This Frankenstein-inspired novel was my second from this author and confirmed what I already suspected - I need to read all her books!

I read The Drowning Kind just last month, and although there were slight similarities between the two, they were both unique and distinctly different stories. I have found that I really enjoy the theme of sisterhood, which is present here, as it was in TDK.

The story moves between multiple POVs and timelines and it has been put together expertly. The author feeds us key information in tiny slivers to allow the reader to piece the story together. I wasn't surprised by the twist, as I had a feeling at the beginning that it would play out like this (it's hard not to when you have read a lot of mysteryes that have used the same twist), but I wasn't too disappointed. After all, I only had myself to blame.

The detail that made me question things a bit was

Lizzy's chosen name and the explanation for it. As a reader, I saw zero reasons for her to feel like she owed something to dr Hildreth. If anything, I feel like anyone in Lizzy's position would want no reminders of her. I believe her chosen name was supposed to convince the reader that it was Vi speaking, because she had the strongest connection to Gran. I almost convinced myself that Lizzy simply had to be Violet because there's no way Iris would choose to carry her name. But the hunch I had that Lizzy was Iris was too big to ignore and followed me from the chapter Iris made her first appearance. So I felt like the entire thing was a weak attempt to mislead the reader and I don't enjoy that.

 

Ühtaegu põnev ja õõvastav. Lugudest oli mulle varem teada ainult üks.

Üldiselt hästi kirjutatud, aga veidi pealiskaudne. Oleksin tahtnud autorilt mingit sissejuhatust - kuidas ta selle teemani jõudis, miks ta neist kirjutab. Samuti oleks võinud olla märge, et ta on muutnud nimesid ja fakte. Üks lugu on väidetavalt tabamata sarimõrvari ülestunnistus. Kuidas autor selle loo endale sai - kahjuks ei tea. Samuti oleks olnud huvitav, kui autor oleks rohkem süvenenud nende naiste psühholoogia ja läbielatud vägivalla seostesse, aga ju see ei olnud tema eesmärk. Natuke oleks tahtnud toimetamist veel. 

I enjoyed this book a lot. What M.R. Carey has done with these characters is great. Loved their development and how it encouraged introspection. The plot is thrilling and, for the most part, super well done. The writing was a little bit clunky at times, especially chapter endings. Truthfully, I can't even fully explain why I don't want to rate it higher. Maybe because I can't help but compare the writing to his later Rampart trilogy, which was so amazing. Or maybe because I found too many similarities with The Last of Us and it's nagging at me – is it just a coincidence? Maybe. Perhaps an article about zombie ants went viral around that time and it inspired both the book and the game.

If you liked the movie, it's definitely worth picking up. 

Beautiful prose, relevant in terms of the social issues it addresses. Just not my personal taste. 

This is the second time I have been fooled by this author's book blurbs. First I was promised a story about women (A Thousand Ships), but what I got was a story about men, and now I was promised a story about Medusa, but got one about literally everyone else under the sun.

This was supposed to be about Medusa - where was she? 

But okay, to start off with something positive - I loved both the Gorgons' and Danae's chapters, but that's it. The chapters on Olympus & about the gods in general are just so terribly written it's shocking. You have this serious story about Danae's and Medusa's life and then you get these ridiculous chapters about the gods that feel almost like a parody or mockery. Why? 

Everything outside of Danae's or Medusa's chapters is so disjointed and brief and low effort, like the author didn't know how to or could not be bothered to put it together into a coherent story. You get a piece of this and a piece of that, but where is it all going and why does it even matter - no clue! It's like she's giving me a box of lego and I have to put it together on my own without any instructions.

I also hated how the author inserted herself into the story. Keep your opinions to yourself, please, and let me arrive at these conclusions on my own. I don't need anyone to tell me what I think or should think.

A little help with the mythology would also have been appreciated. I should not turn to google because the author doesn't give me any names and leaves me guessing as to who she's even talking about. 

Such a pleasant surprise. It was much more than a simple mystery. I can't say that the twist was unexpected because I had suspicions pretty early on, but it was more about the journey than the twist for me, so I didn't mind it. The writing was simple, but not simplistic.

There was a little mishap in the last chapter that I wish editing had caught, but it's not enough to make me want to lower the rating. 

This book feels like heartbreak and nostalgia and regrets for things you haven't even experienced. 

I'm glad I decided to give T. Kingfisher another chance because this was so good! The perfect balance of humorous and creepy. 

This was okay. I found it a little bland for my taste. The banter is what kept me going, but there was none of that later on. The parts towards the beginning and middle where Nora described her and Libby's past felt clumsy to me and often left me confused. Libby's character was infuriating (and boring - all she does is have children, apparently) and she wasn't redeemed for me at the end. Also not a fan of the author romanticising the age gap between Brendan and Libby. I don't care what anyone says, no normal almost-30-year-old man wants anything to do with a 20-year-old, especially when she's in such a vulnerable position. The ending was sweet, but the epilogue was unnecessary. 

Brilliantly cant-read-it-in-the-dark terrifying! I really loved the story and the writing was great.

The only little criticism I have is the

Declan thing

was left without a conclusion, even though it seemed like it was somehow connected to the main storyline. I would also have loved to see more of the diary entries.