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ellemnope 's review for:
Plain Bad Heroines
by Emily M. Danforth
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5 stars. Creepy and haunting with excellent atmospheric writing. I had a great time with this read and really enjoyed all the twisted detail that went into making it. Everything felt so real. Despite the length, the book felt like it moved quite swiftly and I can't say that any of the pages were wasted. Every scene felt like crucial pieces of the puzzle.
Finding out that Mary MacLane was an actual author and that the novel this particular book is partially centered on does really exist made me fall into a momentary Google rabbit hole. I loved the writing of the relationships and the descriptions of all the creepy happenstances. The characters were so tactile. I loved that there were so many personalities at play and so many different backstories. This did, admittedly, confuse me a couple of times in a way that caused me pause, but not in a way that distracted me too much from the story. The only character I really did like was Caroline. Yes...there were other unlikable characters in the plot, but something about Caroline (Audrey's mother) just totally rubbed me the wrong way. I felt like she ruined every scene she showed up in once casting started to take hold. Thank goodness she was a minor character. I enjoyed the rest of the conflict (of which there was plenty) and the way the relationships between the characters became so complex and knotted as the narrative progressed.
I also discovered that I am apparently quite the fan of the Gilded Age and that I loved those pieces of time in the book possibly more than the more recent sections. I truly wanted more of the World's Fair, so now I suppose I need to go find more stories about that, but I also just enjoyed the feeling of the age. It's difficult to explain, but it just felt comfortable and intriguing.
In fact, there is a LOT of mystique and legend wrapped up in this book. It's something like a dark fairy tale juxtaposed with real life. I loved that intersection. The ending wasn't my favorite of all time, leaving things slightly open, but I still enjoyed the eerie way it left things. There was still a lot left to the imagination, which I think made the mystery of Brookhants even more alluring. I need more books like this.
Finding out that Mary MacLane was an actual author and that the novel this particular book is partially centered on does really exist made me fall into a momentary Google rabbit hole. I loved the writing of the relationships and the descriptions of all the creepy happenstances. The characters were so tactile. I loved that there were so many personalities at play and so many different backstories. This did, admittedly, confuse me a couple of times in a way that caused me pause, but not in a way that distracted me too much from the story. The only character I really did like was Caroline. Yes...there were other unlikable characters in the plot, but something about Caroline (Audrey's mother) just totally rubbed me the wrong way. I felt like she ruined every scene she showed up in once casting started to take hold. Thank goodness she was a minor character. I enjoyed the rest of the conflict (of which there was plenty) and the way the relationships between the characters became so complex and knotted as the narrative progressed.
I also discovered that I am apparently quite the fan of the Gilded Age and that I loved those pieces of time in the book possibly more than the more recent sections. I truly wanted more of the World's Fair, so now I suppose I need to go find more stories about that, but I also just enjoyed the feeling of the age. It's difficult to explain, but it just felt comfortable and intriguing.
In fact, there is a LOT of mystique and legend wrapped up in this book. It's something like a dark fairy tale juxtaposed with real life. I loved that intersection. The ending wasn't my favorite of all time, leaving things slightly open, but I still enjoyed the eerie way it left things. There was still a lot left to the imagination, which I think made the mystery of Brookhants even more alluring. I need more books like this.