inger70's review against another edition
2.0
Disjointed. Maybe this is why Ms. Gabaldon's books need to be so long.
warriorkhaleesi's review against another edition
3.0
It was a bit rushed, but then again it’s not surprising since it’s so short.
bartlebies's review against another edition
3.0
A novella that follows Lord John, the gay Englishman from the Outlander series who plays a small but important role in the main series. He’s basically a gay Sherlock Holmes. Well, a less outwardly brilliant Holmes, at any rate.
It’s confusing on its own. But since it is technically Lord John 0.5, that’s to be expected. This is a series for readers of Outlander who want something more. I read the first book, hated it, so decided to give Lord John a try. Because despite Gabaldon’s severe lack of understanding romance/consensuality in heterosexual relationships, she can write well.
This story throws us into a murder mystery right away. We follow John as he confronts a past lover and joins a weird cult. Honestly, John is a precious cinnamon roll just trying to solve murders while people constantly shit on gay people around him. Poor dude.
My qualm is with the author’s desire for the reader to understand that John is gay. Like, super gay. And he will have unfortunate pant-feelings at really inopportune times because he’s Really Gay (tm). Hopefully future volumes will be a little subtler.
It’s confusing on its own. But since it is technically Lord John 0.5, that’s to be expected. This is a series for readers of Outlander who want something more. I read the first book, hated it, so decided to give Lord John a try. Because despite Gabaldon’s severe lack of understanding romance/consensuality in heterosexual relationships, she can write well.
This story throws us into a murder mystery right away. We follow John as he confronts a past lover and joins a weird cult. Honestly, John is a precious cinnamon roll just trying to solve murders while people constantly shit on gay people around him. Poor dude.
My qualm is with the author’s desire for the reader to understand that John is gay. Like, super gay. And he will have unfortunate pant-feelings at really inopportune times because he’s Really Gay (tm). Hopefully future volumes will be a little subtler.
martacorreia's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
lizzielee's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
lydaalexander's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
biblioberg's review against another edition
4.0
Nice short introduction to Lord John Grey from the Outlander world.
brittaniethekid's review
5.0
I really enjoyed this short story! But I'm very fond of Lord John as a character and can't wait to read the rest of his series (only in order now! I read this after The Private Matter).
raoionna's review against another edition
3.0
Like Outlander plus Vanilla Sky. Yuck. This was easily the worst story of the Novellas.