leandrathetbrzero's Reviews (412)

Cat + Gamer, Volume 1

Wataru Nadatani

5.0

funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Murder After Christmas

Rupert Latimer

5.0

funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Reread in Nov 2023

Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun, Vol. 2

AidaIro

5.0

dark funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun, Vol. 1

AidaIro

5.0

dark funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Death and the Sisters

Heather Redmond

2.0

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Thank you, Kensington, for the free ARC in exchange for this honest review!

I was really looking forward to this book when I received it as an ARC from Kensington. Mystery reimaginings that involve an author or famous fictional character from history are among my favorites to read: The Murder of Mr Wickham, A Study in Scarlet Women, The Mystery of Mrs Christie, to name a few. However, the historical accuracy in this book left a sour taste in my mouth at times.

Mary Shelley met her husband, Percy, at 16 years old while he was already married to another woman and 5 years her senior. Their romantic subplot throughout this book distracted me from the mystery at hand because I never need my historical fiction to be *that* accurate. My skin crawled every time they were in a scene together.

Regarding the mystery, there was some strong plotting, but I ultimately found the book to be missing key fair play elements to ensure that the ending reveal would be satisfying.