A review by steitz10
Before the Devil Breaks You, by Libba Bray
5.0
4.5 rounded up to 5 stars! This book has left me with so many thoughts that I don't even know where to begin! Also don't know how I'm going to be able to wait for the next book because there's so much left for us to find out.
Like the other books in this series, this book hit the nail on the head when it came to how realistic/authentic feeling the 1920's setting was. Politics, asylums, the eugenics movement, etc all helped add details that really put this story in its place. I found that this book answered a lot of questions I was left with after the first two. We now know the back story behind Theta, Miss Addie, and Mr Johnson, which I've been waiting for. Additionally, I saw a lot of growth in many of the characters... most notably Mabel, Theta, Jericho, Sam, and even Evie. I found myself liking each of those characters more and more as the story progressed. As I neared the end of the book, I found that I was limiting myself to one chapter at a time because I didn't want it to end! Bray does such a good job incorporating mystery, suspense, comedy, romance, and sadness into one cohesive story that will leave you with so many thoughts and emotions!
I felt that this book was kind of slow in momentum until the last quarter or so of the book. From there however, it really took off and SO MUCH HAPPENED! On the downside though, I feel like some of those sections in the end came off as a little rushed, such as what happened with Sam for example. I feel like we were really left hanging with some parts!
Overall, this book/series is fantastic, and I can't wait for the next installment!
Like the other books in this series, this book hit the nail on the head when it came to how realistic/authentic feeling the 1920's setting was. Politics, asylums, the eugenics movement, etc all helped add details that really put this story in its place. I found that this book answered a lot of questions I was left with after the first two. We now know the back story behind Theta, Miss Addie, and Mr Johnson, which I've been waiting for. Additionally, I saw a lot of growth in many of the characters... most notably Mabel, Theta, Jericho, Sam, and even Evie. I found myself liking each of those characters more and more as the story progressed. As I neared the end of the book, I found that I was limiting myself to one chapter at a time because I didn't want it to end! Bray does such a good job incorporating mystery, suspense, comedy, romance, and sadness into one cohesive story that will leave you with so many thoughts and emotions!
I felt that this book was kind of slow in momentum until the last quarter or so of the book. From there however, it really took off and SO MUCH HAPPENED! On the downside though, I feel like some of those sections in the end came off as a little rushed, such as what happened with Sam for example. I feel like we were really left hanging with some parts!
Overall, this book/series is fantastic, and I can't wait for the next installment!