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A review by blurrypetals
Of Wicked Blood by Olivia Wildenstein, Katie Hayoz
3.0
A copy of the audiobook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This wasn't bad! I think it's actually cut out from a similar cloth as Jackaby and Stalking Jack the Ripper but without the mystery or the fact that it's set in Victorian England. I don't know why, but I kept being drawn to the sort of feeling I had while I was reading those books, despite this book's modern setting.
It also reminded me of another book I read fairly recently, All the Stars and Teeth, in that despite enjoying the general setting, plot, and characters, I still felt like there was something missing by the end and that I'm not sure if I would read the second book.
This also seemed to drag on a bit, having a few pacing issues and a pretty severe lack of urgency, despite the fact that Slate was due to die at a set time.
I also had a really hard time with some of the narration choices, particularly with the inconsistent and decidedly Not French way they pronounced some things, particularly in Slate's narrator's case, since he had a tendency to swear in French or use French swears and his narrator is the most Not French person. The two narrators also couldn't seem to agree on how to pronounce the word quatrefoil, neither of them being the actual French pronunciation of it, with Slate's narrator pronouncing it, "kwa-truh-foil" and Cadence's narrator pronouncing it, "kat-er-foil," so that was a little annoying.
That all said, this was a fun enough experience and I'm glad I got the chance to review it! Even if I'm not sure if I would enjoy reading the second book, I still may end up checking it out sometime, especially since this one was complements of the publisher, I wouldn't mind chucking a little money toward the second one!
This wasn't bad! I think it's actually cut out from a similar cloth as Jackaby and Stalking Jack the Ripper but without the mystery or the fact that it's set in Victorian England. I don't know why, but I kept being drawn to the sort of feeling I had while I was reading those books, despite this book's modern setting.
It also reminded me of another book I read fairly recently, All the Stars and Teeth, in that despite enjoying the general setting, plot, and characters, I still felt like there was something missing by the end and that I'm not sure if I would read the second book.
This also seemed to drag on a bit, having a few pacing issues and a pretty severe lack of urgency, despite the fact that Slate was due to die at a set time.
I also had a really hard time with some of the narration choices, particularly with the inconsistent and decidedly Not French way they pronounced some things, particularly in Slate's narrator's case, since he had a tendency to swear in French or use French swears and his narrator is the most Not French person. The two narrators also couldn't seem to agree on how to pronounce the word quatrefoil, neither of them being the actual French pronunciation of it, with Slate's narrator pronouncing it, "kwa-truh-foil" and Cadence's narrator pronouncing it, "kat-er-foil," so that was a little annoying.
That all said, this was a fun enough experience and I'm glad I got the chance to review it! Even if I'm not sure if I would enjoy reading the second book, I still may end up checking it out sometime, especially since this one was complements of the publisher, I wouldn't mind chucking a little money toward the second one!