Reviews

Death in the Spires by KJ Charles

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codysmovingcastle's review against another edition

5.0

Oh my god I loved this. I'd describe it like If We Were Villains combined with a bit of Maurice and The Talented Mr. Ripley. But with Agatha Christie vibes.

The pacing and character work was phenomenal (especially for a book under 300 pages). The angst and relationships were so well done. And KJ Charles absolutely nailed the late nineteenth century aesthetic. (I've mentioned this before in reviews but my era of research for my MA and PhD was 1880-1913 so I'm incredibly picky about historical fiction set in this time, but this 100% gets my seal of approval.)

I don't think it was necessary for the story it was telling, but I was so invested, I could have read a whole book about the group's time at Oxford because I could not get enough of these characters.

Actually so sad for this to be over :')

bitbutton's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

suannelaqueur's review

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4.0

Sigh. Another deliciously brilliant book by KJ Charles. How unexpected. Could she please suck at something?

whatcassiedid's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Screamed my way through this, obsessed

f18's review

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hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

danalu_bookcorner's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

mshusky's review

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adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Intensely satisfying who dunnit, why dunnit, and really it became "a why didn't X do it". Not her usual fare, although there was a couple of romance subplots.

Yes, I am up for reading more non romantic mysteries by KJ Charles

galleytrot's review

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Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

READ: Sep 2024
FORMAT: Audio

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 4.5 / 5 ⭐️
TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 5 / 5 ⭐️
FINAL – OVERALL: 4.75 / 5 ⭐️

ladypageling's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

violentlyagitated's review

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

The only gripe I have about this is that some parts throughout (mostly the first half) felt repetitive just by virtue of Jem having to repeat himself a lot, since he‘s telling the same stories and theories to his old friends one at a time.

What I liked most was the fact that it ended on a hopeful note. Mysteries can so easily feel bleak.

Content Warnings

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