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divine529's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I had just as much fun, if not a bit more fun, with this book as I did the first one.
The picks up a year after the evens of the first book and Elizabeth is finally going back to Winterhouse and is excited to see all the friends she met the year prior, but as with the previous year, there's a new mystery and plot to unwind and uncover.
I liked this book just a bit more than the first one, but I still had issues with parts of it (characterization and pacing mostly). Freddie is still my absolute favorite, but I also love many of the other hotel occupants and Elizabeth is a fun, albeit a bit frustrating at times, character too. What I really love about these books though is the mystery portions and getting to explore the hotel. It's all just so much fun.
I had a blast reading this and I look forward to picking up the last installment at some point.
The picks up a year after the evens of the first book and Elizabeth is finally going back to Winterhouse and is excited to see all the friends she met the year prior, but as with the previous year, there's a new mystery and plot to unwind and uncover.
I liked this book just a bit more than the first one, but I still had issues with parts of it (characterization and pacing mostly). Freddie is still my absolute favorite, but I also love many of the other hotel occupants and Elizabeth is a fun, albeit a bit frustrating at times, character too. What I really love about these books though is the mystery portions and getting to explore the hotel. It's all just so much fun.
I had a blast reading this and I look forward to picking up the last installment at some point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Blood
bookcheshirecat's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
2.5
”I think you're about to make sure our regular, normal, not-weird-at-all-Christmas gets completely un-regular, un-normal, and very weird.”
➽ Winterhouse was great but it very much didn't need a sequel. The Secrets of Winterhouse tries to replicate the cozy atmosphere of the first book, but this time it falls flat. It's the exact same formula as the first book with slight variations: Elizabeth and Freddy try to unravel a mystery and stop Gracella from coming back, but mysterious guests arrive and try to stop them. It was a huge mistake to bring Gracella back, as she's an uninspired villain and there was no need for her to come back every single book. Instead of being intriguing, Elizabeth felt more like an insufferable know-it-all in this book and Freddy was about the only part of this book that I actually liked!
➽ One of the new guests is Elana Vesper, but of course Elizabeth immediately dislikes her. The girl-on-girl hate really wasn't necessary and Elana herself is painfully obvious in her intentions, so once again the antagonists of the story fall flat.
➽ Winterhouse was great but it very much didn't need a sequel. The Secrets of Winterhouse tries to replicate the cozy atmosphere of the first book, but this time it falls flat. It's the exact same formula as the first book with slight variations: Elizabeth and Freddy try to unravel a mystery and stop Gracella from coming back, but mysterious guests arrive and try to stop them. It was a huge mistake to bring Gracella back, as she's an uninspired villain and there was no need for her to come back every single book. Instead of being intriguing, Elizabeth felt more like an insufferable know-it-all in this book and Freddy was about the only part of this book that I actually liked!
➽ One of the new guests is Elana Vesper, but of course Elizabeth immediately dislikes her. The girl-on-girl hate really wasn't necessary and Elana herself is painfully obvious in her intentions, so once again the antagonists of the story fall flat.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny