blewballoon's Reviews (763)

A very fun vampire book, perfect for a light Halloween season read. Perfectly suitable for middle grade readers and up. Nothing graphic or scary, but still engaging even for an adult reader. 

I thought the premise of the book was really interesting. I have experience working with the elderly and I knew it would be easy for me to sympathize with the main character and her patient in that regard. I also grew up hearing a lot about Lizzie Borden, so the idea of a Lizzie Borden sort of character in Lenora caught my attention for sure. Overall I did enjoy the book, but I had some issues with it. Very Mild Spoilers:

I found the main character Kit to be incredibly impulsive. She made some really irresponsible and poorly thought out choices. Despite dealing with consequences from these impulsive decisions, she never learns to stop making them, which was frustrating. I also got a bit of twist fatigue at the end, where it was just twist after twist after twist coupled with big exposition dumps and I was tired of trying to retro-fit the new twists with the information we had before. It was neat to remember some lines or events that took on a new meaning after a twist, which I appreciated. I think if the twists had been a little more spread out it would have been more engaging throughout the book instead of it all being a whammy at the very end. Also, despite there not being any detailed sex scenes on the page, there are a lot of mentions of sex, casual sex, and infidelity. I didn't expect that going into the book, and I think some of it was unnecessary.

If you like slasher movies, you will probably like this. It felt like the author had fun capturing the atmosphere and violent action of the genre. There were a couple things that caught me by surprise, some twists I saw coming, and some things that I'm still a little unsure how to explain. I really liked the main character Charity and her friends (although I do think the book overused the title "final girl" a bit).

I am not clicking with this book. I know I haven't gotten far, but I mostly feel apprehension for what's to come and also a bit of fatigue with the writing style. It is reminding me of Spear, which I struggled with somewhat. This is a bit different since the prose is more floral and in first person perspective, but maybe I'm just not in the mood for myth retellings in general. May revisit later.

I had low expectations for this book, and then I found myself getting super into it. I listened to it on audiobook (good narrator) and I found myself wanting to get back to it and thinking about it when I wasn't listening. Sometimes with audiobooks my mind drifts and I miss things, but I was laser focused and trying to piece all the information together and make deductions and predictions. I was happy I figured some stuff out, but there were also a couple twists that I enjoyed. There was a twist towards the end that kind of ruined the story a bit for me

I understand the dramatic irony of having the main character fooled into thinking there is a ghost when she has been peddling false ones herself, but I always prefer my stories to have actual supernatural stuff rather than just "maybe supernatural, oh just kidding."

,

I also was really sad at what happened to Audra's character. I wish she hadn't just flipped a switch and gone so violent so suddenly. It was a bit foreshadowed with her family history, but it felt too out of character with the rest of her story.

, but the following events and epilogue helped make up for it, so I wasn't too disappointed and still came away with an overall positive experience. Great spooky seaside estate vibes, lots of twists and mysteries, very suspenseful. Nothing super graphic happens on the page. The main character was fairly clever and observant

although I feel like she dropped the ball/picked up the idiot ball a few times

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The romance was actually decent, I liked them together.

This was a very creative blend of folk tales, the modern world, an exploration of generational trauma, and a story of family and magic. In some ways it reminded me of The City We Became, but with more subtlety with its messaging (despite still not being very subtle). The characters were flawed and interesting, they felt like people with layers, and it left me wanting to know more. This book is more grim than I originally anticipated, but it felt earned, and there was always an element of hope. Not sure how I feel about

Bellatine's romance with a gravestone statue she brought to life by accident.

I listened to this on audiobook and the narration was very good, I was impressed by how distinct some of the voices were. I do not think I would have liked the book as much without the audio, I think I would have gotten more frustrated with the characters and found them more flat.

This is exactly what I want from a haunted house story. A good main character to root for, a cat

that doesn't die

, slow build of creepiness,

a friendly ghost

, and a

happy-ish ending

. Highly recommend if you don't like super disturbing and depressing horror stories, but still want something pretty creepy while not too gross. I did find some bits a little goofy, even funny, but that only enhanced the experience for me. 

Just as much fun as The Ex Hex! It was great to see how the town and characters have adjusted since the last book, and to meet some new characters. I do think there was a little bit less of spooky magic stuff happening live on the page, but that space was filled with a bit more character/relationship development. I'm really eager for the next book now, this series has been a great time so far.

I love the unconventional protagonists that T Kingfisher writes. I loved Toadling. I loved the knight. I know twists on classic fairy tales are not new, but this felt like a really fresh and unique story.