Scan barcode
guillotinequeen666's review
5.0
I’ve seen a lot of reviews saying this had people sucked in from the beginning but it fell apart for them towards the end. I feel the exact opposite. For me it was a slow burn with a huge payoff. Truly captivating and satisfying in the end.
obsidian_blue's review against another edition
2.0
This was just not very good. I loved "The Last House on Needless Street" and the ending that I didn't see coming. "Looking Glass Sound" dragged and I got fed up with trying to figure out if something was real or just a story within the book. I also did not like most of the characters which doesn't help when you are reading and trying to spur yourself on to not quit a book. The ending fell flat. I think Ward was trying to mimic "House of Leaves" and a few other horror books after a while. But in the end, it just did not work.
"Looking Glass Sound" follows teenager Wilder Harlow. Wilder's parents decide to spend the summer in a cottage. Wilder is determined to fall in love (which yeah I don't know the whole thing felt absurd) and quickly does when he comes across a teenage girl named Harper. Harper has a best friend though named Nat and the three of them quickly become thick as thieves. The summer ends on a sour note, but Wilder returns again and once there realizes that a serial suspect in on the loose and may be closer than he thinks.
Wilder at times felt very naïve and also frustrating to deal with. We follow him through his teenage years and later adulthood and the man is the very definition of arrested development. Harper just got on my nerves. And there were too many threads left undone with the character of Nat.
Ward also decides to start following a character named Pearl (no spoilers) and then we start to shift between her and Wilder and then later on Wilder's memoir and then the books. After a while I just gave up even caring what was happening in each story we got.
The flow was off because of the above and the book was a struggle after a while. It's a shame because the first part when Wilder meets Nat and Harper and something dark starts to come between them and then again when Wilder returns was real promising. I just don't know what Ward was going for here after a while. The whole book just started to feel very fake and I got annoyed.
The ending was a supreme letdown. Probably because there were a lot of plot threads that never got addressed.
"Looking Glass Sound" follows teenager Wilder Harlow. Wilder's parents decide to spend the summer in a cottage. Wilder is determined to fall in love (which yeah I don't know the whole thing felt absurd) and quickly does when he comes across a teenage girl named Harper. Harper has a best friend though named Nat and the three of them quickly become thick as thieves. The summer ends on a sour note, but Wilder returns again and once there realizes that a serial suspect in on the loose and may be closer than he thinks.
Wilder at times felt very naïve and also frustrating to deal with. We follow him through his teenage years and later adulthood and the man is the very definition of arrested development. Harper just got on my nerves. And there were too many threads left undone with the character of Nat.
Ward also decides to start following a character named Pearl (no spoilers) and then we start to shift between her and Wilder and then later on Wilder's memoir and then the books. After a while I just gave up even caring what was happening in each story we got.
The flow was off because of the above and the book was a struggle after a while. It's a shame because the first part when Wilder meets Nat and Harper and something dark starts to come between them and then again when Wilder returns was real promising. I just don't know what Ward was going for here after a while. The whole book just started to feel very fake and I got annoyed.
The ending was a supreme letdown. Probably because there were a lot of plot threads that never got addressed.
horror_reads's review
5.0
I'm a huge fan of Catriona Ward. This is the fourth book oh hers I've read and she is seriously on top of her game.
To call this just a "horror" book would be insulting almost. It's got multiple characters, timelines, and story arcs yet it flows beautifully and you never see where this novel is taking you. As with her other books, reading Catriona Ward is like kayaking down a river blindfolded. It feels dangerous, exciting, and your focus is solely on the ride to (hopefully) safety. But you also feel exhilarated and don't want it to end.
This is easily on my list of top ten books of the year.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
To call this just a "horror" book would be insulting almost. It's got multiple characters, timelines, and story arcs yet it flows beautifully and you never see where this novel is taking you. As with her other books, reading Catriona Ward is like kayaking down a river blindfolded. It feels dangerous, exciting, and your focus is solely on the ride to (hopefully) safety. But you also feel exhilarated and don't want it to end.
This is easily on my list of top ten books of the year.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
sunandmoon's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.25
The first half just blew away, it was so tense and sad and touching, with great prose and characters.
I found the other half a bit too messy though. There's so many twists and revelations I found it hard to still get interested when I just devoured the beginning. But great writing and building!
I found the other half a bit too messy though. There's so many twists and revelations I found it hard to still get interested when I just devoured the beginning. But great writing and building!
luizaamg's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.75
This is my second Catriona Ward book and I cannot explain how enthralled I am with her writing. It felt like I was reading an old classic, and I mean this in the best way possible. The only reason why I didn't give it 5 stars was because I wish some things were explained a tad more conclusively, but honestly this is a really minor "problem" considering how brilliant the book is.
maggieuebe's review against another edition
2.0
I liked the first half of this book but during the 2nd half I found it really hard to keep track of what was going on.
cornflower12's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
newsteadlibrary's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
ballet7439's review
5.0
Catriona Ward has solidified herself as an autobuy author and a favorite to boot. She's three for three for me and I can't wait to read her backlist titles.