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A review by raincheckandread
Spectacle by Jodie Lynn Zdrok
2.0
Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and Avon for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.
A murder mystery set in Paris in 1887 is dashed with a bit of a magical, scientific world. If you enjoy slow-paced, character study murder mysteries, this is for you!
Spectacle's synopsis is an intriguing concept. Paired with the setting in Paris, I was eager to enter this story. I was hoping it would remind me of [b:Stalking Jack the Ripper|40727470|Stalking Jack the Ripper (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #1)|Kerri Maniscalco|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1530823449l/40727470._SY75_.jpg|47434536] or [b:Jackaby|20312462|Jackaby (Jackaby, #1)|William Ritter|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1410170969l/20312462._SX50_.jpg|28147221], but alas - it did not. While Stalking Jack the Ripper had a budding romance that kept readers attention, Spectacle did not, which was a bit disappointing for me.
Though, it did include one of my favorite aspects of Jackaby, in that the author includes a paranormal-esque tie in to the story for our main character. The paranormal aspect did not overshadow the story, but instead was in balance with the rest. I do feel like the author could have dipped a bit more into the lore and background on this, perhaps creating an 'underworld', but it did not.
One of the downfalls of the story, for me, is that it was very slow. It definitely is a character study, in that you are within Nathalie's thoughts - a lot. I don't mind some thought-speak, but the plot seemed to suffer for it, without much action happening. For me, there was not enough investigating. Instead, it just seemed like Nathalie was on the outside of the mystery just viewing things if they passed by.
I did listen to the audio book for this, which I enjoyed! The narrator was wonderful at French accents, bringing life to Nathalie as a character. I would suggest that if you do not prefer slow-paced books, the audio book would be the way to go. It's an easy listen for if you have to do something like laundry at the same time.
Overall, this book was a 2.5 for me. I didn't hate it, but it was so slow it was hard to enjoy it.
A murder mystery set in Paris in 1887 is dashed with a bit of a magical, scientific world. If you enjoy slow-paced, character study murder mysteries, this is for you!
Spectacle's synopsis is an intriguing concept. Paired with the setting in Paris, I was eager to enter this story. I was hoping it would remind me of [b:Stalking Jack the Ripper|40727470|Stalking Jack the Ripper (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #1)|Kerri Maniscalco|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1530823449l/40727470._SY75_.jpg|47434536] or [b:Jackaby|20312462|Jackaby (Jackaby, #1)|William Ritter|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1410170969l/20312462._SX50_.jpg|28147221], but alas - it did not. While Stalking Jack the Ripper had a budding romance that kept readers attention, Spectacle did not, which was a bit disappointing for me.
Though, it did include one of my favorite aspects of Jackaby, in that the author includes a paranormal-esque tie in to the story for our main character. The paranormal aspect did not overshadow the story, but instead was in balance with the rest. I do feel like the author could have dipped a bit more into the lore and background on this, perhaps creating an 'underworld', but it did not.
One of the downfalls of the story, for me, is that it was very slow. It definitely is a character study, in that you are within Nathalie's thoughts - a lot. I don't mind some thought-speak, but the plot seemed to suffer for it, without much action happening. For me, there was not enough investigating. Instead, it just seemed like Nathalie was on the outside of the mystery just viewing things if they passed by.
I did listen to the audio book for this, which I enjoyed! The narrator was wonderful at French accents, bringing life to Nathalie as a character. I would suggest that if you do not prefer slow-paced books, the audio book would be the way to go. It's an easy listen for if you have to do something like laundry at the same time.
Overall, this book was a 2.5 for me. I didn't hate it, but it was so slow it was hard to enjoy it.