womanon's review against another edition
1.0
I really didn't enjoy this book. The first chapter was promising, but I couldn't get into it after that. I have no clue what happened for 350 pages long.
bee_on_a3's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
darquedreamer's review
I picked this one up since I didn't realize it was a prequel to On The Nature of Magic, which I had bought already. I thought I would love it, but I just can't finish it, and honestly don't even think I'll try the next one.
The story is boring and has way too much going on. It doesn't feel "Gothic" at all, and there are events, and whole chapters (involving Eliza) that don't make sense or seem to be relevant to the plot at all. I had to force myself to read the amount I did, thinking that maybe it would get better and be worth it so I could read book 2, but it's so bad that I may just sell book 2 back.
The story is boring and has way too much going on. It doesn't feel "Gothic" at all, and there are events, and whole chapters (involving Eliza) that don't make sense or seem to be relevant to the plot at all. I had to force myself to read the amount I did, thinking that maybe it would get better and be worth it so I could read book 2, but it's so bad that I may just sell book 2 back.
blinkmq's review against another edition
It moves slowly and the mystery it presents is convoluted and not all that interesting to me. The characters might be interesting if the book could decide which ones should actually be the focus, and then give them depth and attention to flesh them out. Bland, boring, and has very little to hold your attention.
katebarrett's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
zosiablue's review against another edition
4.0
I don’t know how to rate this! It has a purposely dreamy Alice in Wonderland feel that isn’t always successful - sometimes I was unpleasantly confused (I don’t mind being lost in a plot if it’s sufficiently abstract). There are Victorian lady detectives, seances, fantasy worlds, eco terrorism?, and more. And in the end, despite some muddled storytelling and character building, I liked it! It was weird. It was fantastical. And I need to read it again. It felt like a book I would’ve understood better as a kid (which is actually a plot point!). And because I recognize that, 4 stars.
totallytales's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe it was just me but I found it a bit messy? Don't get me wrong I loved the gothic elements and the gorgeous descriptions of the Victorian era but I felt there was something missing...
The cast of characters are unique and interesting, the descriptions of the era are beautiful. But I felt the structure was slightly miss-matched there was some fab idea but the implementation fell short for me. I was so gutted because the concept had so much potential.
Thanks to Titan Books for a copy in exchange for an open & honest review.⠀
⠀
⭐⭐⭐
The cast of characters are unique and interesting, the descriptions of the era are beautiful. But I felt the structure was slightly miss-matched there was some fab idea but the implementation fell short for me. I was so gutted because the concept had so much potential.
Thanks to Titan Books for a copy in exchange for an open & honest review.⠀
⠀
⭐⭐⭐
phyrre's review against another edition
3.0
You can read my full review on my blog, The Writerly Way, here.
Many thanks to Titan Books for a finished copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
I’m a very simple woman. I see Gothic and a hint of the supernatural and I am there. The Golden Key sounds like a perfect combination of ghosts and superstition and haunted buildings … and it was a good combination of these things, but it left some things to be desired.
The Golden Key is a haunting, atmospheric Gothic tale that artfully blends the real and the supernatural, with a mystery that grabbed me by the collar and dragged me along.
While I enjoyed the book, I think it’s going to demand a niche readership, because the writing style and the way the plot unfolds isn’t for everyone.
My Thoughts:
- This book is a prime example of great Gothic writing … which means you have to really like Gothic writing in order to enjoy this book. That’s sort of the nasty caveat here, since it’s such a particular style, and this book feels much more like a classic Gothic novel. Which can be good or bad depending on how you feel about Gothic literature. There were plenty of elements that I could see not working for some readers, but they mostly all clicked well for me. I’ve always been a fan of classical Gothic, and this elicited the same feelings, but with a writing style that was more accessible and easier to read and breeze through.
- The mystery in this book is a slow burn that starts murky and unfurls little by little. This isn’t a book that’s going to immediately grab you and force you to read. But about a quarter of the way through, the mystery really revved up, and I was hooked. There were so many twists and turns and new information added that I actually had no proper guesses as to what the resolution would be until right before it happened. I was definitely kept guessing!
- This book got dark fast and oh my gosh, I loved it so. It started with an air of death: Samuel has lost someone he cares about, and the country has lost a queen. There’s just this general haze of loss. From there, it takes some dark, twisting turns with seances, a spooky haunted manor, missing children, etc. There’s a pervasive atmosphere of dark foreboding that always had me waiting for the next monster lurking in the darkness.
- The women in this are fantastic, daring to be scientific and smart in a world that deems it unfit for their gender. In case you hadn’t noticed, phew, yes, there is a lot of misogyny in this. It doesn’t even have the decency to be subtle. It’s just blatant, in your face, and often called out (to no avail, of course, given the time period, but still). These women are unapologetically witty and good at what they do, especially Helena, who we spend the most time with. She knows exactly what her job requires, and she’s willing to do what she needs in order to solve the mystery and get results. I really enjoyed seeing all the different ways she played the game.
- You have to really pay attention when reading this, because there are brilliant little nuggets thrown in everywhere. I like digging around the narrative for little Easter eggs, and I feel very accomplished when I find them. This book is actually chock full of little treasures like that, and I appreciated how expertly it was done. Things that seemed insignificant in the beginning had new meaning by the middle of the book, as new facts came to light.
- The descriptions in this book are so vivid and lush that I felt right there along with the characters, traipsing around the countryside. The setting was one reason I was attracted to this book, and it’s really brought to life in these pages: the beauty and danger of the Fen, the eeriness of the abandoned ruins, the large expanse of space where anyone can get lost. It’s not written in purple prose, and I didn’t feel like the story was overly bogged down with descriptions to the detriment of the actual plot, but they painted a lovely picture of the Fens just the same.
Sticking Points:
- The story is told in a very meandering way, where it jumps back and forth between characters and points of view, and it takes a long time for them all to meet up and fully make sense. This was a little hit or miss for me. In part, I thought it did a really good job of ramping up the mystery. We spend the most time with Helena, who is actively working on the mystery, and I adored her, so I was fine with that. The problem was that it was, at times, hard to follow, very choppy to keep head hopping, and sometimes hard to know when in the timeline things are taking place. It also takes a while for the points of view to meet up, so in the meantime, it feels very random without enough draw.
- The writing is very dry and felt distant, so I didn’t get a very good connection with any of the characters. On Samuel’s part, I’m sure this is on purpose, as at least part of the mystery revolves around him. I was a little annoyed by this at first, but after getting a little into the story, I liked this, because I realized he was an unreliable narrator (I would’ve known if I’d, like, read the blurb? But pffft, reading things). So the distance with his character allowed him to remain more of an enigma. I did feel like I knew more about Eliza and Helena, but it was all impersonal facts about the character rather than feeling like I knew them intimately, like their thoughts and hopes and dreams. Which was a shame, because these women were fantastic, and I definitely wanted to know them on a more personal level.
- The ending is very open, and for me, that’s my least favorite sort of ending. This is for sure a me thing. I know some people like open endings, and they enjoy the what-ifs and the wondering and being able to imagine for themselves. But not me, no. I don’t mind a vague ending, but I prefer some sort of definitive structure to the ending, where I know what happened and why and to whom. That’s just my personal reading preference, but that meant that this ending felt a bit disappointing to me, because I was so invested in the mystery and didn’t feel like it was satisfactorily wrapped. No, I didn’t expect to get all the answers (because that would defeat the eerie supernatural atmosphere), but it was a little too open for me personally and without enough concrete answers.
Many thanks to Titan Books for a finished copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
I’m a very simple woman. I see Gothic and a hint of the supernatural and I am there. The Golden Key sounds like a perfect combination of ghosts and superstition and haunted buildings … and it was a good combination of these things, but it left some things to be desired.
The Golden Key is a haunting, atmospheric Gothic tale that artfully blends the real and the supernatural, with a mystery that grabbed me by the collar and dragged me along.
While I enjoyed the book, I think it’s going to demand a niche readership, because the writing style and the way the plot unfolds isn’t for everyone.
My Thoughts:
- This book is a prime example of great Gothic writing … which means you have to really like Gothic writing in order to enjoy this book. That’s sort of the nasty caveat here, since it’s such a particular style, and this book feels much more like a classic Gothic novel. Which can be good or bad depending on how you feel about Gothic literature. There were plenty of elements that I could see not working for some readers, but they mostly all clicked well for me. I’ve always been a fan of classical Gothic, and this elicited the same feelings, but with a writing style that was more accessible and easier to read and breeze through.
- The mystery in this book is a slow burn that starts murky and unfurls little by little. This isn’t a book that’s going to immediately grab you and force you to read. But about a quarter of the way through, the mystery really revved up, and I was hooked. There were so many twists and turns and new information added that I actually had no proper guesses as to what the resolution would be until right before it happened. I was definitely kept guessing!
- This book got dark fast and oh my gosh, I loved it so. It started with an air of death: Samuel has lost someone he cares about, and the country has lost a queen. There’s just this general haze of loss. From there, it takes some dark, twisting turns with seances, a spooky haunted manor, missing children, etc. There’s a pervasive atmosphere of dark foreboding that always had me waiting for the next monster lurking in the darkness.
- The women in this are fantastic, daring to be scientific and smart in a world that deems it unfit for their gender. In case you hadn’t noticed, phew, yes, there is a lot of misogyny in this. It doesn’t even have the decency to be subtle. It’s just blatant, in your face, and often called out (to no avail, of course, given the time period, but still). These women are unapologetically witty and good at what they do, especially Helena, who we spend the most time with. She knows exactly what her job requires, and she’s willing to do what she needs in order to solve the mystery and get results. I really enjoyed seeing all the different ways she played the game.
- You have to really pay attention when reading this, because there are brilliant little nuggets thrown in everywhere. I like digging around the narrative for little Easter eggs, and I feel very accomplished when I find them. This book is actually chock full of little treasures like that, and I appreciated how expertly it was done. Things that seemed insignificant in the beginning had new meaning by the middle of the book, as new facts came to light.
- The descriptions in this book are so vivid and lush that I felt right there along with the characters, traipsing around the countryside. The setting was one reason I was attracted to this book, and it’s really brought to life in these pages: the beauty and danger of the Fen, the eeriness of the abandoned ruins, the large expanse of space where anyone can get lost. It’s not written in purple prose, and I didn’t feel like the story was overly bogged down with descriptions to the detriment of the actual plot, but they painted a lovely picture of the Fens just the same.
Sticking Points:
- The story is told in a very meandering way, where it jumps back and forth between characters and points of view, and it takes a long time for them all to meet up and fully make sense. This was a little hit or miss for me. In part, I thought it did a really good job of ramping up the mystery. We spend the most time with Helena, who is actively working on the mystery, and I adored her, so I was fine with that. The problem was that it was, at times, hard to follow, very choppy to keep head hopping, and sometimes hard to know when in the timeline things are taking place. It also takes a while for the points of view to meet up, so in the meantime, it feels very random without enough draw.
- The writing is very dry and felt distant, so I didn’t get a very good connection with any of the characters. On Samuel’s part, I’m sure this is on purpose, as at least part of the mystery revolves around him. I was a little annoyed by this at first, but after getting a little into the story, I liked this, because I realized he was an unreliable narrator (I would’ve known if I’d, like, read the blurb? But pffft, reading things). So the distance with his character allowed him to remain more of an enigma. I did feel like I knew more about Eliza and Helena, but it was all impersonal facts about the character rather than feeling like I knew them intimately, like their thoughts and hopes and dreams. Which was a shame, because these women were fantastic, and I definitely wanted to know them on a more personal level.
- The ending is very open, and for me, that’s my least favorite sort of ending. This is for sure a me thing. I know some people like open endings, and they enjoy the what-ifs and the wondering and being able to imagine for themselves. But not me, no. I don’t mind a vague ending, but I prefer some sort of definitive structure to the ending, where I know what happened and why and to whom. That’s just my personal reading preference, but that meant that this ending felt a bit disappointing to me, because I was so invested in the mystery and didn’t feel like it was satisfactorily wrapped. No, I didn’t expect to get all the answers (because that would defeat the eerie supernatural atmosphere), but it was a little too open for me personally and without enough concrete answers.
califrey99's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5