cassies_books_reviews's review against another edition
5.0
Ava Collette a cookbook author needing to getaway from some past memories, decides to rent a home in a coastal town in Maine. She tells everyone she needs space and quiet to begin writing a new book about New England cuisine. The old home she’s rented is called Brodie’s Watch named after it’s original owner Brodie a sea captain who died at sea over a hundred years ago. Soon after she arrives she learns the previous tenant another woman left abruptly even before her lease was up. One evening Ava begins to hear noises during the night soon she comes face to face with a ghost who looks just like Captain Brodie and she can feel him when he touches her face. She decides to dig into the homes history and soon discovers that the previous home owners have all died there and they were woman. As her feelings grow for the ghost of Captain Brodie and there were some steamy scenes, she begins to wonder if she stays there any longer she may be in danger herself! I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I found myself completely engrossed and it was hard to put down! This book will have you lost in the small town and the secrets they keep along with ghost and some steamy scenes mix in some mystery it’s the perfect combination! Five stars!
gneumann's review against another edition
3.0
2.5-3 stars
I have mixed feelings about this book. As a young, naive writer, I am reading as many books as possible to learn what good, and bad, writing looks like. And this book absolutely taught me a lot.
The story, without the interactions with Captain Brodie, was fun and drew me in. I really loved the prose, the imagery and narration, the storytelling. The mystery was fun - what's haunting Brodie's Watch? What's the history behind the mysterious disappearances of previous tenants? What secrets are the town hiding? I breezed through this book, not wanting to put it down.
Not wanting to put it down unless it was a scene with Captain Brodie himself.
The main thing that lowers the rating for me is the interactions with Brodie. They feel forced, stilted, awkward. I was not expecting the BDSM aspects in this book and they did not work for me, and I found myself cringing and skimming every scene that Brodie appeared.
That being said, this was a fun mystery and ghost story, and I do want to repeat how beautiful the imagery was. I loved the descriptions of the food, the sea, the house, the city. It was definitely a fun read, with the exception of the visits from Captain Brodie.
I have mixed feelings about this book. As a young, naive writer, I am reading as many books as possible to learn what good, and bad, writing looks like. And this book absolutely taught me a lot.
The story, without the interactions with Captain Brodie, was fun and drew me in. I really loved the prose, the imagery and narration, the storytelling. The mystery was fun - what's haunting Brodie's Watch? What's the history behind the mysterious disappearances of previous tenants? What secrets are the town hiding? I breezed through this book, not wanting to put it down.
Not wanting to put it down unless it was a scene with Captain Brodie himself.
The main thing that lowers the rating for me is the interactions with Brodie. They feel forced, stilted, awkward. I was not expecting the BDSM aspects in this book and they did not work for me, and I found myself cringing and skimming every scene that Brodie appeared.
That being said, this was a fun mystery and ghost story, and I do want to repeat how beautiful the imagery was. I loved the descriptions of the food, the sea, the house, the city. It was definitely a fun read, with the exception of the visits from Captain Brodie.
gneumnn's review against another edition
3.0
2.5-3 stars
I have mixed feelings about this book. As a young, naive writer, I am reading as many books as possible to learn what good, and bad, writing looks like. And this book absolutely taught me a lot.
The story, without the interactions with Captain Brodie, was fun and drew me in. I really loved the prose, the imagery and narration, the storytelling. The mystery was fun - what's haunting Brodie's Watch? What's the history behind the mysterious disappearances of previous tenants? What secrets are the town hiding? I breezed through this book, not wanting to put it down.
Not wanting to put it down unless it was a scene with Captain Brodie himself.
The main thing that lowers the rating for me is the interactions with Brodie. They feel forced, stilted, awkward. I was not expecting the BDSM aspects in this book and they did not work for me, and I found myself cringing and skimming every scene that Brodie appeared.
That being said, this was a fun mystery and ghost story, and I do want to repeat how beautiful the imagery was. I loved the descriptions of the food, the sea, the house, the city. It was definitely a fun read, with the exception of the visits from Captain Brodie.
I have mixed feelings about this book. As a young, naive writer, I am reading as many books as possible to learn what good, and bad, writing looks like. And this book absolutely taught me a lot.
The story, without the interactions with Captain Brodie, was fun and drew me in. I really loved the prose, the imagery and narration, the storytelling. The mystery was fun - what's haunting Brodie's Watch? What's the history behind the mysterious disappearances of previous tenants? What secrets are the town hiding? I breezed through this book, not wanting to put it down.
Not wanting to put it down unless it was a scene with Captain Brodie himself.
The main thing that lowers the rating for me is the interactions with Brodie. They feel forced, stilted, awkward. I was not expecting the BDSM aspects in this book and they did not work for me, and I found myself cringing and skimming every scene that Brodie appeared.
That being said, this was a fun mystery and ghost story, and I do want to repeat how beautiful the imagery was. I loved the descriptions of the food, the sea, the house, the city. It was definitely a fun read, with the exception of the visits from Captain Brodie.
helenlouise0304's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
limonik's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars! I could not put this book down and read it in less than 24 hours. Brodie’s Watch reminded me of du Maurier’s The Frenchman’s Creek because of the theme of the mysterious captain. The story follows Ava as she deserts her past in Boston and comes to Brodie’s Watch to finish her cooking book. She is visited by the ghost of Captain Brodie, the first owner of the house and faces the consequences of her past actions. A Very atmospheric, gothic story about ghosts, metaphysics and murders...
madjuliet's review against another edition
2.0
I love this author’s Rizzoli and Isles series but I was disappointed in this book. There wasn’t much plot and overall it was unoriginal.
wildflowerz76's review against another edition
1.0
I received a digital ARC of this title from Edelweiss for an honest review.
Ava is a food writer who drinks entirely too much so she can forget about what happened on New Year's Eve. She rents a big, old house in Maine so she can focus on her writing and get away from all the things that are making her remember. The only problem is that the house she's rented is haunted.
The Shape of Night is quite a different book from Gerritsen's Rizzoli & Isles books. It's much more of a gothic ghost story...with a bit of Fifty Shades thrown in.
This one started out okay, but when we get to BDSM with a ghost, I lost interest. Not to mention that reading about an alcoholic drinking all the time is super uninteresting. I loved Gerritsen's mystery series (which I only came to fairly recently), but this one was just awful.
Ava is a food writer who drinks entirely too much so she can forget about what happened on New Year's Eve. She rents a big, old house in Maine so she can focus on her writing and get away from all the things that are making her remember. The only problem is that the house she's rented is haunted.
The Shape of Night is quite a different book from Gerritsen's Rizzoli & Isles books. It's much more of a gothic ghost story...with a bit of Fifty Shades thrown in.
This one started out okay, but when we get to BDSM with a ghost, I lost interest. Not to mention that reading about an alcoholic drinking all the time is super uninteresting. I loved Gerritsen's mystery series (which I only came to fairly recently), but this one was just awful.
i_hype_romance's review against another edition
4.0
I was provided with an ARC of this title by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This one will make you check under the bed, scurry for the covers and yank them over your head!
Ava rents the remote old house because she is running from guilt, memories and bad choices. She needs peace and quiet to focus on writing her new book, and a seaside escape sounds perfect.
But the house is already occupied by the enigmatic presence of a long dead sea captain. She is pulled into a world of erotic dreams, and overwhelming grief. The edges between reality and her imagination begin to blur, and her search for the truth is precariously dangerous.
This one will make you check under the bed, scurry for the covers and yank them over your head!
Ava rents the remote old house because she is running from guilt, memories and bad choices. She needs peace and quiet to focus on writing her new book, and a seaside escape sounds perfect.
But the house is already occupied by the enigmatic presence of a long dead sea captain. She is pulled into a world of erotic dreams, and overwhelming grief. The edges between reality and her imagination begin to blur, and her search for the truth is precariously dangerous.
asroka's review against another edition
5.0
I thought this book was a thriller initially and then I saw some of the tags including paranormal romance. I like mysteries, but don't really tend to read romances so I didn't know what to expect. I thought the "romance" was definitely odd, but like how it all came together at the end and it was less creepy and weird at that point.
I really liked the setting and scene of the book and it was just what I'd been looking for thematically (beach house on the Atlantic). I am NOT a foodie, but was admittedly disappointed that there weren't recipes included at the end of the book that were used throughout it! I really liked Ned.
Last note: I'm of course not happy with Ava's choices regarding her sister by the end of the novel. I kind of would have liked to see what further turmoil would have resulted. Also since initially I thought it was a thriller, it really makes me wonder what this would look like if re-imagined.
I do wonder what the autopsy results for Ben would have shown. I also wonder if Ava ever heard from Maeve again after the final incident with her in the house.
I really liked the setting and scene of the book and it was just what I'd been looking for thematically (beach house on the Atlantic). I am NOT a foodie, but was admittedly disappointed that there weren't recipes included at the end of the book that were used throughout it! I really liked Ned.
Last note: I'm of course not happy with Ava's choices regarding her sister by the end of the novel. I kind of would have liked to see what further turmoil would have resulted. Also since initially I thought it was a thriller, it really makes me wonder what this would look like if re-imagined.
I do wonder what the autopsy results for Ben would have shown. I also wonder if Ava ever heard from Maeve again after the final incident with her in the house.
ela_35's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
This book wasn’t for me.
I found the whole mystery annoying. It all could have been solved quicker if Ava had asked the captain more questions. The mystery was so annoying because it felt like the author was making Ava do everything that they possibly could without getting closer to the answer.