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inkandplasma
i've been 82% into this book since April 23rd and haven't picked it up again so I'm just gonna admit I'm not gonna finish this and move on with my life
was actually p good just did not float my boat
was actually p good just did not float my boat
Warning to my fellow queers: The book starts off with a character using the f-slur twice. It's not an ongoing theme but is pretty jarring.
Character - 7
Atmosphere - 9
Writing - 6
Plot - 7
Intrigue - 9
Logic - 5
Enjoyment - 8
Rating: 7.29 / 4 stars
Character - 7
Atmosphere - 9
Writing - 6
Plot - 7
Intrigue - 9
Logic - 5
Enjoyment - 8
Rating: 7.29 / 4 stars
Full review will be available on my blog, 17th June 2022: https://inkandplasma.com/2022/06/17/escape-room/
Character - 5
Atmosphere - 5
Writing - 5
Plot - 4
Intrigue - 6
Logic - 2
Enjoyment - 4
Rating: 4.43 / 2 stars
This... was a weird one. I read it all in one sitting today, and ended up writing a review because I needed to process my thoughts. Because what the f did I just read. This was actually sitting at a solid 3 or 4 stars the whole way through, but the ending dropped it for me significantly.
I'm a little uncertain on the expected reading age for this book. It has a very large font and the characters and writing seems to be a middle-grade book, but this was very scary for a children's book. I'm talking characters straight up dying. Hardcore. It felt more YA in those moments. I liked the writing itself, it was an easy read and I found the puzzles and mysteries very engaging. I really wanted to know what was going to happen next and I liked the character cast. I did find Oscar kind of annoying - he had a character archetype and absolutely stuck to it - but overall they were a sweet group that had varied and interesting strengths.
However. However. The ending. I... what? Ultimately it wasn't a bad book but the ending let me down quite a lot, leaving me disappointed.
Character - 5
Atmosphere - 5
Writing - 5
Plot - 4
Intrigue - 6
Logic - 2
Enjoyment - 4
Rating: 4.43 / 2 stars
This... was a weird one. I read it all in one sitting today, and ended up writing a review because I needed to process my thoughts. Because what the f did I just read. This was actually sitting at a solid 3 or 4 stars the whole way through, but the ending dropped it for me significantly.
I'm a little uncertain on the expected reading age for this book. It has a very large font and the characters and writing seems to be a middle-grade book, but this was very scary for a children's book. I'm talking characters straight up dying. Hardcore. It felt more YA in those moments. I liked the writing itself, it was an easy read and I found the puzzles and mysteries very engaging. I really wanted to know what was going to happen next and I liked the character cast. I did find Oscar kind of annoying - he had a character archetype and absolutely stuck to it - but overall they were a sweet group that had varied and interesting strengths.
However. However. The ending. I... what?
Spoiler
Our main character we've been following is an AI, and the whole escape room was aimed by her 'father' so she could fix climate change. Which, doesn't make any sense in the context of the escape room puzzles, and also it went from being scary and interesting to kind of preachy. The ending was very vague and I ended up going from scared to flat out confused by the entire concept.
Full review on my blog, 13th June 2022: https://inkandplasma.com/2022/06/13/dread-wood/
Character - 8
Atmosphere - 9
Writing - 8
Plot - 9
Intrigue - 10
Logic - 8
Enjoyment - 9
Rating: 8.71 / 4 stars
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This was an unexpectedly fun romp of a thriller. I picked it up as a quick read to break up my other reads because I had several very heavy and complicated epic fantasies on the go, and ended up reading the whole thing in one sitting. DREAD WOOD was not what I expected, but honestly? It was better, and I can’t wait to read the next book in this series and see what happens next. If this book is anything to go by, it will be surprising, spooky and so much fun.
Hallie, Angelo, Gus and Naira aren’t friends, just classmates. They know each other in that awkward way of school friends, where you’ve spent a lot of time in close proximity but don’t really know each other. And I like that a lot. It meant that I got to enjoy reading their friendships build and them learning each others strengths under… extremely creepy stress. I ended the book really loving all four of them, and I can’t wait to read more of the series to see more of their character arcs.
I looked at the cover of this book (which is gorgeous) again after I got partway through and realised that I should have noticed that there were loads of spiders all over the book. I didn’t notice this, which meant that I had a very creepy surprise when I realised that the kids were facing off against giant spiders. I absolutely hate spiders, so I was very tense – much more than a middle-grade book can usually pull out of me. It’s a sci-fi style horror with giant spiders and mad scientists, and I loved the way that it made my skin crawl. There’s plenty of humour to balance out the scares and this is the perfect book for those of us who loved goosebumps and want to relive that feeling.
I picked it up on a whim after seeing loads of reviews on the blog tour, and I’m so glad that I did. Jennifer Killick has done an amazing job at creating a very tense environment that had me racing through the book to find out what happened. There’s also a light touch as it handles child poverty, bullying and disability, and I really liked the way that our main characters acknowledged and tried to make amends for their mistakes. The ending was satisfying and I cannot wait to read more.
Character - 8
Atmosphere - 9
Writing - 8
Plot - 9
Intrigue - 10
Logic - 8
Enjoyment - 9
Rating: 8.71 / 4 stars
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This was an unexpectedly fun romp of a thriller. I picked it up as a quick read to break up my other reads because I had several very heavy and complicated epic fantasies on the go, and ended up reading the whole thing in one sitting. DREAD WOOD was not what I expected, but honestly? It was better, and I can’t wait to read the next book in this series and see what happens next. If this book is anything to go by, it will be surprising, spooky and so much fun.
Hallie, Angelo, Gus and Naira aren’t friends, just classmates. They know each other in that awkward way of school friends, where you’ve spent a lot of time in close proximity but don’t really know each other. And I like that a lot. It meant that I got to enjoy reading their friendships build and them learning each others strengths under… extremely creepy stress. I ended the book really loving all four of them, and I can’t wait to read more of the series to see more of their character arcs.
I looked at the cover of this book (which is gorgeous) again after I got partway through and realised that I should have noticed that there were loads of spiders all over the book. I didn’t notice this, which meant that I had a very creepy surprise when I realised that the kids were facing off against giant spiders. I absolutely hate spiders, so I was very tense – much more than a middle-grade book can usually pull out of me. It’s a sci-fi style horror with giant spiders and mad scientists, and I loved the way that it made my skin crawl. There’s plenty of humour to balance out the scares and this is the perfect book for those of us who loved goosebumps and want to relive that feeling.
I picked it up on a whim after seeing loads of reviews on the blog tour, and I’m so glad that I did. Jennifer Killick has done an amazing job at creating a very tense environment that had me racing through the book to find out what happened. There’s also a light touch as it handles child poverty, bullying and disability, and I really liked the way that our main characters acknowledged and tried to make amends for their mistakes. The ending was satisfying and I cannot wait to read more.
Full review on my blog, 20th June 2022: https://inkandplasma.com/2022/06/20/the-city-of-dusk/
Character - 9
Atmosphere - 8
Writing - 8
Plot - 7
Intrigue - 9
Logic - 8
Enjoyment - 9
Rating: 8.29 / 4 stars
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THE CITY OF DUSK is a dark, doorstopper fantasy. It’s long and complex, but I found myself absolutely absorbed in it from the first page and I devoured it. The writing is very accessible and easy to read, immersing me into the world without any of the convoluted language I sometimes expect from epic fantasy. I liked this much better. I really like Tara Sims’ writing style and it had me pacing through this book in every spare second that I had.
This book felt very character driven to me. The plot is interesting and I’m desperate to find out what happens in the rest of the series, but ultimately it’s the characters that are staying with me after finishing the book. We have the heirs of our four realms; Risha, Angelica, Taesia and Nik. We also have a couple of other characters; Jas, Fin and Julian; but I can’t talk about them much in a spoiler-free review (let it be known that I fucking love them, though). Each of the heirs has a distinct power, inherited from a god, and they’re competing to become their king’s heir now that the gods have left their realm behind. I really liked this whole dynamic. It reminded me a little of ALL OF US VILLAINS, another book I loved, except that in this case? The heirs had grown up together as (mostly) friends, despite their families insistence that they stay apart. It gave me huge found family vibes, and I loved the complicated relationships that the heirs had with each other, particularly the ever complex balance of trust and secrets as they try to save their realm. I really liked that they were all headstrong and individual, and we got to see them making their own choices and facing their own consequences, driven by different motives as each tried to balance their own goals, the group’s goals and their families expectations.
I loved that there was a lot of cultural diversity in this book, and we all know how much I adore queernorm fantasy worlds. Our main characters are wonderfully queer and I really enjoyed that it was just casually included – no fuss around it. I expected Taesia to be my favourite, because magical shadow powers are my jam, or Risha, NECROMANCY, but actually? Nik completely stole my heart. Nik and Fin in particular are everything to me. I really like all the burgeoning relationships in this book and I’m looking forward to seeing how they play out in the rest of the series.
There are magic, demons and gods in this story, and while I don’t want to get too deeply into the plot because I think this book is much more fun to read and let it unfold blindly, I really enjoyed the plot and can’t wait to find out more. By the last few chapters I was just screaming at my group chat as twists and turns kept repeatedly pulling the rug out from under my feet. I can’t wait to see more as the stakes build and our motley crew have to work together to save everything.
Character - 9
Atmosphere - 8
Writing - 8
Plot - 7
Intrigue - 9
Logic - 8
Enjoyment - 9
Rating: 8.29 / 4 stars
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THE CITY OF DUSK is a dark, doorstopper fantasy. It’s long and complex, but I found myself absolutely absorbed in it from the first page and I devoured it. The writing is very accessible and easy to read, immersing me into the world without any of the convoluted language I sometimes expect from epic fantasy. I liked this much better. I really like Tara Sims’ writing style and it had me pacing through this book in every spare second that I had.
This book felt very character driven to me. The plot is interesting and I’m desperate to find out what happens in the rest of the series, but ultimately it’s the characters that are staying with me after finishing the book. We have the heirs of our four realms; Risha, Angelica, Taesia and Nik. We also have a couple of other characters; Jas, Fin and Julian; but I can’t talk about them much in a spoiler-free review (let it be known that I fucking love them, though). Each of the heirs has a distinct power, inherited from a god, and they’re competing to become their king’s heir now that the gods have left their realm behind. I really liked this whole dynamic. It reminded me a little of ALL OF US VILLAINS, another book I loved, except that in this case? The heirs had grown up together as (mostly) friends, despite their families insistence that they stay apart. It gave me huge found family vibes, and I loved the complicated relationships that the heirs had with each other, particularly the ever complex balance of trust and secrets as they try to save their realm. I really liked that they were all headstrong and individual, and we got to see them making their own choices and facing their own consequences, driven by different motives as each tried to balance their own goals, the group’s goals and their families expectations.
I loved that there was a lot of cultural diversity in this book, and we all know how much I adore queernorm fantasy worlds. Our main characters are wonderfully queer and I really enjoyed that it was just casually included – no fuss around it. I expected Taesia to be my favourite, because magical shadow powers are my jam, or Risha, NECROMANCY, but actually? Nik completely stole my heart. Nik and Fin in particular are everything to me. I really like all the burgeoning relationships in this book and I’m looking forward to seeing how they play out in the rest of the series.
There are magic, demons and gods in this story, and while I don’t want to get too deeply into the plot because I think this book is much more fun to read and let it unfold blindly, I really enjoyed the plot and can’t wait to find out more. By the last few chapters I was just screaming at my group chat as twists and turns kept repeatedly pulling the rug out from under my feet. I can’t wait to see more as the stakes build and our motley crew have to work together to save everything.
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Character - 6
Atmosphere - 8
Writing - 6
Plot - 5
Intrigue - 5
Logic - 5
Enjoyment - 8
Rating: 6.14 / 3 stars
Atmosphere - 8
Writing - 6
Plot - 5
Intrigue - 5
Logic - 5
Enjoyment - 8
Rating: 6.14 / 3 stars
Full review on my blog, 8th July 2022: https://inkandplasma.com/2022/07/08/chilling-effect/
Character - 5
Atmosphere - 6
Writing - 5
Plot - 4
Intrigue - 5
Logic - 5
Enjoyment - 4
Rating: 4.86 / 3 stars
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I have mixed feelings about this book. I really, really, enjoyed the first half of the book, and then it completely lost me by the end. There were two very abrupt time jumps, and while the second one did make sense for the narrative, the first one? It felt completely random and didn’t really serve the story. It might have worked if it had driven character development, but it didn’t. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrative was fun to listen to, and the narrator did a fantastic job at matching the energetic tone of the story and fitting the silly sci-fi vibes. Silly sci-fi is one of my absolute favourite forms, but unfortunately, this book was let down a little bit by the inconsistency of this tone. The writing was very immersive, most of the time, but when it wasn’t? It really wasn’t.
I mentioned character development earlier and unfortunately, that was one of the things I found lacking in this book. If I’d loved Eva like I wanted to, I would have enjoyed this significantly more. But ultimately, I found her kind of shallow. In theory, I love the idea of a bad girl redeeming herself, and then being driven back to her past to try and save someone. But it didn’t really work here. The book kept telling me that Eva was a badass and had this terrifying reputation for doing something awful in her past. But what we actually see is Eva being fairly naive throughout the whole book and applying zero common sense to any of the situations she gets into. She also spends a lot of time talking about her crew being her family for someone who spends the whole book lying to them.
I think ultimately, I’d have liked this book a lot more if it was smaller in scale, more on par with Becky Chambers, with Eva and her crew taking on smaller-scale jobs. Instead, it felt like the book was aspiring to be a huge, sprawling space opera, but this didn’t match the fun and silly tone. On top of that, there was so much going on in this book. There were too many giant antagonists, I could barely track who I was supposed to see as the big bad.
There’s a lot of Spanish threaded throughout this book. Usually, I absolutely love this, with different languages being included casually in the narrative. Cemetery Boys did an incredible job of this, and I’m currently reading One for All, which includes French incredibly smoothly. I like it especially when the author is including their mother tongue, with characters being casually bilingual and readers getting to learn scraps of language as they read. In CHILLING EFFECT, though, it kept pulling me out of the story and breaking my immersion, because there was so much of it that I definitely felt like I was missing out on nuance to the plot and humour. There weren’t enough context clues for me to be able to get the gist of what the characters were saying so I was missing out on dialogue entirely.
Character - 5
Atmosphere - 6
Writing - 5
Plot - 4
Intrigue - 5
Logic - 5
Enjoyment - 4
Rating: 4.86 / 3 stars
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I have mixed feelings about this book. I really, really, enjoyed the first half of the book, and then it completely lost me by the end. There were two very abrupt time jumps, and while the second one did make sense for the narrative, the first one? It felt completely random and didn’t really serve the story. It might have worked if it had driven character development, but it didn’t. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrative was fun to listen to, and the narrator did a fantastic job at matching the energetic tone of the story and fitting the silly sci-fi vibes. Silly sci-fi is one of my absolute favourite forms, but unfortunately, this book was let down a little bit by the inconsistency of this tone. The writing was very immersive, most of the time, but when it wasn’t? It really wasn’t.
I mentioned character development earlier and unfortunately, that was one of the things I found lacking in this book. If I’d loved Eva like I wanted to, I would have enjoyed this significantly more. But ultimately, I found her kind of shallow. In theory, I love the idea of a bad girl redeeming herself, and then being driven back to her past to try and save someone. But it didn’t really work here. The book kept telling me that Eva was a badass and had this terrifying reputation for doing something awful in her past. But what we actually see is Eva being fairly naive throughout the whole book and applying zero common sense to any of the situations she gets into. She also spends a lot of time talking about her crew being her family for someone who spends the whole book lying to them.
I think ultimately, I’d have liked this book a lot more if it was smaller in scale, more on par with Becky Chambers, with Eva and her crew taking on smaller-scale jobs. Instead, it felt like the book was aspiring to be a huge, sprawling space opera, but this didn’t match the fun and silly tone. On top of that, there was so much going on in this book. There were too many giant antagonists, I could barely track who I was supposed to see as the big bad.
There’s a lot of Spanish threaded throughout this book. Usually, I absolutely love this, with different languages being included casually in the narrative. Cemetery Boys did an incredible job of this, and I’m currently reading One for All, which includes French incredibly smoothly. I like it especially when the author is including their mother tongue, with characters being casually bilingual and readers getting to learn scraps of language as they read. In CHILLING EFFECT, though, it kept pulling me out of the story and breaking my immersion, because there was so much of it that I definitely felt like I was missing out on nuance to the plot and humour. There weren’t enough context clues for me to be able to get the gist of what the characters were saying so I was missing out on dialogue entirely.
Full review on my blog, June 10th 2022: https://inkandplasma.com/2022/06/10/let-the-mountains-be-my-grave/
Character - 8
Atmosphere - 9
Writing - 7
Plot - 8
Intrigue - 7
Logic - 7
Enjoyment - 8
Rating: 7.71 / 4 stars
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Thanks to Neon Hemlock Press for the ARC of this book. It has not affected my honest review.
This was a quick and engaging read. The synopsis is intriguingly vague, but between the promise of queer partisan fighters killing Nazis and that cover, I knew I had to read it. Once I started, it was unputdownable and I finished the whole thing in a single, blistering sitting. I loved the inclusion of the gods and goddesses in this book. Veleno is blessed by the goddess Angitia, and her powers flow through him when he calls for her. They also come with visions of snakes that were described in such glorious and vivid colour that I could practically see them myself.
I really liked Veleno as a protagonist. He was torn between his love, who wants him to live and thrive in a post-Nazi world, and his own mind. He wants to avenge his father, and is willing to die for that end as long as he takes out as many Nazis as possible on the way. The way that Veleno described this depression, this apathy for his future, made my heart ache with the raw emotion behind his suffering. I found his love interest, Rame, a little annoying but honestly? Still loved the established romance between them and the way they were finding their feet together still.
I really want to read this as an audiobook because I think that the gorgeous prose will be fantastic in audio, it has a lyrical quality and a beat to it that thrummed through the whole novella. The balance of magic and realism in this book was fantastically done, and I loved that the god-like powers didn’t stop the regular people from striking back against fascism. I didn’t know much about the Italian partisan movement specifically, and this novella has sparked curiosity in me about both the partisan movement and the lesser-known deities that feature in this story.
Character - 8
Atmosphere - 9
Writing - 7
Plot - 8
Intrigue - 7
Logic - 7
Enjoyment - 8
Rating: 7.71 / 4 stars
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Thanks to Neon Hemlock Press for the ARC of this book. It has not affected my honest review.
This was a quick and engaging read. The synopsis is intriguingly vague, but between the promise of queer partisan fighters killing Nazis and that cover, I knew I had to read it. Once I started, it was unputdownable and I finished the whole thing in a single, blistering sitting. I loved the inclusion of the gods and goddesses in this book. Veleno is blessed by the goddess Angitia, and her powers flow through him when he calls for her. They also come with visions of snakes that were described in such glorious and vivid colour that I could practically see them myself.
I really liked Veleno as a protagonist. He was torn between his love, who wants him to live and thrive in a post-Nazi world, and his own mind. He wants to avenge his father, and is willing to die for that end as long as he takes out as many Nazis as possible on the way. The way that Veleno described this depression, this apathy for his future, made my heart ache with the raw emotion behind his suffering. I found his love interest, Rame, a little annoying but honestly? Still loved the established romance between them and the way they were finding their feet together still.
I really want to read this as an audiobook because I think that the gorgeous prose will be fantastic in audio, it has a lyrical quality and a beat to it that thrummed through the whole novella. The balance of magic and realism in this book was fantastically done, and I loved that the god-like powers didn’t stop the regular people from striking back against fascism. I didn’t know much about the Italian partisan movement specifically, and this novella has sparked curiosity in me about both the partisan movement and the lesser-known deities that feature in this story.
Full review available on my blog, 27th June 2022: https://inkandplasma.com/2022/06/27/the-discord-of-gods/
Character - 10
Atmosphere - 10
Writing - 10
Plot - 10
Intrigue - 10
Logic - 10
Enjoyment - 10
Rating: 10 / 5 stars
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Thanks to Tor UK for the finished copy of this book. It has not affected my honest review.
This review may contain spoilers for the first four books in the series but will be spoiler-free for THE DISCORD OF GODS.
The previous books all feature interesting narrative structures and unusual shuffled timelines, but THE DISCORD OF GODS is a more traditional, linear novel. This works really well for this conclusion though, as we’ve been building up to this point for so long that it felt right to follow all of the events in the moment. Our footnotes this time are from both Thurvishar and Senera and their back-and-forth commentary is incredible. Thurvishar has been my favourite character from day one, and his relationship with Senera is everything to me. Getting to see them bicker and banter in the footnotes is perfection and I put so many tabs in the book because of their dialogue. Also, the aro/ace rep? Spectacular. The queer rep in general is amazing, but I’m biased to love good aro/ace rep more than anything else.
We’ve been meeting so many characters throughout this series, and in this book we get to see them come to the peak of their character arcs in a spectacular way. We get to see so many building relationships come together, and our team of rag-tag heroes finally coming together into one strong team working towards their goals – taking down Relos Var. I do think that with so many ‘main’ characters, it would have been nice to see all of our surviving characters in the last chapters, so we could get a little hint at each of their futures. But I can’t complain too much because I did adore this final book and the ending made me bawl like a baby then lie down on the floor for a while to think about my feelings.
I had no idea how this was going to tie up so many disparate threads of plot, but they came together spectacularly, with high-stakes and higher hopes. This whole series has been heavily influenced by a magic system that has resurrection built-in, and yet there was still a real sense of fear that some characters wouldn’t make it. The stakes felt high, terrifyingly so, and our characters knew that death might be for real this time. It had me terrified that I was going to lose my comfort gays. The plot came together really well, despite how much I thought I knew going into the series there was still more to discover about the world and demons in particular. It tied off an incredibly complex storyline in a coherent and competent way and I loved every part of it.
I can’t believe that this series is over, and I am going to have to reread it around a thousand times before I’m satisfied. Or, more likely, I’ll never let these characters go. They’ve carved out a hole in my heart and I think my copy of THE DISCORD OF GODS might be my Cornerstone.
Character - 10
Atmosphere - 10
Writing - 10
Plot - 10
Intrigue - 10
Logic - 10
Enjoyment - 10
Rating: 10 / 5 stars
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Thanks to Tor UK for the finished copy of this book. It has not affected my honest review.
This review may contain spoilers for the first four books in the series but will be spoiler-free for THE DISCORD OF GODS.
The previous books all feature interesting narrative structures and unusual shuffled timelines, but THE DISCORD OF GODS is a more traditional, linear novel. This works really well for this conclusion though, as we’ve been building up to this point for so long that it felt right to follow all of the events in the moment. Our footnotes this time are from both Thurvishar and Senera and their back-and-forth commentary is incredible. Thurvishar has been my favourite character from day one, and his relationship with Senera is everything to me. Getting to see them bicker and banter in the footnotes is perfection and I put so many tabs in the book because of their dialogue. Also, the aro/ace rep? Spectacular. The queer rep in general is amazing, but I’m biased to love good aro/ace rep more than anything else.
We’ve been meeting so many characters throughout this series, and in this book we get to see them come to the peak of their character arcs in a spectacular way. We get to see so many building relationships come together, and our team of rag-tag heroes finally coming together into one strong team working towards their goals – taking down Relos Var. I do think that with so many ‘main’ characters, it would have been nice to see all of our surviving characters in the last chapters, so we could get a little hint at each of their futures. But I can’t complain too much because I did adore this final book and the ending made me bawl like a baby then lie down on the floor for a while to think about my feelings.
I had no idea how this was going to tie up so many disparate threads of plot, but they came together spectacularly, with high-stakes and higher hopes. This whole series has been heavily influenced by a magic system that has resurrection built-in, and yet there was still a real sense of fear that some characters wouldn’t make it. The stakes felt high, terrifyingly so, and our characters knew that death might be for real this time. It had me terrified that I was going to lose my comfort gays. The plot came together really well, despite how much I thought I knew going into the series there was still more to discover about the world and demons in particular. It tied off an incredibly complex storyline in a coherent and competent way and I loved every part of it.
I can’t believe that this series is over, and I am going to have to reread it around a thousand times before I’m satisfied. Or, more likely, I’ll never let these characters go. They’ve carved out a hole in my heart and I think my copy of THE DISCORD OF GODS might be my Cornerstone.
Full review on my blog, 1st July 2022: https://inkandplasma.com/2022/07/01/the-haunting-of-aveline-jones/
Character - 9
Atmosphere - 9
Writing - 8
Plot - 8
Intrigue - 8
Logic - 7
Enjoyment - 9
Rating: 8.29 / 4 stars
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This middle-grade ghost story is incredibly atmospheric. It has the perfect gothic slow build, the story unfolding in pieces to pull the reader into the story. The way that Aveline and Primrose’s stories are tangled together were incredibly engaging and made for a rapid page-turner of a book. The setting matched the atmosphere perfectly, with a small seaside town abandoned by tourists and full of creepy figures ready for Halloween.
Aveline’s character voice is perfect, she sounds just like the 11 year old that she’s supposed to be, and I love reading middle-grade books about avid readers. Aveline’s interest in ghost stories fits any reader who picked up this book, and it made it even spookier. I could imagine being in Aveline’s place with The Lady looking for me. Honestly? She was braver than me. I liked the friendship between Aveline and Harold, developing from that awkward stage of being drawn together in a small town to being close friends, working together to save Aveline from the ghost searching for her.
The adults in this story weren’t just story dressing like I’m used to in middle grades, which was really nice. I liked that Aveline was able to lean on her aunt for help, and Mr. Lieberman made for a great addition to this group cast, even if sometimes I questioned the freedom he gave this young girl. They all worked together to solve this mystery and I loved that Aveline was trusted and believed easily. The mystery isn’t overly convoluted, but that’s what I expect for a middle grade, and the atmosphere more than made up for it, keeping me on the edge of my seat until the final page. About halfway through the book I added the sequel to my wishlist, already confident that I’d want to continue. And I absolutely do want to keep reading them, and can’t wait to get back to Aveline for the second story in this series.
Character - 9
Atmosphere - 9
Writing - 8
Plot - 8
Intrigue - 8
Logic - 7
Enjoyment - 9
Rating: 8.29 / 4 stars
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This middle-grade ghost story is incredibly atmospheric. It has the perfect gothic slow build, the story unfolding in pieces to pull the reader into the story. The way that Aveline and Primrose’s stories are tangled together were incredibly engaging and made for a rapid page-turner of a book. The setting matched the atmosphere perfectly, with a small seaside town abandoned by tourists and full of creepy figures ready for Halloween.
Aveline’s character voice is perfect, she sounds just like the 11 year old that she’s supposed to be, and I love reading middle-grade books about avid readers. Aveline’s interest in ghost stories fits any reader who picked up this book, and it made it even spookier. I could imagine being in Aveline’s place with The Lady looking for me. Honestly? She was braver than me. I liked the friendship between Aveline and Harold, developing from that awkward stage of being drawn together in a small town to being close friends, working together to save Aveline from the ghost searching for her.
The adults in this story weren’t just story dressing like I’m used to in middle grades, which was really nice. I liked that Aveline was able to lean on her aunt for help, and Mr. Lieberman made for a great addition to this group cast, even if sometimes I questioned the freedom he gave this young girl. They all worked together to solve this mystery and I loved that Aveline was trusted and believed easily. The mystery isn’t overly convoluted, but that’s what I expect for a middle grade, and the atmosphere more than made up for it, keeping me on the edge of my seat until the final page. About halfway through the book I added the sequel to my wishlist, already confident that I’d want to continue. And I absolutely do want to keep reading them, and can’t wait to get back to Aveline for the second story in this series.