Gee

While I miss Hastings as the narrator and I found Leatheran a bit annoying at times, this was an overall good and engaging mystery. There was a good enough fleshing out of characters and their personalities. The red herrings were good and not bonkers wild. Poirot's bit at the end felt longer than usual (or I've read enough of these that they keep on getting longer for me) and it's both suspenseful and annoying.

This was a fun adventure that combines beloved characters from favorite classics and even some events from history. Creative and entertaining, all the characters are lovable and just what I needed after reading a lot of dark books in previous weeks. A little bit of a let down on the mystery part for me, when it was uncovered, but wasn't a major let down and I could forgive it because this is just book 1. Found family of Victorian monster girls for the win!

The need to protect and follow wherever Rosier goes is real. As much as I understand the fuckery that is Asmodeus, Rosier is to good for him.

Beautifully written as Angels Before Man. Also horrifying. It did capture trauma well though.

‘All I ever wanted was to be loved, and now you’ve shown me that to be loved is to be broken. What is inside me?’

I started with the loaning the audiobook but 10% in I figured this was better read, rather than listened. And I instantly bought the Kindle edition.

Beautiful writing. Lucifer's birth, coming-of-age, and eventual corruption were also beautifully depicted. Great characterizations for everyone. Loved Rosier in this. Already bought Horns for Hell for Rosier (I'm not getting my hopes up based from the things I've seen), so this is definitely the first of many works that I'll read by the author.

This was beautiful. Full review to follow.

I get loneliness can make you do crazy things and I get what the book is trying to do. I am just annoyed at both characters.

This is more than just about the rape kit. It's about the flaws in the system and the misogyny that seemingly never stops from people from the top, even until the present. It's also about women's' perseverance in fighting for what they believe in (the author - in my making sure that the right person is credited and made known for the advancement in forensic technology, Marty Goddard - in making the rape kit in the first place and forgoing acknowledgement to make sure it gets introduced, and the other women mentioned in the book who tried to make changes to better help the victims).

Things I liked: The setting: Fantasy-based Vietnam where women hold power? Of course that would be a hook.

Things I didn't like: E...everything else

Sometimes I say that 100 pages isn't enough because I usually want more of the story. This isn't the case for this book. Everything felt rushed. I don't feel particularly attached to Thanh so therefore I'm not exactly rooting for her. Her character felt bland and even annoying at times. Having more of a background on her and her experiences might have changed things. The healthy romance in this didn't really make sense and, boy, that was fast. And the toxic romance was kinda highlighted more

This was a heavy read. Lots of triggers, but still an important read.

+

I first learned about 8 Passengers after listening to the neighbor's 911 call when one of the kids got out. Hearing the neighbor's voice cracking was heartbreaking. To think that this man had more empathy than their own mother was just too much. I followed a few Youtube videos covering the case and then opted to read Shari Franke's book. I'm glad I did. There's a lot of blame laid upon Kevin. And while, yes, he was supposed to protect his kids, the book gives a more complicated point of view on this as he, too, was very much a victim of abuse from both Ruby and Jodi.

The first few chapters with just Ruby's control was already hard to listen to. But it becomes more unbearable and frustrating when Jodi came in. Then an opportunist like Derek comes along. The grooming part was one of the worst experiences in the book, and that's saying a lot.

I'm glad Shari was able to get out of it and is able to start healing. This was all too much for one person to experience.