Kelsey
I, figuratively, could not put this down. I finished it in one day, 400 pages inhaled like the salty brine of the sea! If I'm being honest if felt weak and maybe a little immature in some places, perhaps it could have been matured but that's my only reason to not score it higher. It was such a nice book, even with the horror and the tension and the fear it was NICE. It was good, I loved it, I'm so glad I found it. Definitely recommend for anyone who loves a bunch of Poe references and loves the idea of a moody little macabre mystery by the sea
I'm giving this 3.5! I really want to give it 4 but something about it just didn't quite excite me like the first two did but it was still really, really enjoyable.
I often felt certain characters were totally forgotten about in their own quests/uses until literally right before they reappeared which maybe is meant to be like a “omg forgot about them let's gooo” kind of moment but I never stopped thinking about anyone for a second. I won't give spoilers here either but just felt maybe things were just too... safe. Not that I want to be GRRM traumatised but ya know.
3/5 books down and I'm so excited to see where this goes, I found SJM through the first Crescent City novel and while reading this book I was constantly just wanting to finish so I could see what happens in the next CC, which made me realise that maybe I was more excited for the series than this one. Only time will tell when I've finished them all!
I really love Jennifer Salt's retellings, after falling in love with Ariadne I was super excited for Elektra. It was a good book, not a great book. It lacked something for me, it fell flat of the sparkle of Ariadne and perhaps just over repetitive of each woman's desire.
Cassandra's story line felt so squashed in, Elektra's so one dimensional but Clytemnestra's did evoke emotion, I felt conflicted with her, she felt tangible and alive. Overall, I did enjoy but I don't think I will reread it quickly, or maybe at all.
I'm only rating this two stars because I DNF. I'm hoping I can pick it back up to finish it in the future and can rate it fairly on the whole story but I found it so difficult to read, it felt like it was in need of editing and breaking down, too cumbersome and too much detail that didn't help the world building but overcrowded it, I felt I was forcing myself to keep reading, maybe one day I'll get back into it and find myself enthralled, I'll update if I do.
I first heard of this book close to ten years ago and have been desperate to read it since seeing the opening page posted on Tumblr. I found this book compelling to begin with, I could see the foundations of the narrator being unreliable, narcissistic and a misogynist, well written too. Obviously the point of the novel is that the narrator is a dick and his ‘diary' is a love letter to his shitty behaviour. I put the book down on page 81, the beginning of chapter 3 and the final chapter of the novella (?), once I jumped back in I felt bored and almost robbed up until pages 130-151 which gave a sense of excitement before ending abruptly (he did warn us of this).
I'm torn, in one sense I feel that there could have been so much more yet I fear that could also have ruined it. I'm very much keen to read the following novels and hopefully by the end of the currently trilogy I can return.
I would have to give this 2 1\2 stars. I have to admit I was engaged and excited to see where the story would go. I quickly realised that the story has a very clever premise but the writing is lacking and it's very unrealistic and almost lazy. This could be a killer story, a potentially really captivating twist and darkness could have been achieved. It reads like a first draft of something with genuine potential but it's really not a terrible read, just disappointed.
Well, there's certainly some improvement in the second novel and the plot thickens to an extent, yet I feel that the majority of what we experience in Betrayed could be condensed and several matured. Again, my only complaints about the novel as a whole is the maturity of the writing and the often very insensitive material. Honestly, don't even get me started on the choice of “Nature's Jihad” for the name of their terrorist organisation...
First of all, I think we can all agree that Zoey is a Mary Sue, in fact I would go as far to say that Zoey is the biggest Mary Sue in YA that I've read so far (I've read my fair share). The two young men who are reported missing and then murdered are apparently missing as they were spending time around the HoN looking for Zoey because she's just that hot, wow. Her hotness is obviously a great source of comfort to Heath too as the trauma of being kidnapped, tortured and almost eaten by creatures not quite alive and not quite dead suddenly disappears as Heath stands in the rotten tunnels like ‘love you Zoey :) let's kiss Zoey :)' while even the undead watch on confused by the display of simp behaviour. I also really wish we could have seen more of the realisation that the blood drinking is mutually enjoyable so has Heath really given up on his drinking and smoking because he loves Zoey, or because he has found a new addiction? Isn't it also an allegory to SA and r*pe when Zoey repeatedly tells Heath ‘no' to drinking his blood but knowing she can't resist the urge does it anyway which then leads to the lust side of blood lust?
I think my biggest issue overall with the whole novel is the grooming. I can tolerate the idea of a woman being just so beautiful all men are attracted to her, I genuinely think it could be a clever plot point if it wasn't just to fuel teenage ego. Wouldn't it be much more interesting to watch the plot of men constantly chasing Zoey but with more than just love as their motive? What if we saw more of these men having true ulterior motive(s) and we have to follow a young girl becoming aware that not all male advances are genuine, like Loren's (which is reality considering many young girls would be reading these novels and picking up on potential red flags instead of being subconsciously told it's okay to be lusting over/groomed by poetry teachers).
Now I'm pretty sure I remember that we find out Loren is not a good guy (as if we haven't figured that out with his creepy grooming techniques) but Zoey's narration is so unreliable, which may be part of the maturing of the story, yet I can't remember enough of the other books to know if she does start to doubt that her beauty might not be the only reason men are chasing her. Especially grown adults in positions of power attempting to groom 16-year-old students.
I am confident to say that this may be one of the best books a misanthrope could read. Jackson has manipulated me into remembrance of just how horrible people can be. The horror and fear I expected from this tale, honestly expecting this to be a ghost story, wove its way, instead, into reminding the reader that the real evil and horror of the world is found amongst the living.
This is the first of Shirley Jackson's novels that I have read, previously having only read one short story from Dark Tales which I thoroughly enjoyed. I think enchanted may be the most appropriate word for my first experience with Jackson's writing, her style, her characters (specifically the feral and witchy Merricat) and the oozing tension of what is lurking around the corner for these young maidens so alone in the world.
I felt incredibly protective of Merricat, instantly I noted hints at her (potentially) neurodivergent habits and thoughts, and Constance's agoraphobia, and wanted to plunge my way into their world and slap Cousin Charles senseless, as well as half the village, but of course, the ladies didn't need my help and Jackson had been trying to tell me that from the very beginning. Merricat's disconnection from the reality of others, her black cat companion, her and her sister's botanical knowledge, her magical safeguards and Merricat's disdain of everyone outside her little ‘coven' scream witchcraft without the words, or acts, ever really being muttered. This novel is superb, glittering and dark at the same time, we are weaved into Merricat's unreliable narration and caught like the helpless fly cosied into our own little corner of this wicked tale.
As a lover of Lolita and Nabokov's prose I can enjoy The Enchanter but I'm very aware it is only the bones of a much greater creature. If I had read this first or without having enjoyed the subterfuge of Lolita I believe I would have thrown it away without finishing the short 58 pages.
The narration is omnipotent, meaning we see much less deviant attempts to convince the reader of his innocence, there is less of the seductive and unreliable narration we find with Humber Humbert which is interesting to see how Nabokov transformed him from a predator into a predator with a knack for grooming the audience too.
The first time I read this book I must have been around 12/13, so just over 10 years ago. I would have rated this a solid four, potentially a five back then as I remember devouring half of the series with great enjoyment.
Now as a 24-year-old literature student I found a lot of nostalgia but not a lot substance. The story is obviously enchanting and interesting, yet it feels immature even for a 13 year old to read, the syntax can be incredibly underdeveloped and I found myself cringing at far more than I remember. Yet, I can't say I didn't enjoy it, I'm not going to stop reading this series because it's comforting, it's like really cheap chocolate, it's cheap but it's still good.
I'm praying with each book of the series we see a development of the writing style and narrative as we watch Zoey mature and develop through her Change.
I wish I could give this ten stars. How do you write a review for a novel that shakes you to your core? I can only try and summarise how truly compelling this novel is but I know I'll never do it justice. Totally thrilling, captivating and utterly morbid. I felt like a voyeur in a world so macabrely interesting and gruesome and just when I thought I new how the novel would end... let's just say it hit me like a striker would.
Truly, truly sensational. I've seen several people refer to this as boring or monotonous but I disagree completely. I was enthralled, struggled to put it down completely bewitched by Louis' life, death and afterlife (?). Rice's character building is fantastic, her portrayal of Claudia the ancient child vampire was superb, chilling and wicked. The only thing I didn't like was knowing I have finished this masterpiece. Can't wait to move throughout this series and discover more and more of these wonderfully evil characters and I pray that I may meet Louis again.
