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cherrysoda9_9's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting read. For the first half, I wasn't entirely sure if I was actually enjoying it or not, but once the action and story picked up, I was hooked. A different take on this story that I haven't heard before. Whether or not it's accurate, we'll never know. But that's what makes a great mystery.
kbell23's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this book a lot. A surprisingly fast read despite the subject matter.
sylviamariereads's review against another edition
4.0
What an interesting retelling...and twist, given what I know from the poem.
adorkylibrarian's review against another edition
2.0
I really liked the idea of this novel but I actually had a hard time getting into it. There just didn't seem to be much going on until the end and the writing just didn't work for me so I got hella bored. I actually skimmed the last 50 pages just to be done with it. So yeah.
veronika_wordy_and_whimsical's review against another edition
4.0
I literally have no words for how freaking amazing, exciting and deliciously creepy this book was! And don't even get me started on how impossible it was to put it down, or even to stop reading it for a minute. Damn, never expected to be swept off my feet so utterly by Sweet Madness!
100% recommended! :)
100% recommended! :)
thepagemistress's review against another edition
4.0
4/5 Stars
Summary:
This is the story of Lizzie Borden told through the eyes of the family maid Bridget. This story is historical fiction with actual facts distributed throughout.
Dislikes:
I felt like I was reading a text book or part of a history books at some parts. So it took me longer than I thought to get through this.
Likes:
I have always liked the Lizzie Borden story so that in itself was very intriguing. Lizzie was a great character and I appreciated her quirks.
Overall:
If you like historical fiction and Lizzie Borden this is a must read. The spin on the original story is very unique and refreshing.
Summary:
This is the story of Lizzie Borden told through the eyes of the family maid Bridget. This story is historical fiction with actual facts distributed throughout.
Dislikes:
I felt like I was reading a text book or part of a history books at some parts. So it took me longer than I thought to get through this.
Likes:
I have always liked the Lizzie Borden story so that in itself was very intriguing. Lizzie was a great character and I appreciated her quirks.
Overall:
If you like historical fiction and Lizzie Borden this is a must read. The spin on the original story is very unique and refreshing.
apparatinglibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
This book wasn't a grabber, as we all know what happens in the end. However, I did appreciate reading a historical fiction approach based on the actual maid of the Borden's house. The authors took some liberties when it came to Lizzie; try to show sympathetic viewpoints toward her, but in the end the reader can make up their mind what happened that very hot day. I appreciated the narration, I appreciated the viewpoint from the maid, and I appreciated learning about certain things about the Borden's (that when researched, it was accurate) in a fictional way. Solid 3. Didn't grab me, but wasn't bad either.
simsbrarian's review
3.0
What did you like about the book? Through the eyes of their Irish maid Bridget Sullivan we delve into a fictional account of the summer season just prior to the violent murders of Mr and Mrs Borden. This is not Lizzie's story; this is Bridget's tale: the stifling oppression of the house in which she works, the fearful paranoia she learns to harbor towards the entire family, particularly Lizzie whom she alters between liking as a friend and fearing as mad.
Anything you didn’t like about it? The pacing was a bit strange and at times really repetitive and much of the bad stuff happens off-screen and is only referenced off-hand in a manner that diminishes the power of the scenes.
To whom would you recommend this book? Good if you're looking for a lighter story about a dark event with more of a focus on the friendship struggling between Bridget and Lizzie and Bridget's romance with Irish fellow Liam.
FTC Disclosure: The Publisher provided me with a copy of this book to provide an honest review. No goody bags, sponsorship, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
Anything you didn’t like about it? The pacing was a bit strange and at times really repetitive and much of the bad stuff happens off-screen and is only referenced off-hand in a manner that diminishes the power of the scenes.
To whom would you recommend this book? Good if you're looking for a lighter story about a dark event with more of a focus on the friendship struggling between Bridget and Lizzie and Bridget's romance with Irish fellow Liam.
FTC Disclosure: The Publisher provided me with a copy of this book to provide an honest review. No goody bags, sponsorship, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
majesdane's review
1.0
Not good. Not good at all. 1.5 stars.
At times this book shows signs of promise, but it's plagued with historical inaccuracies and an utterly absurd "answer" to what happened to Andrew and Abby Borden.
So in the end we find out that the Borden family was convinced they were "cursed" and were hearing voices and whatever. This is connected to Andrew's first wife, Sarah, and another Borden member in history who killed her children and committed suicide.
Abby apparently has been having an affair with John Morse, Lizzie and Emma's uncle. Andrew finds out and murders her with an axe. Bridget and Lizzie find Abby's body, confront Andrew, and then are saved when Liam (Bridget's boyfriend) knocks him out. So Liam and his friend Seamus are chilling in the parlor and Lizzie just ... decides to murder Andrew right in front of Liam, Seamus, and Bridget. And everyone just goes along with it and covers it up in an elaborate plot.
Wait, what????
Yeah.
Why is Emma so absent from this story? It's weird that we don't even get a single scene with her; it really stands out, and not in a good way. Why was Abby not very close/friendly with Bridget when by all accounts the complete opposite was true in real life? Why is Lizzie so friendly with Bridget (she never even refers to her as "Maggie", which we know happened often)? Why did the authors de-age Bridget? Why is Alice treated as a throw-away joke when she was a major player in the case history? Why is Andrew an over-the-top abusive asshole? Why did they feel the need to turn all of these real people into ridiculous caricatures?
I swear, this book threw pretty much every theory and speculation out there into the plot and turned it into a muddled mess.
I've read/watched pretty much everything out there that's fiction based on Lizzie Borden and this is just the bottom of the barrel. I'm so disappointed, because I expected something really amazing -- the writers said they spent so much time researching this, but none of it shows. Yes, once in a while there's a name or fact drop, but that isn't enough to make up for all the issues with this story.
I guess you could give some props to the writers for wanting to do something different with who the murderer was and why, but it just is too ridiculous and the whole story falls flat. A story from Bridget's POV is new and should be awesomely engaging, but this book just drags and drags and ends with a whimper. Bridget just feels so empty as a character/person.
This book got rave reviews and I just don't really understand what people saw in it.
And oh my god, what the hell was the focus with the pigeons?? It took up like 50% of the book when it was only ever really a footnote in the fucked-up-ness of this family.
At times this book shows signs of promise, but it's plagued with historical inaccuracies and an utterly absurd "answer" to what happened to Andrew and Abby Borden.
Abby apparently has been having an affair with John Morse, Lizzie and Emma's uncle. Andrew finds out and murders her with an axe. Bridget and Lizzie find Abby's body, confront Andrew, and then are saved when Liam (Bridget's boyfriend) knocks him out. So Liam and his friend Seamus are chilling in the parlor and Lizzie just ... decides to murder Andrew right in front of Liam, Seamus, and Bridget. And everyone just goes along with it and covers it up in an elaborate plot.
Wait, what????
Yeah.
Why is Emma so absent from this story? It's weird that we don't even get a single scene with her; it really stands out, and not in a good way. Why was Abby not very close/friendly with Bridget when by all accounts the complete opposite was true in real life? Why is Lizzie so friendly with Bridget (she never even refers to her as "Maggie", which we know happened often)? Why did the authors de-age Bridget? Why is Alice treated as a throw-away joke when she was a major player in the case history? Why is Andrew an over-the-top abusive asshole? Why did they feel the need to turn all of these real people into ridiculous caricatures?
I swear, this book threw pretty much every theory and speculation out there into the plot and turned it into a muddled mess.
I've read/watched pretty much everything out there that's fiction based on Lizzie Borden and this is just the bottom of the barrel. I'm so disappointed, because I expected something really amazing -- the writers said they spent so much time researching this, but none of it shows. Yes, once in a while there's a name or fact drop, but that isn't enough to make up for all the issues with this story.
I guess you could give some props to the writers for wanting to do something different with who the murderer was and why, but it just is too ridiculous and the whole story falls flat. A story from Bridget's POV is new and should be awesomely engaging, but this book just drags and drags and ends with a whimper. Bridget just feels so empty as a character/person.
This book got rave reviews and I just don't really understand what people saw in it.
And oh my god, what the hell was the focus with the pigeons?? It took up like 50% of the book when it was only ever really a footnote in the fucked-up-ness of this family.
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