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kaylin5656's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Extremely creepy and gory...lots of blood and bones, not for the faint of heart for sure. Super good mystery though, kept me guessing and confused the whole time, and of course Audrey & Thomas were adorable as always
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, and Murder
bzliz's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Building on the ending of Stalking Jack the Ripper, Audrey Rose is onward to a creepy castle to learn more about forensic science while grieving her brother. Thomas accompanies her and it doesn’t take long for bodies to start dropping around them, all smelling of garlic and having some tie to vampire lore.
I did really enjoy this but much like the previous book, it really went off the rails at the end. Think The Goonies but less swearing. I have to admit that I found myself glazing over at some of the discussions of royal bloodlines. It was somehow important and so boring to put together, and was resolved in like 2 pages. If half of that waffling and half of Audrey Roses’ internal mentions about proper societal behavior were cut, we’d have an appropriate sized book. Seriously, it got heavy and kind of hurt my wrist to hold.
It’s absolutely a fun enough read that I’ll continue the series.
I did really enjoy this but much like the previous book, it really went off the rails at the end. Think The Goonies but less swearing. I have to admit that I found myself glazing over at some of the discussions of royal bloodlines. It was somehow important and so boring to put together, and was resolved in like 2 pages. If half of that waffling and half of Audrey Roses’ internal mentions about proper societal behavior were cut, we’d have an appropriate sized book. Seriously, it got heavy and kind of hurt my wrist to hold.
It’s absolutely a fun enough read that I’ll continue the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Sexism and Grief
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
gin_tucker's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-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? No
5.0
Absolutely adored this book. The wit, the humor, the strong females set in an Era that didn't appreciate strong women, the main male character, and his support. Just overall lovely. And I learned a few words in Romanian! Definitely recommend! I enjoyed book 1 as well don't get me wrong but this was a beautiful sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
miakve's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really liked this book! A great sequel, it continues the story well. The characters are still amazing, and the plot interesting. I look forward to seeing how they and their relationship developes in the next book.
i feel how the final showdown with the markerer happened was a bit too similar to the first book. Finding a hidden creepy room, the murderer is someone their close too, Audrey Rose is about to be killed when other people come in the room and end up killing the murderer. I would have liked to see it be a bit more different. I did however LOVE the end, mostly because of Audrey Rose and Thomas's relationship. The facts that Audrey Rose was struggling with the eventuelt of the first book, ptsd and grief, was great. The events in the first book were traumatizing and im happy to see the realistisk depiction of that. Rating would have been 4 stars had it not been for them being such good characters and such a fantastic couple
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Murder
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Minor: Gore, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
fromjuliereads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I liked this one better than the first one I think because it had a bit more guessing to it with some good twists! There were some frustrating moments as usual - these characters definitely should have figured a few things out sooner - and some cringey moments BUT overall I enjoyed it! Trying to finish out some series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
ittybittyninja12's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I liked this one a tad more than the first. I think mainly due to the killer being a bit more harder to guess than the first. If they hadn't done that one thing,I would have guessed it sooner though. I liked the mysterious castle setting and everything. The women characters are written very strongly in this series and I love it. I do wish some of the males weren't so rude. The only likeable ones being Thomas and Noah really. Which I guess the author was trying to depict how men were towards women during that time but still. This series is still a very fun read and I didn't feel bored at all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Blood, Medical content, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Misogyny, and Sexism
reading_books_as_escapism_lol's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Blood
fremzz's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Body horror and Blood
Minor: Alcohol
amaliewebs's review against another edition
5.0
wow wow wow this book was SO good. love the gothic/vampire vibes the mystery the dramaaaa and not to mention the romance, big audrey rose and thomas shipper right here EEEEEEEEE. i also just love the whole murder mystery aspect and the two of them trying to solve the case, as well as the forensics stuff which is morbidly fascinating. i loved daciana and ileana i hope to see more of them in the other books, and yeah just overall this was an amazing book. the final climax was so intense and i did not see the plottwist reveal coming at all ahhhhh. too good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
sydneyluxford's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Jesus Christ, Maniscalco knows how to write an entertaining story. Like, this book was so unpredictable.
Unlike the previous book, I literally had no idea who was responsible for the killings. WHEN WE FOUND OUT??? THE WAY WE FOUND OUT???? Never been more confused and scared in my life. So unexpected. Like, yeah I support women’s wrongs, BUT THIS IS TOO FAR.
Maniscalco really loves putting Audrey Rose and Thomas through absolute hell in the last 25% of her books. THE AMOUNT OF BRUSHES WITH DEATH THEY HAD IS SCARY. What they went through in the tunnels, I would’ve just given up and accepted death at that point.
If you thought the men in the first book were sexist, just wait until you read the first few chapters of this one. I want to slap them so bad.
The way Thomas’ love for Audrey Rose grows so much more in this book 😭😭😭😭😭. I didn’t even think it was possible. Not even joking, he’s actually my dream man. HE CARES SO MUCH FOR HER, IT’S INSANE. The love confessions at the end of this book killed me.
Unlike the previous book, I literally had no idea who was responsible for the killings. WHEN WE FOUND OUT??? THE WAY WE FOUND OUT???? Never been more confused and scared in my life. So unexpected. Like, yeah I support women’s wrongs, BUT THIS IS TOO FAR.
Maniscalco really loves putting Audrey Rose and Thomas through absolute hell in the last 25% of her books. THE AMOUNT OF BRUSHES WITH DEATH THEY HAD IS SCARY. What they went through in the tunnels, I would’ve just given up and accepted death at that point.
If you thought the men in the first book were sexist, just wait until you read the first few chapters of this one. I want to slap them so bad.
The way Thomas’ love for Audrey Rose grows so much more in this book 😭😭😭😭😭. I didn’t even think it was possible. Not even joking, he’s actually my dream man. HE CARES SO MUCH FOR HER, IT’S INSANE. The love confessions at the end of this book killed me.
“For there are no limits to the stars; their numbers are infinite. Which is precisely why I measure my love for you by them. An amount too boundless to count.”
Someone literally KILL me.
THE LETTERS BETWEEN THOMAS AND HIS SISTER, DACIANA, AT THE END OF THE BOOK. THEY HAD ME CLOSING THE BOOK AND STARING AT MY WALL. THE WAY HE SPOKE ABOUT AUDREY ROSE IN THEM 🤭.
Bro, at some points in this book I was convinced it was a vampire doing these killings. Because why were two victims drained of all their blood?? HOW????
On to the next book because I have no life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Sexism