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bookstasamm
This was a fun read! I wanted to read it because it’s set in Salem, MA, which is one of my favorite towns. I do think this may have been a little to YA for me though. The story was cute though. I listened to it on audible and thought the narrator did a good job.
I loved this book. I loved the characters and the story. I loved that it was both a mystery and a ghost story. And I loved the two timelines and how the whole story came together at the end. Five stars for me!
One note - I listened to the audiobook which was great. However, at first, I struggle with Rebecca Lowman as the narrator. Not because she wasn’t good, but because I loved her narrating Fangirl and kept thinking of Cather and Levi at first. I got over that though and would recommend the audio version.
One note - I listened to the audiobook which was great. However, at first, I struggle with Rebecca Lowman as the narrator. Not because she wasn’t good, but because I loved her narrating Fangirl and kept thinking of Cather and Levi at first. I got over that though and would recommend the audio version.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review. I read The Furies after the book had been released so some of my concerns might have been fixed in the published copy.
The Furies tells the story of four young women, the fates they hold, and the furies they possess. The book starts with a girl found dead, posed on a swing at Elm Hollow Academy. Flashback to a year earlier, Violet is a new student at the prep school. She befriends three girls – Alex, Grace, and Robin. She finds herself in an advanced course with these girls where the teacher, Annabel, teaches them the school's long-buried history of the school founder's "academic" interest in the occult and witchcraft. Although Annabel tries to teach them that these are just stories, the girls decide to delve into some spells to gain things for themselves.
When I read the description of this book, I immediately thought it was going to be like the movie “The Craft” which I loved, but unfortunately it was nothing like it. Yes, there are four girls experimenting with witchcraft, but that’s about the only comparison. I felt that The Furies was a slow burn throughout the entire book. It moved at such a slow pace, and I wanted more to happen with the spells the girls were doing. There was very little action in a book about using witchcraft to get revenge for being wronged.
I also felt that the book was very disjointed at times. This may have been fixed prior to the book being published, but it was really choppy in places. The girls would be walking in town then all of a sudden at one of their houses with no description of them getting there. It made it confusing to keep up with what was going on at times.
Unfortunately, this just wasn’t a book for me.
The Furies tells the story of four young women, the fates they hold, and the furies they possess. The book starts with a girl found dead, posed on a swing at Elm Hollow Academy. Flashback to a year earlier, Violet is a new student at the prep school. She befriends three girls – Alex, Grace, and Robin. She finds herself in an advanced course with these girls where the teacher, Annabel, teaches them the school's long-buried history of the school founder's "academic" interest in the occult and witchcraft. Although Annabel tries to teach them that these are just stories, the girls decide to delve into some spells to gain things for themselves.
When I read the description of this book, I immediately thought it was going to be like the movie “The Craft” which I loved, but unfortunately it was nothing like it. Yes, there are four girls experimenting with witchcraft, but that’s about the only comparison. I felt that The Furies was a slow burn throughout the entire book. It moved at such a slow pace, and I wanted more to happen with the spells the girls were doing. There was very little action in a book about using witchcraft to get revenge for being wronged.
I also felt that the book was very disjointed at times. This may have been fixed prior to the book being published, but it was really choppy in places. The girls would be walking in town then all of a sudden at one of their houses with no description of them getting there. It made it confusing to keep up with what was going on at times.
Unfortunately, this just wasn’t a book for me.
I keep reading reviews where people loved this book and said how it made them cry. I didn't really get those feelings from this. I think that's mostly because the characters weren't really likable. I didn't hate this though. It's a good read, and I guess if you relate to the characters more it could be the heart-wrenching story I keep hearing about.
I listened to the audio book which I thought was really good. Ruth Ware uses the same narrator, Imogen Church, and I thought she was excellent in this book. I thought this story was fantastic and very creepy, however, I felt like the ending left me wanting more. I don't want to post spoilers so that's all I'm going to say, but I just couldn't give 5 stars because of that.
3.5 stars rounded up.
Alice Henderson receives a chilling phone call on a Wednesday morning at her journalist job. “I am going to use cheese wire on you.” The caller is anonymous and using a voice changing app on his phone. Alice hangs up thinking it’s a hoax, but when something happens the next Wednesday, Alice begins to think this is more than just a prank. She thinks she has a stalker. When things start escalating each Wednesday and Alice’s mother becomes a target as well, Alice’s boyfriend, Tom, hires private investigator, Matthew Hill, to assist with the case. What does the stalker have against Alice? Is it something from one of the articles she’s written or something from her past?
I Will Make You Pay by Teresa Driscoll alternates between the present time and the past. In the past, we are told the story of a young boy who lives with his grandmother. He loves his grandmother very much, but one night a week she has to leave him alone so she can go to her job. Things happen to this boy when his grandmother is at work, bad things. These chapters kept me engrossed. I really wanted to know what happened to the boy.
This book threw out a lot of red herrings and had a lot of twists along the way. I kept thinking I knew who the stalker was and then something would make me completely change my mind. Towards the end, something happened that made me think it was someone, and that turned out to be right, but I was still intrigued to see how the story would end.
I thought the book was very well written and kept me wanting to read more. The characters were relatable and Driscoll created a suspense throughout. There was a storyline that was thrown in towards the end about a charity that I do not think was necessary for the book which is why I rated this book 3.5 stars.
Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Alice Henderson receives a chilling phone call on a Wednesday morning at her journalist job. “I am going to use cheese wire on you.” The caller is anonymous and using a voice changing app on his phone. Alice hangs up thinking it’s a hoax, but when something happens the next Wednesday, Alice begins to think this is more than just a prank. She thinks she has a stalker. When things start escalating each Wednesday and Alice’s mother becomes a target as well, Alice’s boyfriend, Tom, hires private investigator, Matthew Hill, to assist with the case. What does the stalker have against Alice? Is it something from one of the articles she’s written or something from her past?
I Will Make You Pay by Teresa Driscoll alternates between the present time and the past. In the past, we are told the story of a young boy who lives with his grandmother. He loves his grandmother very much, but one night a week she has to leave him alone so she can go to her job. Things happen to this boy when his grandmother is at work, bad things. These chapters kept me engrossed. I really wanted to know what happened to the boy.
This book threw out a lot of red herrings and had a lot of twists along the way. I kept thinking I knew who the stalker was and then something would make me completely change my mind. Towards the end, something happened that made me think it was someone, and that turned out to be right, but I was still intrigued to see how the story would end.
I thought the book was very well written and kept me wanting to read more. The characters were relatable and Driscoll created a suspense throughout. There was a storyline that was thrown in towards the end about a charity that I do not think was necessary for the book which is why I rated this book 3.5 stars.
Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.