Reviews tagging 'Blood'

A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn

9 reviews

chelsealauren17's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted 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

4.5

I originally tried the audiobook but for some reason I just kept tuning it out and getting lost (not typical for me) so I switched to the physical copy. Re-reading the first half of the book was a bit of a struggle because I did sort of know what happened so some of the longer descriptions made it a little daunting but I felt it was necessary since I really didn't have a full picture of what was happening but oh my, when I got to the second half it was a page-turner!

My favorite bits were always Veronica intentionally antagonizing Stoker because her quips were so smart and quick.

I did get a little tripped up around the who's who of some of the non-present characters simply because of names being passed down through families so just keep that in mind when reading. I really just wished I could ctrl + f the book during the major reveal because I was a touch confused for a moment.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol

Moderate: Kidnapping and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Ableism, Blood, and Grief

_loftwing_'s review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing 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

3.75

Not perfect, but a really solid book that I would recommend to people who like a certain type of female MC (think Emily Wilde, Half a Soul, or Swordheart).

I read the whole thing in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the writing style and the fun banter between the two main characters. The plot was interesting - I liked how there was an air of mystery over the whole affair that kept me guessing all the way up to the reveal, and the way it was handled felt very in-character for our MC, which I appreciated.

Some sentences could have used a touch more editing, especially at the start - not for spelling or grammar, just for a couple instances of punctuation - although I’ll admit maybe that’s just a personal style/flow preference of mine.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Blood, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Sexism, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury

_marycappiello3's review against another edition

adventurous funny medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

gemin1reader's review against another edition

adventurous

3.75

I really enjoyed this. An adventurous Victorian mystery with the faintest hint of romance featuring a very charming FMC. 

Ever so slightly ridiculous plot but a lot of fun to read!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

97reads's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

eleek0609's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

nebraskanwriter's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

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

2.0

I found the pages and pages of witty dialogue, though enjoyable at first, they became incredibly tedious. I found myself skimming the majority of the end until the twist/revelation around the 70% mark. From there, the story gets interesting! But all the meandering side plots before then really weighed the story down, in my opinion

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Sexism, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

genny's review against another edition

adventurous 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? No

3.75

This book is tagged as mystery/historical fiction which had me expecting a classic, slow-paced "whodunnit", but this was much more of an Adventure with a capital A. It feels like a classic quest story. Angèle Masters as the audiobook narrator is a perfect fit. It's just a good (ludicrous, often unrealistic) time!

The highlight, of course, is the budding relationship between Veronica and Stoker. I love them! I like that they have actual jobs separate from their "investigators" shtick. They go through so many classic tropes

- forced proximity, there's only one bed, hurt and comfort, fake marriage, "pretend we're kissing so the police don't look too closely"

...and yet I can't get enough of them! They have real chemistry so the tropey-ness doesn't feel corny. I like that Veronica admits to herself that she finds Stoker attractive, but it's still a very slow burn. I look forward to seeing their friendship (and eventual romance, I expect) develop throughout the series.

The "big reveal" made me raise an eyebrow because it was outlandish and cliché, and was resolved too neatly for all the political implications that they talked about. I'm hoping that consequences will pop up in the next book/s because I wasn't satisfied with that. I was into the characters way more than I was into the plot. A Perilous Undertaking better deliver on the actual mystery! Give me some good ol' sleuthing, come on!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, and Alcohol