debjazzergal's review
4.0
Very well written and thoroughly researched. Intricately plotted. Overall a great read.
leavingsealevel's review
1.0
Ugh.
I swear there is not a single likeable character in this book. NO ONE.
I swear there is not a single likeable character in this book. NO ONE.
litwrite's review
3.0
This was heavy but kind of in all the wrong ways. There was this air of drudgery in the entire novel which really felt like suffocating which I guess goes along with the plot of the book, but really I felt less like it was about the plot and more about the prose which seemed really overworked to me.
[a:Sarah Waters|25334|Sarah Waters|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1208970232p2/25334.jpg] gets mentioned a lot when trying to pigeonhole this book and I do see where that comparison is coming from but I feel like Williams is a lot less successful in writing about the same sorts of things as Ms. Waters. If anything, I would say this book reminded me more of a highbrow attempt at [b:My Sweet Audrina|805023|My Sweet Audrina|V.C. Andrews|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1178550284s/805023.jpg|2702382], with all the gaslighting and the 'what happened to my family' drama. I found the first 50 pages to be very dull, with a pick up in the middle where things got quite exciting for a while, and then ultimately it just fizzled out again at the end which I found to be pretty lackluster.
I do, however, love that cover.
[a:Sarah Waters|25334|Sarah Waters|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1208970232p2/25334.jpg] gets mentioned a lot when trying to pigeonhole this book and I do see where that comparison is coming from but I feel like Williams is a lot less successful in writing about the same sorts of things as Ms. Waters. If anything, I would say this book reminded me more of a highbrow attempt at [b:My Sweet Audrina|805023|My Sweet Audrina|V.C. Andrews|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1178550284s/805023.jpg|2702382], with all the gaslighting and the 'what happened to my family' drama. I found the first 50 pages to be very dull, with a pick up in the middle where things got quite exciting for a while, and then ultimately it just fizzled out again at the end which I found to be pretty lackluster.
I do, however, love that cover.
alexblackreads's review
1.0
Usually when I give a book one star, there's a certain amount of hate involved. But this book didn't even inspire hate. 350 pages and the only time I came even remotely close to caring about a character is for about twelve pages when Constantine was speaking the most obvious truths and pointing out several flaws in the book. This happened around page 100 and I was shocked that there was almost something resembling a personality. But that quickly passed.
This was just a convoluted mess that fell like it was trying to be literary and failing spectacularly. 250 pages in and I didn't know who the characters were or what was going on or why anyone was acting the way they were. I love theorizing in books and can't help myself from guessing plot twists and endings, but I didn't in this. I didn't care. The amount that I did not care about literally anything in this book was astounding.
This was just a convoluted mess that fell like it was trying to be literary and failing spectacularly. 250 pages in and I didn't know who the characters were or what was going on or why anyone was acting the way they were. I love theorizing in books and can't help myself from guessing plot twists and endings, but I didn't in this. I didn't care. The amount that I did not care about literally anything in this book was astounding.
smashbooks's review
1.0
This jumped a lot for me. I always try to finish books. I needed to know who the killer was. After I found out, I gave up. Awful. Very disjointed. Sad I wasted my time.
feimineach's review
5.0
Victorian fiction; woman's perspective; critiques patriarchy; beautifully written. What's not to like? it tailed off if a few places but, overall, a rollicking good read.
sharnibee's review
2.0
Interesting premise that was overly mysterious and spoiled by strange tangents and a really random ending.
adhithi's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
vcam2012's review against another edition
1.0
Hmm, the book was ok. Main character has no substance and some of the scenes are too fickle. The murder turns out to be her neighbour. Total cliche.