Karen
This was a new sort of direction for Kelley Armstrong to take, and she hit it out of the park. I can always depend on her for a good read. I would love to see more of these specific characters, but I suspect that each book in the series will be about a different couple. I'm still going to read it!
I don't really know how to explain what I love about this book without spoiling it. So I'll just say that I think it doesn't follow the typical pattern for this kind of sci-fi book. I understand why there might be some people who don't like it because of its style, but I loved it.
Nella is an apothecary living in the 1790s in London, secretly providing poisons for women who have problematic men in their lives after being cruelly treated herself. She has sworn to never harm another woman, only men. Eliza is a 12 year old girl in the same time who has just begun getting unwelcome attention from her mistress???s husband. And Caroline is an American vacationing in London in present day, having just caught her husband cheating on her. She is taking time and space to herself to reevaluate her life and relationship.
While in London, Caroline finds an old glass vial with a bear etched on it and decides to research its story and history. Her story of discovery, of both the bottle and herself, is interwoven with the tale of Nella and Eliza as they meet and form an odd friendship amidst Nella???s dangerous and forbidden occupation.
First of all: Most. Beautiful. Cover. Ever.
Some of the plot devices stretched credulity, such as how easy it ended up being for Caroline to discover the true story of this lost apothecary from one single, unlabeled glass vial. And Caroline???s attitude about some things was annoying. (She had dreams of going to college, but when she got married James didn???t want her going to Cambridge so??? she just didn???t go to college. Are there no colleges in America?) The characters??? development was enough to keep me interested though, and the plot fast paced enough that I was willing to suspend my criticisms to see what happened next. I wouldn???t necessarily categorize this book as either character or plot driven; it does a decent job of striking a balance between the two.
I deeply enjoy books that jump back and forth between past and present like this. It reminds me of the way Susanna Kearsley weaves different timelines into a narrative. And seeing the similarities and contrasts in women???s lives in the two periods was really enjoyable. All three women are in situations or lives where they have little to no power, and the story is about them finding ways to exert it or take it back.
The ending was??? well. It did feel maybe a little too convenient.
Is the lost apothecary a serial killer? Well, yes. Are we still rooting for her? Also, yes. Overall I enjoyed this book and I think it was a really solid debut novel.
It was a good read; I couldn't put it down. It wasn't necessarily shocking; I already figured out the “surprise twist” about 40% into the book. I don't think anything about this book is particularly shocking or revolutionary; but the writing is very good, I really enjoyed the style, and it was entertaining. A lot of YA books become very frustrating because the characters feel more like caricatures and you spend most of the book yelling at them, “No one acts like this in real life! No teenager says that!” But that is definitely not a problem here. All the characters feel completely lifelike. Overall I'll say 4 stars because I had a good time with the book.
This book was... meh. It was predictable. There were no twists, you know who the killer is from the beginning. Because they tell you. Nothing unexpected or surprising happens. Not what I would categorize as a thriller.
Fun and sassy and magical. All the best things. I love the world she's building here.
Just an all around fun book. I enjoy the witch/detective urban fantasy stories, and the author did a good job building what seems like an interesting world/situation. I look forward to seeing how it plays out.
It was a decent read, if a little predictable. There's no surprises here, nothing complicated or deep, but it's entertaining. An airplane read, you know?
I love books that have the linguist/alien contact trope. There's not a bunch, but I snatch up every one I can find. This book is fantastic and fun.
I had a little trouble getting into it, but it was still a good book. I'm interested to hear more about the Teek and happens to the main characters, so I'll pick up the next one.
An enjoyable twist on the ‘magical kids go to magic school' idea. It did seem a bit odd to me that we never really see or interact with any kind of teacher - i mean, they talk about going to classes and stuff, but.... is there ANY adult supervision at all? You'd think we'd see something about that?? - but overall I really liked the idea.
This book feels like the first third of a thriller/post apocalyptic book. The prose feels kludgy to me, but the worst part is that it just kinda... ends. Suddenly. With absolutely zero conclusion. The characters don't grow. They don't change. There are no discoveries. Several characters start out to do something (the daughter goes off outside and everyone is looking for her, several characters are driving to town because the brother is sick and they need help) and it just STOPS. No resolution. No idea what happened. What?! Definitely did not care for this at all.
When all my goodreads recommendations were suddenly urban fantasies about women in their 40s having a midlife crisis, I started to get pretty annoyed. Look GR, I know I'm inching up on 40 but are you trying to tell me something? I went ahead and gave this book a shot anyway and holy crap I'm glad I did. I love just about everything by Elizabeth Hunter, and this is no different. I relate HARD to the main character Robin and I devoured this book in a day. Can't wait to read the others.
I love the original concept of this entire series. It's not often that I see an original spin in the fantasy genre, but Ilona Andrews has pulled it off.
Yaasssss. I love everything by Ilona Andrews and I particularly love the world building she does. This series is no exception. Fantastic world, fantastic stories. Lots of fun.
I like the book... but there are some definite inaccuracies involved in the descriptions of scuba diving. And that's super nitpicky, and doesn't affect the plot at all, but it's like trying to walk with a tiny bit of sand in your shoe. It just keeps distracting me and rubbing at me the wrong way.
I continue to read this series because I'm interested in the overall storyline and how it's going to resolve, but the prose and repeating sentence structure tends to feel repetitive. Once you notice it, it's hard to unsee and it tends to pull me out of the narrative.
This series is fun, but be aware that despite the series name, there's not any actual romance in them; the main characters in every single book just kinda decide to get together, without it feeling like there's any emotion or falling in love involved. Plenty of comedy, it's light and witty and fun; the world building is interesting and it's worth the read. Just don't pick these up if you're really looking for romance.
I wanted to like this, I really did, but it was just ok. The characters didn't feel distinct or real. For instance, Valerie shifted over the course of a day or two from distrusting Athena and viewing her with slight contempt to complete faith in her and treating her like a trusted officer. I mean.. that's just not a realistic character arc. So, it was an interesting story idea, but the writing just didn't draw me in.
It was really quite beautiful. I am less a fan of the story telling convention where we get it through a series of letters, memos, media, etc; I prefer direct story telling. If it'd been a different format, I likely would have given it 4 stars. Despite this, it's a beautiful story.