thealyson's Reviews (170)

Admittedly, had seen the movie several times before reading the novel. I love the movie. The novel varies in major ways. You shouldn't pick it up if you want to love the characters, but you should if you want a good thriller to guess where it'll go. I struggle with the pace, because it moves pretty quickly but also slowly during some sections. Overall, not bad i was invested enough. 

1 DNF after 50%
2 Finished, but a genuine waste of time
3 Enjoy while reading, no staying power
4 Enjoyable WITH staying power, will rec
5 Resonates in your soul, life long

Greatly enjoyed the quite beautiful prose and the story itself. The world building was artfully done and very enjoyable - only sad I have to wait to find the next novel to continue on the story. 

An interesting dark retelling. The mystery and unknown quality at the beginning kept me interested. However, the “climax” wasn’t really a climax and fell a little flat. I was interested enough to see where it would go to read the second novel (since they’re short enough and fast-paced). 

My rating scale:
1 DNF after 50%
2 Finished, but a genunie waste of time
3 Enjoy while reading, no staying power
4 Enjoyable WITH staying power, will rec
5 Resonates in your soul, life long

I’d recommend it to some readers, but I really don’t think it is for everyone.

Read for book club and some members really enjoyed it, but I was not one. The writing was beautiful, but the story didn’t keep me interested. I put it down and read another novel before picking it back up to finish it. The book is occasionally too detailed and would veer off on a tangential story that did cause me lose focus.

Also, personal issue: I could not stand the main character. I did not understand her, nor could I sympathize with how she acted, especially toward the end of the novel. This makes reading difficult for me.

1 DNF
2 Finished, but would not recommend.
3 Enjoyed it while reading but had no staying power. Might recommend.
4 Enjoyable WITH staying power and would recommend.
5 Resonated and will stay with me for a long time. 

 I was hooked basically from the start. I love a new telling of an old school monster. I love a slow burn romance and class commentary. I will say, the historical fiction and romance genre are showing a bit more than horror but done so beautifully in a way that I didn’t care.


1 DNF
2 Finished, but would not recommend.
3 Enjoyed it while reading but had no staying power. Might recommend.
4 Enjoyable WITH staying power and would recommend.
5 Resonated and will stay with me for a long time. 

 I didn’t hate it, but I’m also not recommending it to anyone.

A book with murder and mystery yet not a lot happens. This is likely a result of the fact that, despite the main character and her best friend being in love with mystery, the only sleuthing they do is take walks and talk. Their job as sex workers is interesting and the only saving grace of this novel. They stumble upon dead bodies, and nothing happens. Then, suddenly, at the end they stumble upon the guilty – or more so – the guilty purposefully put themselves in the main character’s path so the reader can have a resolution.

1 DNF
2 Finished, but would not recommend
3 Enjoyed it while reading, but no staying power. Might recommend.
4 Enjoyable WITH staying power and would recommend.
5 Resonated and will stay with me for a long time.