laurelchisholm's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.25
madamewritelyso's review against another edition
5.0
This was a great Victorian detective novel filled with humor, the macabre, the supernatural, and memorable characters. I loved the switch between timelines and getting to know Birdie as well as her ghostly companion. It was a fantastic read and, honestly, better than I had expected it to be! I’ve been trying to find more books like this but it has been an almost fruitless search. This book got me hooked on Jess Kidd’s storytelling and I can’t wait to read more by her! I recommend this book to pretty much anyone asking for books recommendations.
sarah_liest's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
mollymahli's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jenn_140_'s review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
mj44223's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
4.5
I'll be revisiting this one, what a great read. The chracters were so great, iI'd love to see it become a series.
leila_reads_too_much's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
afox98's review against another edition
4.0
Bridie Devine is a detective in Victorian London who's been asked to locate the missing daughter of Sir Edmund Berwick. With her ghostly sidekick Ruby and 7-foot-tall housekeeper Cora, Bridie ends up delving far into her past as well as the dirty side of London in her search. With lots of magical realism, suspense, and out of the ordinary characters, this isn't my usual type of book at all, but I found it fascinating and compelling.
laurenjpegler's review against another edition
3.0
*3.5 stars
I was intrigued, but it didn't live up to my expectations.
I don't know - I knew it was about the so called "curiosities" of people but I thought it would focus on disfigurements or disabilities (as those would have be curiosities to the Victorians). I didn't expect the fantastical element to the story, where the curiosities is something not entirely possible. I thought it would be a fun exploration of the growing understanding of Victorian science, which, in some ways, it was, as it shone light on certain movement in science, but the impossible element to it made it seem a little...off.
It just didn't have the right feel to it.
I did like the writing style and the characters, though. Super readable, fast paced and riveting. I was never disinterested in the story - I actually wanted to carry on reading it. The characters were also phenomenal - criminals and detectives, bad guys and good, a whole bunch of people that just complimented each other. I did like it, but just thought the plot would have been a little more, how do we say, real? life-like? believable?.
I was intrigued, but it didn't live up to my expectations.
I don't know - I knew it was about the so called "curiosities" of people but I thought it would focus on disfigurements or disabilities (as those would have be curiosities to the Victorians). I didn't expect the fantastical element to the story, where the curiosities is something not entirely possible. I thought it would be a fun exploration of the growing understanding of Victorian science, which, in some ways, it was, as it shone light on certain movement in science, but the impossible element to it made it seem a little...off.
It just didn't have the right feel to it.
I did like the writing style and the characters, though. Super readable, fast paced and riveting. I was never disinterested in the story - I actually wanted to carry on reading it. The characters were also phenomenal - criminals and detectives, bad guys and good, a whole bunch of people that just complimented each other. I did like it, but just thought the plot would have been a little more, how do we say, real? life-like? believable?.
dannycakez8808's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 Stars
It took me a day or so to gather my thoughts before writing a review on this one. I thought that this would be a fun detective story that took place in Victorian era London.. but boy I was WRONG! The darkness in this novel shocked me but in the best ways. The Gothic setting was very beautifully written; it was engaging without being too drawn out or wordy.
Our leading lady Bridie was an unconventional heroine who has been hired as a detective to find a missing girl. Bridie takes her missions very seriously and goes as far as cross dressing as a man to gain leverage in her cases. As the investigation goes on we find out that the missing girl (Christabel) is no ordinary girl. She is in fact a Merrow (mermaid) who has the power to make people remember things. Interesting right?!
The oddities things seem to follow our protagonist- Bridie alao dabbles into the supernatural and has the power to "read dead corpses" and she even sees ghosts. One of those ghosts being an ex-boxer named Ruby who is head over heels for her. Queue the love triangles.
Beyond those supernatural oddities we also get go see some of the darker underground happenings of this era- live operating theaters (no anesthesia during these surgeries), pickled babies in jars, wicked knife yielding surgeons, heads in boxes, and some even more peculiar findings in an old crypt. We got to meet some very interesting people who were fans and collectors of these "remarkable specimens" and curiosities. To say the least this is not for the faint of heart.
One of my favorite relationships in the book was between Bridie and Cora; Ruby's 7ft tall house maid. The two of them cracked me up and it was nice to have these lighter times in the book. I also loved that this added alme LGBT rep into our story. I highly recommend grabbing this book if you are into magical realism and enjoy the darkness of the gothic era.
It took me a day or so to gather my thoughts before writing a review on this one. I thought that this would be a fun detective story that took place in Victorian era London.. but boy I was WRONG! The darkness in this novel shocked me but in the best ways. The Gothic setting was very beautifully written; it was engaging without being too drawn out or wordy.
Our leading lady Bridie was an unconventional heroine who has been hired as a detective to find a missing girl. Bridie takes her missions very seriously and goes as far as cross dressing as a man to gain leverage in her cases. As the investigation goes on we find out that the missing girl (Christabel) is no ordinary girl. She is in fact a Merrow (mermaid) who has the power to make people remember things. Interesting right?!
The oddities things seem to follow our protagonist- Bridie alao dabbles into the supernatural and has the power to "read dead corpses" and she even sees ghosts. One of those ghosts being an ex-boxer named Ruby who is head over heels for her. Queue the love triangles.
Beyond those supernatural oddities we also get go see some of the darker underground happenings of this era- live operating theaters (no anesthesia during these surgeries), pickled babies in jars, wicked knife yielding surgeons, heads in boxes, and some even more peculiar findings in an old crypt. We got to meet some very interesting people who were fans and collectors of these "remarkable specimens" and curiosities. To say the least this is not for the faint of heart.
One of my favorite relationships in the book was between Bridie and Cora; Ruby's 7ft tall house maid. The two of them cracked me up and it was nice to have these lighter times in the book. I also loved that this added alme LGBT rep into our story. I highly recommend grabbing this book if you are into magical realism and enjoy the darkness of the gothic era.