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tjlcody's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent sequel. Sews up the first book quite well, and answers most of the questions you'd be left with from it as well.
I thought maybe a lot of the tension from the first book would be missing from this one, given that.
The exploration of Mary's past was excellent, and honestly, I felt pretty bad for Pre-Ghost!Mary and all that happened to her. It also made me really interested to know more about why Solomon's Folly is as supernaturally active as it's implied to be, which really makes me hope that the author might do sequels or other books that touch on its history.
I thought maybe a lot of the tension from the first book would be missing from this one, given that
Spoiler
Shauna is no longer the one being haunted by Mary, but if there was, it was only a little bit. I liked that the book focused on the fact that Shauna still had a lot of trauma from her experience with Mary, to the point where she still had a major hang-up about mirrors and reflective surfacesThe exploration of Mary's past was excellent, and honestly, I felt pretty bad for Pre-Ghost!Mary and all that happened to her. It also made me really interested to know more about why Solomon's Folly is as supernaturally active as it's implied to be, which really makes me hope that the author might do sequels or other books that touch on its history.
sheenlynbree114's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
kays_pallet's review against another edition
3.0
This was not as good as the first one. The pacing was really slow in the beginning and it took way to long to even see Mary. I think the way grief and ptsd was done very well, it was just almost too much for a thriller/ horror. The ending was everything I wanted it to be, but were the 150 pages or so leading up to it worth it?
thurley47's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
yche09's review against another edition
5.0
This was a really compelling end to Bloody Mary's story.
While reading this, I totally felt as if the history of Bloody Mary was true! I'm a fan of the first book, so I had some expectations for this one. Let's just say that my expectations were surpassed. :)
The main character, Shauna wants nobody to get hurt anymore. However, with Mary out of the mirror... It was sort of impossible. My imagination was so active while reading this because the author's description of Mary was so good, it felt as if it was real! They continued to run from her, confront her and all, but nothing was working to keep her out.
They band together with many other people. There were more casualties, but I already knew there would be some of those, so it didn't come as a shock. They finally succeed in vanquishing her. However, I still have questions... What about that land? That land which felt like it was moving? What about that, huh? I wonder if there's a book for that...
I love the ending of this book. It enlightened me and it was really dramatic. This was definitely a good read.
While reading this, I totally felt as if the history of Bloody Mary was true! I'm a fan of the first book, so I had some expectations for this one. Let's just say that my expectations were surpassed. :)
The main character, Shauna wants nobody to get hurt anymore. However, with Mary out of the mirror... It was sort of impossible. My imagination was so active while reading this because the author's description of Mary was so good, it felt as if it was real! They continued to run from her, confront her and all, but nothing was working to keep her out.
They band together with many other people. There were more casualties, but I already knew there would be some of those, so it didn't come as a shock. They finally succeed in vanquishing her. However, I still have questions... What about that land? That land which felt like it was moving? What about that, huh? I wonder if there's a book for that...
I love the ending of this book. It enlightened me and it was really dramatic. This was definitely a good read.
brancrisp's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.5
mackle13's review against another edition
3.0
I also gave the first book in this series a 3-stars, so I didn't love it, but I liked it well enough to continue. (It helps that it's sort of written as a duology as opposed to 2 standalone stories - so you definitely need to read these in order.)
Following a trend in my horror reading lately, this seems to be a series which starts off as more creepy and atmospheric and ends up being more action oriented by the end. I'm not sure if it's because of popularity of shows like Supernatural, which make defeating ghosts about having a shotgun with salt bullets, or if it's just because the atmospheric kind of writing is hard to maintain across so many pages... but I tend to prefer the creepy-vibe stories to the action ones - at least in print form. (I do actually like Supernatural, btw.)
That aside, I did like that the girls in this book seemed a bit less whiny, even Jessica. They were more, like, on a mission and were more focused, I suppose. Kitty was still a bit of a hanger on, but I guess that makes sense in the context of the story.
I didn't entirely like the addition of the idea that
I also didn't entirely get why she goes after girls with Worth blood, whether or not they summon her. Like, why not go after people with the blood of the girls who tormented her? They say something about how it's because she can sniff out Worth blood, but... she loved her mother and sister, and her family never did her wrong, so... ?
I did like learning more about Mary's story, but I wondered a bit why she didn't ever go after
So, yeah... there were some weird little plot holes and inconsistencies which left me thinking Monahan hadn't really fleshed out which mythology she was using, and kind of just made stuff up as she went along for whatever was cool or worked for the plot. That's fine, to a point, but I prefer stories - even ones like these - to have internal consistency.
So, aside from that, I did enjoy the story and it was definitely a page turner. I wouldn't say it was scary, and I think the first one had more actual suspense and chills than this one had, what with the more action oriented focus this one seemed to have... but it was still a decent story and a nice conclusion.
Following a trend in my horror reading lately, this seems to be a series which starts off as more creepy and atmospheric and ends up being more action oriented by the end. I'm not sure if it's because of popularity of shows like Supernatural, which make defeating ghosts about having a shotgun with salt bullets, or if it's just because the atmospheric kind of writing is hard to maintain across so many pages... but I tend to prefer the creepy-vibe stories to the action ones - at least in print form. (I do actually like Supernatural, btw.)
That aside, I did like that the girls in this book seemed a bit less whiny, even Jessica. They were more, like, on a mission and were more focused, I suppose. Kitty was still a bit of a hanger on, but I guess that makes sense in the context of the story.
I didn't entirely like the addition of the idea that
Spoiler
Mary is rotting and taking body parts away from her victims in order to replenish her body. For one, you'd think that they would've noticed she looked a bit Frankenstein-monster-ish in the first story? For another - is she a ghost or a ghoul? Like, make a decision and stick with it.I also didn't entirely get why she goes after girls with Worth blood, whether or not they summon her. Like, why not go after people with the blood of the girls who tormented her? They say something about how it's because she can sniff out Worth blood, but... she loved her mother and sister, and her family never did her wrong, so... ?
I did like learning more about Mary's story, but I wondered a bit why she didn't ever go after
Spoiler
men like the preacher who actually killed her? I guess it's because it's usually teenage girls who summon her, and there were the teenage girls who tormented her and let her die and all, but he was the one who actually did it, so why just focus on the girls?So, yeah... there were some weird little plot holes and inconsistencies which left me thinking Monahan hadn't really fleshed out which mythology she was using, and kind of just made stuff up as she went along for whatever was cool or worked for the plot. That's fine, to a point, but I prefer stories - even ones like these - to have internal consistency.
So, aside from that, I did enjoy the story and it was definitely a page turner. I wouldn't say it was scary, and I think the first one had more actual suspense and chills than this one had, what with the more action oriented focus this one seemed to have... but it was still a decent story and a nice conclusion.
electraheart's review against another edition
4.0
This book was infinitely better than the first in so many ways. The story is paced more smoothly and the action flows constantly, instead of ebbing and flowing and being stuck with long, dull moments. I really adored all the history of Mary - she's an urban legend I have never given too much thought to or taken seriously, but giving her a backstory made her almost likeable (obviously before she started dragging people into her mirror and you know, killing them). This was a fun, quick series that was spooky in all the right places.
malloryelaine's review against another edition
5.0
Maybe I missed this part but did they ever explain what was going on with the Hawthorne's field in the end?? What the secret was.
lpcoolgirl's review against another edition
5.0
Great book, answered questions, and raised some more. Wish we could have a 3rd book or a spin off, because I'm curious about the monster in the field!