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bookstarbri's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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
4.25
All the issues I had with book 1 were much better this go around! The tension was awesome and I actually loved this mystery more! It did get a little slow sometimes and I felt like some scenes could’ve been shorter, but overall, a really awesome sequel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood, and Medical content
Moderate: Violence and Grief
hannaemilia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Medical content, and Murder
hapalyn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, and Medical content
ladyandherlibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
If you didn’t love the first but are debating carrying on with the series, I highly recommend. This sequel was so much more mysterious and well written.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Medical content, and Murder
Moderate: Cannibalism
wednesdayonacafe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
It was a bit slow up until the last chapters, I liked it still. The cultural elements and folklore were really interesting if not a bit overwhelming at first. The first one remains my favorite but Thomas and Audrey Rose’s relationship grows so much in this book. There too many swoon worthy moments.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Medical content, and Murder
starryorbit12's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
A lot more historical liberties were taken with this book, and there isn't a real life case to center around which makes it a slight departure from the first novel. However, the environment still feels rooted in the time period and the gothic elements added with the Romanian setting were great. The surprise historical lesbian couple were great, and Audrey Rose moves away from "not like other girls" brand of feminism the first book had more. I think the addition of more female characters that have devoted page time who are meant to be fleshed out helped. It hard to describe book as feminist and then have your female lead never interact with other women. This felt more on the marl of what I think the author was tryin to go for in Ripper. I also enjoyed that the author let her characters experience trauma of the events they went through and carry in a way real people would. I also feel that the side characters felt a lot less there and lot more like they had an impact on the stories. I enjoyed the letters to her Cousin Liza and her father. It added to the time period. Plus, my copy had exclusive letter between Thomas and his sister set during the first book. Those truly fleshed out there relationship and made me love Daciana more. There exchange was really cute as well. I think that misogyny that Audrey face as the only female student and the pressure be better to be seen as equal was well presented. You can feel her frustration while her classmates don't even realize there privilege or adverse effects of the some of the things they say to her. Plus, there are varying reactions to her presence which feels more realistic.
Conversely, the mystery held the same probably as the first in which I guess the murderer shortly after they are introduced. It's the problem of having a limited cast of characters and limiting actual interaction or development to only a few of that already limited cast. The murderer is never somebody that the main characters have never met or only briefly interacted with because then it feels out of nowhere. Realistically, there only a few characters with enough page time for it to be. It doesn't take much deducing from there. The big give away for me was the fact that Audrey states that she thinks Anastasia's suggestion of not telling the headmaster was bad idea. Anastasia's had a strange insistence, and her reasons for not telling him we're pretty shallow compared to the benefit of potentially stopping a murder. Audrey Rose agrees despite feeling dreaded the idea for some reason. There's also the fact that she knew exactly what the book in the village girls house was, and no one could figure out that girl's connection to anything. The emphasis on how unrecognizable Anastasia's "body" was, and the fact that she didn't have an established connection to either of the motives murder. The fact that she takes the book, says nothing, and then just "leaves" for hungry based off of a vague connection found without talking to anybody.
It's like the romantic conflict in this one. The conflict basically just boiled down to having Thomas act against the things that made a likable and memorable love interest. The thing about the relationship in the first book that was so great, especially for historical normal, was how much Thomas respected Audrey. He saw her as intelligent and capable, and he never coddled her like the other men in her life tried too. Even when they are about to do something dangerous, he taught her how to protect herself rather than trying to convince her or force her not to go through with her plan. This book he constantly tries to dicate her life, and he constantly goes around behind her back to do so. Is that Audrey is so clear that the one thing she wants from him is expect for her independence he keeps acknowledging that while simultaneously going behind her back, and it leads to her being humiliated in front of her classmates that already think her lesser because of sexism. He stops about halfway through the book, but the apology feels more like an excuse because the crux of it is him claiming not to have thought of the consequences in his bad attempts at emotional support. However, Audrey was very clear about what she did not want him to do. It's disheartening because the respect and admiration for Audrey was what distinguished Thomas from the countless other dark haired, sarcastic male love interests with a tragic backstory. The relationship recovers some of its charm near the end, but be prepared to want to kick Thomas for at least half the book.
Conversely, the mystery held the same probably as the first in which I guess the murderer shortly after they are introduced. It's the problem of having a limited cast of characters and limiting actual interaction or development to only a few of that already limited cast. The murderer is never somebody that the main characters have never met or only briefly interacted with because then it feels out of nowhere. Realistically, there only a few characters with enough page time for it to be. It doesn't take much deducing from there.
It's like the romantic conflict in this one. The conflict basically just boiled down to having Thomas act against the things that made a likable and memorable love interest. The thing about the relationship in the first book that was so great, especially for historical normal, was how much Thomas respected Audrey. He saw her as intelligent and capable, and he never coddled her like the other men in her life tried too. Even when they are about to do something dangerous, he taught her how to protect herself rather than trying to convince her or force her not to go through with her plan. This book he constantly tries to dicate her life, and he constantly goes around behind her back to do so. Is that Audrey is so clear that the one thing she wants from him is expect for her independence he keeps acknowledging that while simultaneously going behind her back, and it leads to her being humiliated in front of her classmates that already think her lesser because of sexism. He stops about halfway through the book, but the apology feels more like an excuse because the crux of it is him claiming not to have thought of the consequences in his bad attempts at emotional support. However, Audrey was very clear about what she did not want him to do. It's disheartening because the respect and admiration for Audrey was what distinguished Thomas from the countless other dark haired, sarcastic male love interests with a tragic backstory. The relationship recovers some of its charm near the end, but be prepared to want to kick Thomas for at least half the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Medical content
Minor: Kidnapping and Death of parent
juliette_95's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Medical content, and Murder
Moderate: Sexism
bigskynavygirl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
With SJTR I figured out pretty quickly who the antagonist was, but with this one I was constantly guessing. I also loved the setting of this book and the various characters that we get to meet as well as the growing relationship between Audrey Rose and Thomas. I was suitably horrified by some of the situations they found themselves in and honestly almost threw my book at one point because the situation they were in gave me the heebie geebies so badly. The need to get away from the situation was that strong. Spiders have always terrified me and that was just . . . A lot. Either way, 10/10 would recommend this book. I absolutely loved the atmosphere and the characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Medical content
Moderate: Confinement and Grief
sleepis4theweak's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Murder