erebus53's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Here I am still dawdling through this book series (now at number 4) and I still don't like the main character. Here's a plot that I find engaging and relationships that are .. dysfunctional and messy.. and a cast that is woefully blonde despite the token brown girl, and all the horror and humour is based on people being fat.
It's woeful.
I really like the problem solving stuff and the world is fun. The survival and the ghost hunting is cool. The title character is swishy.. but it's almost embarrassingly cliché. The animosity and compulsive competition between characters makes it weird because even the buddies hate kinda hate each other... and any closeness between the two main characters is more like sappy girly crush stuff and trauma bonds, rather than any sensible relationship building.
Why am I still here? I really do like the setting. It's atmospheric and I like the spooky. I like the pace and the plot beats.. I like the problem solving and the uncovering of mysteries. I like the secret bad guys and the reversal of fortunes. The dreadful, evil buddy-character is ridiculous, and in this book you get a bit of a reveal about what the ghost might have actually looked like in life. And there is collateral damage! Named characters are starting to drop.. ok not Core characters.. but important ones.
The Co. part of "Lockwood &" is beginning to snowball. In this book yet another character is affiliated with the team.. previously a bit part is now sort of integrating into more of a recurring presence. The team are supposed to hate him, but I have kind of a crush... Lucy may be eyerollingly negative, but I don't have to share her view.
Fine.. there's only one more book left.. I might as well finish the series.. not just yet, but soon.
It's woeful.
I really like the problem solving stuff and the world is fun. The survival and the ghost hunting is cool. The title character is swishy.. but it's almost embarrassingly cliché. The animosity and compulsive competition between characters makes it weird because even the buddies hate kinda hate each other... and any closeness between the two main characters is more like sappy girly crush stuff and trauma bonds, rather than any sensible relationship building.
Why am I still here? I really do like the setting. It's atmospheric and I like the spooky. I like the pace and the plot beats.. I like the problem solving and the uncovering of mysteries. I like the secret bad guys and the reversal of fortunes. The dreadful, evil buddy-character is ridiculous, and in this book you get a bit of a reveal about what the ghost might have actually looked like in life. And there is collateral damage! Named characters are starting to drop.. ok not Core characters.. but important ones.
The Co. part of "Lockwood &" is beginning to snowball. In this book yet another character is affiliated with the team.. previously a bit part is now sort of integrating into more of a recurring presence. The team are supposed to hate him, but I have kind of a crush... Lucy may be eyerollingly negative, but I don't have to share her view.
Fine.. there's only one more book left.. I might as well finish the series.. not just yet, but soon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, Death, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Blood, Bullying, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Fatphobia, Grief, Misogyny, and Sexism
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