranstoun's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
alexbrown13's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
vivete's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
eirikvii's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
2.5
misspinkcoconut's review against another edition
mysterious
3.0
I had really high hopes for this one. I was very disappointed for the whole first half of it. Thankfully it picked up a bit and I did like the ending.
samidhak's review against another edition
3.0
As a debut novel this garners a solid 3.5 stars from me, although plot and execution wise I can’t give it more than a 3. I wouldn’t considered it historical fiction, as in my opinion I thought it was a bit misleading but it is definitely a solid women’s fiction. We follow two timelines and three main female characters. Present day Caroline is the reader’s eyes and ears into the past lives of Nella, the deadly apothecary, and Eliza, the 12-year old Magick believer.
The stringing together of these timelines made me very excited in the first half, but I thought that it slowly became duller as the plot moved on. For starters, I think we don’t really need Caroline to have a fleshed out story of her own that plays such a significant role. The parallels with how women were treated in the 18th century to 21 century could have been shown in a different way. I also believe that we weren’t given enough context as to what the relationship between Nella and Eliza had become after one chance encounter, and hence I wasn’t much invested in them either.
The “mystery” is no mystery at all. And this is where I believe that this book is more women’s fiction; written for women to read about other women, rather than being a historical fiction.
My biggest, biggest grievance with the narrative, and the only thing that bought this book below 4 for me, is how Caroline just happens to find everything miraculously without zero effort. Her “research” is laugh worthy as it consists mostly of quick google searches. Gaynor and Caroline become bffs before you could even spell bffs, what was that plotline about? I thought the research and deep diving into the lives of these women was executed so shoddily. Our MC is just walking by a street, and surprisingly discovers a long lost alley? The whole story takes place in less than two days, are you kidding me with this? We as readers are expected to feel that these characters were once real and the author pulls weird shit on us, which is always high unbelievable!!
The book wasn’t all bad. For a debut, it made some strong points of about the power dynamics between men and women. And the writing style is easy to follow. I would love to read more from the author but only if the plot makes sense.
The stringing together of these timelines made me very excited in the first half, but I thought that it slowly became duller as the plot moved on. For starters, I think we don’t really need Caroline to have a fleshed out story of her own that plays such a significant role. The parallels with how women were treated in the 18th century to 21 century could have been shown in a different way. I also believe that we weren’t given enough context as to what the relationship between Nella and Eliza had become after one chance encounter, and hence I wasn’t much invested in them either.
The “mystery” is no mystery at all. And this is where I believe that this book is more women’s fiction; written for women to read about other women, rather than being a historical fiction.
My biggest, biggest grievance with the narrative, and the only thing that bought this book below 4 for me, is how Caroline just happens to find everything miraculously without zero effort. Her “research” is laugh worthy as it consists mostly of quick google searches. Gaynor and Caroline become bffs before you could even spell bffs, what was that plotline about? I thought the research and deep diving into the lives of these women was executed so shoddily. Our MC is just walking by a street, and surprisingly discovers a long lost alley? The whole story takes place in less than two days, are you kidding me with this? We as readers are expected to feel that these characters were once real and the author pulls weird shit on us, which is always high unbelievable!!
The book wasn’t all bad. For a debut, it made some strong points of about the power dynamics between men and women. And the writing style is easy to follow. I would love to read more from the author but only if the plot makes sense.
misskatt's review against another edition
3.0
I was going to give this book 4 stars, but then I realized it took me almost a month to get through the audiobook. It could be that I wasn’t in the mood for this? I’m not sure. Let’s settle at 3.5