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olivialandryxo 's review for:
The Vampire of Maple Town
by Kane McLoughlin
2.5 stars
CW: blood, violence, murder
[E-ARC provided by Netgalley. This doesn’t affect my opinion or the content of my review.]
I thought I would like this novel. I hoped I would. But unfortunately, The Vampire of Maple Town wasn’t a good book. I can’t even justify giving it three stars.
My biggest issue was the writing. Throughout the novel, there were many instances of redundant phrasing, run-on sentences, typos, and otherwise awkward writing. I’m aware that this is an early copy and it likely went through more edits prior to publication, but if I’m being honest, it read like it needed another round of revisions.
Another formidable issue is that I didn’t like any of the characters. I wish I was kidding, but alas, I’m not. Even Charlie, the protagonist, was rather plain; I didn’t care about him. The only one I liked was Aria, an enchanted paper bird that never speaks. While I understand the author’s intentions surround Vincent, I found him to be a cold-hearted, stubborn father figure, hiding behind his grief. The side characters, Sally, Alice, and Skat — yes, there’s a character named Skat, of all things — were nothing special, as much as it pains me to say that. There were many times that I found their actions appalling, and others where I couldn’t resist rolling my eyes.
And if I’m being completely honest, I wasn’t really enthralled by the story either. Not much happened for the first half of the novel, and I was able to predict all but two or three twists in the second half. I think the author attempted to put too much into the last few chapters; something entirely new came into play 11% before the end. It would’ve been better to either make the story a bit longer or cut out that element.
Something else that lowkey irked me is that in the end, the author tried to redeem Vincent. What happened to him sucks, but that doesn’t justify his behavior throughout the novel, not to me at least. He yelled at Charlie, tried to keep him locked away in the mansion, couldn’t bring himself to comfort Charlie when he needed it most, made a deal to help Charlie without actually asking him first…oh, and let’s not forget the one time he held Charlie by the neck out a broken window. I’m not saying he was a completely bad character, as there were some decent parts to him, but I think the bad outweighed the good. And while what he did in the end was good, I don’t think it’s worth complete redemption. Maybe I’m just too hard to please nowadays.
Despite the many issues I had with it, The Vampire of Maple Town wasn’t a horrible book. I didn’t hate it. I thought of giving it two stars but increased my rating by a half star because it’s a unique idea and I liked Aria; the downfall was in the execution. And I do think other people will enjoy this novel, but it’s not for everyone. It’s not for me, either.
CW: blood, violence, murder
[E-ARC provided by Netgalley. This doesn’t affect my opinion or the content of my review.]
I thought I would like this novel. I hoped I would. But unfortunately, The Vampire of Maple Town wasn’t a good book. I can’t even justify giving it three stars.
My biggest issue was the writing. Throughout the novel, there were many instances of redundant phrasing, run-on sentences, typos, and otherwise awkward writing. I’m aware that this is an early copy and it likely went through more edits prior to publication, but if I’m being honest, it read like it needed another round of revisions.
Another formidable issue is that I didn’t like any of the characters. I wish I was kidding, but alas, I’m not. Even Charlie, the protagonist, was rather plain; I didn’t care about him. The only one I liked was Aria, an enchanted paper bird that never speaks. While I understand the author’s intentions surround Vincent, I found him to be a cold-hearted, stubborn father figure, hiding behind his grief. The side characters, Sally, Alice, and Skat — yes, there’s a character named Skat, of all things — were nothing special, as much as it pains me to say that. There were many times that I found their actions appalling, and others where I couldn’t resist rolling my eyes.
And if I’m being completely honest, I wasn’t really enthralled by the story either. Not much happened for the first half of the novel, and I was able to predict all but two or three twists in the second half. I think the author attempted to put too much into the last few chapters; something entirely new came into play 11% before the end. It would’ve been better to either make the story a bit longer or cut out that element.
Something else that lowkey irked me is that in the end, the author tried to redeem Vincent. What happened to him sucks, but that doesn’t justify his behavior throughout the novel, not to me at least. He yelled at Charlie, tried to keep him locked away in the mansion, couldn’t bring himself to comfort Charlie when he needed it most, made a deal to help Charlie without actually asking him first…oh, and let’s not forget the one time he held Charlie by the neck out a broken window. I’m not saying he was a completely bad character, as there were some decent parts to him, but I think the bad outweighed the good. And while what he did in the end was good, I don’t think it’s worth complete redemption. Maybe I’m just too hard to please nowadays.
Despite the many issues I had with it, The Vampire of Maple Town wasn’t a horrible book. I didn’t hate it. I thought of giving it two stars but increased my rating by a half star because it’s a unique idea and I liked Aria; the downfall was in the execution. And I do think other people will enjoy this novel, but it’s not for everyone. It’s not for me, either.