A new KMM series - the author of the Fever series? Gothic, mystery, fantasy and romance? I'm in. A new KMM series - the author of the Fever series? Gothic, mystery, fantasy and romance? I'm in. ...more
Oh boy, did I ever struggle to get through this book and not just DNF. When I say struggle- I mean I literally sighed, bitched, complained and dreadedOh boy, did I ever struggle to get through this book and not just DNF. When I say struggle- I mean I literally sighed, bitched, complained and dreaded each time I picked up this book. I can't remember the last time I looked at my progress percentage so often in a book and damn did it move incredibly slow. I thought it was never going to end.
Had it been an epub copy and not an audio- I would have given up for sure.
Alright, I've been procrastinating on writing this review. Sometimes I get this unreasonable guilty feeling when my Goodreads friends love a book and Alright, I've been procrastinating on writing this review. Sometimes I get this unreasonable guilty feeling when my Goodreads friends love a book and I end up not loving it so much.
To be fair, I received the audio arc and not the kindle. A good part of my lack of enjoyment was due to the narrator. She was horrible. The best way I can describe it - is she was doing this gentle, soft, whisper voice. Often high pitched in a way that it seemed like she was trying to come across as some soft spoken and fragile woman. She really just came across as sounding inauthentic and wrong.
It didn't work for me at all, I had to muster up quite a bit of will and strength to make it through to the end.
While the story was entertaining enough, I felt that it lacked some depth, a character to root for - because I wasn't a fan of the FMC or anyone for that matter. And I felt like it could have leaned more into the murder mystery, gothic and dark vibes and less on the romance side.
Thank you, Kristina and Dab for putting this book on my radar! ...more
Full disclosure- I listened to the audiobook. I wasn't impressed with the narrators at all, and I feel lik DNF @72%
I'll just keep this really brief-
Full disclosure- I listened to the audiobook. I wasn't impressed with the narrators at all, and I feel like I would have felt the same way if I read the kindle or physical book. But the advantage with the kindle as I would have known each chapter as it alternated between Carmilla and Laura.
Still, I don't think it was the best decision to include both POV's. With just Laura's it would have been more mysterious and given an obscure and haunting vibe. With both, it was just muddled.
In the audio, I honestly don't recall ever hearing the switch and I had to use more brain power than I wanted to in order to decipher who the hell was talking. Their voices sounded exactly the same. Maybe there's some greater meaning to that but I honestly don't care. It didn't work for me.
The pacing was incredibly slow and while this novel has all of the makings of what should have made for a great read... I just couldn't stay engaged.
On the plus side, I do intend to read A Dowry in Blood and not give up on the author.
"A sensible girl would leave. A good girl most certainly would. But I was tired of being sensible, and I was tired of being good."
'The snake felt like a gift. A promise. That someday, someway, I'd be able to move on from this horror- shed my old skin and be reborn something st'The snake felt like a gift. A promise. That someday, someway, I'd be able to move on from this horror- shed my old skin and be reborn something stronger. Something powerful and terrifying.'
"Most people are terrified of snakes." "Most people are afraid of you." "But not you." "Not me." "You make me feel a lot of thing I've never felt before, but not fear."
"Enter not the forest deep. Beyond the Bells, the dark fiends keep." ˚ ༘"Enter not the forest deep. Beyond the Bells, the dark fiends keep." ˚ ༘...more
I vaguely remember reading this back in high school and to be honest, I don't know why it isn't on my list of favorite classics.. it's right in my wheI vaguely remember reading this back in high school and to be honest, I don't know why it isn't on my list of favorite classics.. it's right in my wheelhouse. Probably slipped through the cracks or something.
Anyway, this is a spectacular read. Gothic, dark- a disturbing portrait of an individual coming face to face with the reality of his soul.
Maybe I've just read too many gothic mystery books in my day? The story was enjoyable enough - hence the 3 stars. The writing and the vibes were fine.Maybe I've just read too many gothic mystery books in my day? The story was enjoyable enough - hence the 3 stars. The writing and the vibes were fine.
I just feel like I've read this story already? Within the first couple of chapters I'd already guessed the conclusion - so that was a little bit of a let down.
I received the audio arc and while the female narrator was enjoyable, the male narrator was horrible. The ick for real.
❥・ Gothic ❥・ Mystery ❥・ Spicy ❥・ Dark Academia ❥・Dark secrets ❥・Distressed heroine ❥・Emotional scars ❥・Grieving lover ❥・Sinister circumstances ❥・Creepy House
Many thanks to NetGalley and Bea Northwick for the complementary audio copy in exchange for my thoughts. ...more
Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
2.75 Stars
While the description, blub and overall premise oMany thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
2.75 Stars
While the description, blub and overall premise of this book is right in the heart of my wheelhouse, it just didn't hit me the way I expected or wanted it to. It starts with a spooky, eerie gothic vibe but, for me that seems to fall to the wayside for other things at play in the story.
Synopsis:
I dream sometimes about a house I’ve never seen….
Opal is a lot of things—orphan, high school dropout, full-time cynic and part-time cashier—but above all, she's a determined to find a better life for her younger brother Jasper. One that gets them out of Eden, Kentucky, a town remarkable for only two things: bad luck and E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth century author of The Underland, who disappeared over a hundred years ago.
All she left behind were dark rumors—and her home. Everyone agrees that it’s best to ignore the uncanny mansion and its misanthropic heir, Arthur. Almost everyone, anyway.
I should be scared, but in the dream I don’t hesitate.
Opal has been obsessed with The Underland since she was a child. When she gets the chance to step inside Starling House—and make some extra cash for her brother's escape fund—she can't resist.
But sinister forces are digging deeper into the buried secrets of Starling House, and Arthur’s own nightmares have become far too real. As Eden itself seems to be drowning in its own ghosts, Opal realizes that she might finally have found a reason to stick around.
In my dream, I’m home.
And now she’ll have to fight.
Welcome to Starling House: enter, if you dare.
My Thoughts:
For a 320 page book I felt extremely weighed down by the writing and it felt as though it was more of a 520 page book. The audiobook is 12.5 hours which seems extremely long for 320 pages- Please also note that if you opt for the audiobook version there are footnotes that are read that did keep pulling the little attention I was managing to keep on the story out of it again.
The pacing was a bit choppy for me. While in Opal's POV is told in first person when it switches over to Arthur's it's told in third. There was a lot of this YA feel of drama romance going on that seemed to pull away from the initial gothic, spooky vibe. I don't even think the romance was needed- at all. Probably would have been better without it, because it literally did nothing for me.
Several areas of miscommunication which I am not particularly a fan of.
Overall, this didn't feel gothic horror to me. It felt more like a dark fairytale with a ton of family and societal woes tossed in that just took me out of the whole gothic, horror, mysterious feel I expected to get from reading this.
If you are a fan of Alix Harrow, like a creepy mysterious vibe of a run down town in poverty, a touch of romance and a slow pace- you will likely enjoy this....more
Well... honestly, the first 65% or so was pretty underwhelming, boring and a bit cringe. The last 35% was good enough for me to hand over 2 stars. I tWell... honestly, the first 65% or so was pretty underwhelming, boring and a bit cringe. The last 35% was good enough for me to hand over 2 stars. I thought this was going to be so much better though. Full review to come.
I was searching for a cute angsty romance for v-day but since I'm not having any luck... I might as well go in the opposite direction. ...more
This didn't work out so well for me last year but I want to take another stab at it. This didn't work out so well for me last year but I want to take another stab at it. ...more
♥︎ Heather ⚔
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