A review by laurenjpegler
Things in Jars by Jess Kidd
3.0
*3.5 stars
I was intrigued, but it didn't live up to my expectations.
I don't know - I knew it was about the so called "curiosities" of people but I thought it would focus on disfigurements or disabilities (as those would have be curiosities to the Victorians). I didn't expect the fantastical element to the story, where the curiosities is something not entirely possible. I thought it would be a fun exploration of the growing understanding of Victorian science, which, in some ways, it was, as it shone light on certain movement in science, but the impossible element to it made it seem a little...off.
It just didn't have the right feel to it.
I did like the writing style and the characters, though. Super readable, fast paced and riveting. I was never disinterested in the story - I actually wanted to carry on reading it. The characters were also phenomenal - criminals and detectives, bad guys and good, a whole bunch of people that just complimented each other. I did like it, but just thought the plot would have been a little more, how do we say, real? life-like? believable?.
I was intrigued, but it didn't live up to my expectations.
I don't know - I knew it was about the so called "curiosities" of people but I thought it would focus on disfigurements or disabilities (as those would have be curiosities to the Victorians). I didn't expect the fantastical element to the story, where the curiosities is something not entirely possible. I thought it would be a fun exploration of the growing understanding of Victorian science, which, in some ways, it was, as it shone light on certain movement in science, but the impossible element to it made it seem a little...off.
It just didn't have the right feel to it.
I did like the writing style and the characters, though. Super readable, fast paced and riveting. I was never disinterested in the story - I actually wanted to carry on reading it. The characters were also phenomenal - criminals and detectives, bad guys and good, a whole bunch of people that just complimented each other. I did like it, but just thought the plot would have been a little more, how do we say, real? life-like? believable?.