spinesinaline's review
3.0
Thank you to Xpresso Book Tours for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. You can find more of my reviews at https://spinesinaline.wordpress.com
This book opens with a lot of mystery - what is Lucinda afraid of? What is her family hiding? Who is this mysterious woman in white? These are important in setting up the suspense and tone of the story so I think you're better off with less information (which is also why I won't give much of the plot away below).
A welcome surprise were the diverse characters in this book. The main character never labels herself but she is attracted to men and women. Others close to her are also revealed to identify on the LGBTQ spectrum, and all quite naturally, so it was really nice to see this worked into the story and providing honest rep. There are also Black and Muslim characters, though I would've liked to see this extended to the main couple as well.
The only issue I had was with the MC's relationships. She's initially attracted to two different people and seems to think it's not necessary to let these people know of their conflicting interests when she begins dating both. Their anger is always described as being caused by distrust of the rival love interest, rather than possibly because their gf is dating someone else? I felt like we were slipping into the misconception of bisexuality as polyamory at times so the reading was a little uncomfortable.
Another source of slight annoyance was the dialogue between Lucinda and Damien. For some reason, they both use very formal language with each other, something never explained and that begins before the two even know each other very well. I didn't see the need for it and I didn't enjoy their scenes together much because of it. They come off as very hoighty-toighty people as a result so I liked that Lucinda at least regains her normal speech with her other friends. (I also just really don't like Damien :P )
One of the things that I felt most at odds with was reading Lucinda as an 18-year-old. I understand drinking is a big part of many college students lives (Lucinda's in Ireland so it's legal there), but not to the extent of these characters. Though there are some party scenes which seem to fit the norm, there are also several evenings where Lucinda is drinking wine or sipping whiskey (really?). This was way above her years, especially as she's only 18 AND from the States so she's not legal yet. I am confident that no one at 18 is sipping whiskey. There was also the issue of her "many lovers". It felt like this reveal was set up to showcase her turmoiled past (side note: turmoil seems to be only a noun but I think we should allow it in adjective form) but again it wasn't realistic for a young girl. Do 18-year-olds call their past relationships "lovers"? I also felt weird when she repeatedly called Damien a man (I'm 23 and still calling people 'boy' or 'guy', but that could be just me. What terms do you use?). Even without the alcohol and lovers storylines, I never really got the feel of Lucinda as a young student so something was missing with me.
However, even with all my issues, based on the fact that I was basically glued to the page the whole time I can definitely attest to it being a super entertaining story and that's really what a great story should be. It's a cool ghost story, a little creepy at times but nothing too bad so you should be fine! :P I think the author's set up a really interesting universe here too. There were some mentions in the story of an earlier timeline, which are apparently covered in previous stories the author has written. I'd recommend reading those first because it was a little difficult to follow along. Nothing some context can't fix.
This one looks like it's set to be the start of a series, which I found a little surprising. It seems to wrap up nicely at the end, with hints of what could come next for the characters, but obviously they've got much bigger adventures in store than what I was imagining.
This book opens with a lot of mystery - what is Lucinda afraid of? What is her family hiding? Who is this mysterious woman in white? These are important in setting up the suspense and tone of the story so I think you're better off with less information (which is also why I won't give much of the plot away below).
A welcome surprise were the diverse characters in this book. The main character never labels herself but she is attracted to men and women. Others close to her are also revealed to identify on the LGBTQ spectrum, and all quite naturally, so it was really nice to see this worked into the story and providing honest rep. There are also Black and Muslim characters, though I would've liked to see this extended to the main couple as well.
The only issue I had was with the MC's relationships. She's initially attracted to two different people and seems to think it's not necessary to let these people know of their conflicting interests when she begins dating both. Their anger is always described as being caused by distrust of the rival love interest, rather than possibly because their gf is dating someone else? I felt like we were slipping into the misconception of bisexuality as polyamory at times so the reading was a little uncomfortable.
Another source of slight annoyance was the dialogue between Lucinda and Damien. For some reason, they both use very formal language with each other, something never explained and that begins before the two even know each other very well. I didn't see the need for it and I didn't enjoy their scenes together much because of it. They come off as very hoighty-toighty people as a result so I liked that Lucinda at least regains her normal speech with her other friends. (I also just really don't like Damien :P )
One of the things that I felt most at odds with was reading Lucinda as an 18-year-old. I understand drinking is a big part of many college students lives (Lucinda's in Ireland so it's legal there), but not to the extent of these characters. Though there are some party scenes which seem to fit the norm, there are also several evenings where Lucinda is drinking wine or sipping whiskey (really?). This was way above her years, especially as she's only 18 AND from the States so she's not legal yet. I am confident that no one at 18 is sipping whiskey. There was also the issue of her "many lovers". It felt like this reveal was set up to showcase her turmoiled past (side note: turmoil seems to be only a noun but I think we should allow it in adjective form) but again it wasn't realistic for a young girl. Do 18-year-olds call their past relationships "lovers"? I also felt weird when she repeatedly called Damien a man (I'm 23 and still calling people 'boy' or 'guy', but that could be just me. What terms do you use?). Even without the alcohol and lovers storylines, I never really got the feel of Lucinda as a young student so something was missing with me.
However, even with all my issues, based on the fact that I was basically glued to the page the whole time I can definitely attest to it being a super entertaining story and that's really what a great story should be. It's a cool ghost story, a little creepy at times but nothing too bad so you should be fine! :P I think the author's set up a really interesting universe here too. There were some mentions in the story of an earlier timeline, which are apparently covered in previous stories the author has written. I'd recommend reading those first because it was a little difficult to follow along. Nothing some context can't fix.
This one looks like it's set to be the start of a series, which I found a little surprising. It seems to wrap up nicely at the end, with hints of what could come next for the characters, but obviously they've got much bigger adventures in store than what I was imagining.
the_sassy_bookworm's review
4.0
Very cool cover on this one. Excellent representation if the story. Good use of graphics. Great composition and interesting title work.
I enjoyed the hell out of this one. I thought it was well written and well paced. At first, I thought I might be bothered by the way these characters speak and act as it is very formal and a bit old fashion in its nature but very soon I was sucked into the story and came to love this author's writing style. The plot was unique and had plenty of twists and turns. There is a bit of romance weaved throughout the book and one implied sex scene but don't go into this thinking it's a romance book because it is not. There was also a great cast of interesting characters both secondary and primary, and I hope we get a more in-depth look at a few of them in the next book.
That said, there was an issue that kept this book from being a 5-Star read for me. I felt the author needed to provide us with much more background and world building. There were things that are mentioned (vampires for instance) that are just dropped into the story without any explanation and to be honest felt a little out of place in this book. I almost felt like this was the second book in a series. I needed more background on Lucinda's life before moving to Ireland. I needed more background on Morgan. On his sister's disappearance. The fates. Lucinda's brother.
So apparently there are previous books that give us background history. I See the Web (The Web #1) and A Single Thread (The Web #2) by C.M. Spivey. Kind of wish I was aware of that before I started this one and even though this can be read as a standalone it would be this reviewers recommendation to read those prior books first for a fuller experience.
But like I said above even with that issue I still enjoyed this one a lot and can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series. So two thumbs up from yours truly.
hauntedbybooks's review
4.0
This book was so good! I didn't want to put it down. The pace was nice and I loved all the twists and turns! The characters are interesting and you just want to keep reading to see what happens next. Definitely a wonderfully written, suspenseful read that keeps you hooked until the last page! You need to read this one!
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