rashmitha_books's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
paulabellman's review
dark
emotional
slow-paced
3.0
This is the 2nd part of the trilogy, Father of Lies. Unfortunately this 2nd book got too bogged down with recapping book 1 stories too often and book 2 just never could take off on its on until probably the last 25% of the book.
I doubt I'll read part three. For a horror/possession style of book it had fresh ideas. I just wished the author would have made book 2 more exciting.
I doubt I'll read part three. For a horror/possession style of book it had fresh ideas. I just wished the author would have made book 2 more exciting.
zoes_human's review
Both unfortunately and fortunately, Tanners Dell continues on much as Father of Lies did.
Without a doubt, S.E. England writes incredible descriptions and solidly realistic characters. She is equally skilled at keeping a firm grip on multiple plot threads without ever dropping a line or leaving a gap. But in the end, that simply isn't enough for me. I DNFed this one at the 54% mark. There were three main contributors to this.
First, I'm roughly 400 pages into the series, and I haven't encountered a single thing that I haven't seen elsewhere. Nothing new. Nothing old with a unique twist. No trope executed in any way that is exceptional.
Second, I'm not in suspense. Because there have been no surprises thus far, I'm not expecting any in the future. Nothing I've read has made me feel emotionally invested in the characters. They're like that neighbor that is nice enough, but you just don't click in conversation. You wish them no harm, but you don't linger after a courtesy exchange of greetings either.
Last, and likely most grating, the repetition is killing me. I just cannot read the same things over and over again within such a short framework. Obviously a sequel generally has some recap of the first book, but the truth is that so far if you chopped out the extraneous material you could easily have had one book here.
It has taken me 6 days to read approximately 120 pages. I normally read 50 to 100 pages a day. I have not been busy. I just wasn't interested. It's a pity really, because there obviously is some genuine skill here. The book's strong points are incredibly strong. Sadly, its weak points are equally weak.
Without a doubt, S.E. England writes incredible descriptions and solidly realistic characters. She is equally skilled at keeping a firm grip on multiple plot threads without ever dropping a line or leaving a gap. But in the end, that simply isn't enough for me. I DNFed this one at the 54% mark. There were three main contributors to this.
First, I'm roughly 400 pages into the series, and I haven't encountered a single thing that I haven't seen elsewhere. Nothing new. Nothing old with a unique twist. No trope executed in any way that is exceptional.
Second, I'm not in suspense. Because there have been no surprises thus far, I'm not expecting any in the future. Nothing I've read has made me feel emotionally invested in the characters. They're like that neighbor that is nice enough, but you just don't click in conversation. You wish them no harm, but you don't linger after a courtesy exchange of greetings either.
Last, and likely most grating, the repetition is killing me. I just cannot read the same things over and over again within such a short framework. Obviously a sequel generally has some recap of the first book, but the truth is that so far if you chopped out the extraneous material you could easily have had one book here.
It has taken me 6 days to read approximately 120 pages. I normally read 50 to 100 pages a day. I have not been busy. I just wasn't interested. It's a pity really, because there obviously is some genuine skill here. The book's strong points are incredibly strong. Sadly, its weak points are equally weak.
hillareads24's review
5.0
Picks up EXACTLY where the first leaves off. Great story, fantastic characters.
sarahs_bookish_life's review
5.0
I highly recommend reading Father of Lies which is the first novel in the trilogy before reading this one as there is a lot of background that you need to familiarise yourself with and its also a great read.
The story starts where it finished in the first book. Becky finds herself pretty much on her own and has to enlist help from others in her attempt to bring down a cult and save Alice, Ruby’s daughter. Only problem is, anyone that tries to uncover the dark forces tend not to fair to well and dark and disturbing things start to happen to them.
I have to say as much as I understood Becky’s determination to put an end to the horrors that were happening to her and people close to her, I certainly wouldn’t have thanked her if she had turned up on my doorstep! You just know that things are never going to end well and my heart was literally in my mouth as horrible things started to happen to many of the characters.
This would really make a great horror film. I could easily visualise a lot of the horrors that were unfolding in front of me which was actually quite scary. It’s a bit hard to hide behind a cushion when your reading a book!
Tanners Dell is a brilliant second book in a truly gripping trilogy. It is seriously creepy and will scare the bejeezus out of you! Brilliant!
The story starts where it finished in the first book. Becky finds herself pretty much on her own and has to enlist help from others in her attempt to bring down a cult and save Alice, Ruby’s daughter. Only problem is, anyone that tries to uncover the dark forces tend not to fair to well and dark and disturbing things start to happen to them.
I have to say as much as I understood Becky’s determination to put an end to the horrors that were happening to her and people close to her, I certainly wouldn’t have thanked her if she had turned up on my doorstep! You just know that things are never going to end well and my heart was literally in my mouth as horrible things started to happen to many of the characters.
This would really make a great horror film. I could easily visualise a lot of the horrors that were unfolding in front of me which was actually quite scary. It’s a bit hard to hide behind a cushion when your reading a book!
Tanners Dell is a brilliant second book in a truly gripping trilogy. It is seriously creepy and will scare the bejeezus out of you! Brilliant!
lorrainewardy's review
5.0
Loved, loved, loved this book! It was even better than Father of Lies, which says a lot as that was just amazing too. This book could be read as a stand alone book, but I would recommend reading Father of Lies first to get your head around the characters and their back stories. Highly recommended, a well deserved 5 stars from me!
jeanne25's review
3.0
I read Book 1, Father of Lies, last September. I never ended up reviewing it because I never decided how I felt about it. I bought Tanner’s Dell upon finishing the first and have put off reading it until now. And – I still am unsure how I feel about the story. Some parts are quite good but more parts drag. The writing is good. Much of the dialogue about the black magic seemed repetitive. I found the ending slightly anti-climactic. Part of me would like to know how the story concludes but it’s not a big enough part to warrant reading the third book.
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