A wonderful gothic adventure, and, surprisingly, bests Wuthering Heights in its looming, tactile evocation of the moors. The sense of being awash in her language rushes the reader along through the mystery, and gloom, and a few unnecessary romantic complications. The climax is immensely satisfying, though, and beautifully, triumphantly weird :)
The first half of the book a bit of a slog, but I am glad I stuck with it. That final 200 pages... I couldn’t put it down
Has a distilled quality? Her writing is warm a little spare, like she’s boiled off extraneous thoughts. Sometimes I wanted to muck around in the weeds a little more, but there are other books for that. Each short chapter could be reread at random, like some sort of booster shot of clarity & perspective.
I sort of loved this. The characters are fantastic & worthy of attention, the plot's gripping. I was surprised at how deftly the tone was handled. Anders has a young voice, one false move and it would have annoyed the hell out of me. It's funny, though, the stakes are real, and the emotions ring true.
Beautiful book, and Hendrix is a pretty good writer. Too glib for my tastes, would've really enjoyed something played more or less straight.
4.5 maybe :) I don't usually pay attention to anthologies, but, wow, most of these are seriously impressive. I'm enthusiastic to follow most every author going forward; tho I didn't connect with two or three stories, there's much more hit than miss.
4.5 stars dammit! Beautiful prose & overwhelming emotion. Any exhaustion I felt over this parade of privilege & trauma was fleeting. But real :)
3.5 stars -- there were several times I wanted to dismiss it; her tone slips into abstract poeticisms too frequently for my tastes. I gained a lot by sticking with it, and have adopted some of the techniques she suggests. There's truth and a deep & wise intuition behind the fluff.
One of the best books on the dharma I've read. Clearly stated, practical & for me, invaluable. Real world stuff without the the preciousness or self-conscious brattiness that'll sometimes get in the way of my connecting with a particular teacher.
Mostly loved it, the protagonist's voice is perfect, grim, funny and immediately engaging. At its best when it's detailing the breakdown of society & allowing the causes to remain incomprehensible.
Brst thing I read in 2017 :) Breathtaking
A very good page turner, that kept me reading and wanting to read more.
The novel has some very well constructed characters and a plot that draws you on. While the led characters are all female they are well written and are not just 2D ciphers used to express an opinion, but are rounded and well developed. This I note particularly as the author achieves 4 well developed characters who I hope to read more of in the next volume of The Grenshall Manor Chronicles.
The plot has a good pace to it, and the movement between the historic and present period does not jar or seem forced. With both stories developing in tandem until they full resolve in the climax of the book. The dialogue is well paced and used well, with the text used to inform but not just info dump on the reader. The near now setting …
A very good page turner, that kept me reading and wanting to read more.
The novel has some very well constructed characters and a plot that draws you on. While the led characters are all female they are well written and are not just 2D ciphers used to express an opinion, but are rounded and well developed. This I note particularly as the author achieves 4 well developed characters who I hope to read more of in the next volume of The Grenshall Manor Chronicles.
The plot has a good pace to it, and the movement between the historic and present period does not jar or seem forced. With both stories developing in tandem until they full resolve in the climax of the book. The dialogue is well paced and used well, with the text used to inform but not just info dump on the reader. The near now setting of London works well and the urban fantasy and paranormal elements draw in well.
As a side note, and not yet having read the next book in the series I do hope that one of the walk on parts (the morgue attendant) is explored further.
A good read that moved at an appropriate pace. I liked the noir PI feel of the text, and the world around it seemed to be well built and has left me wanting to read more.
A good read, but not quiet as strong as the ones that came before in the series. One issue was the POV character having less idea what was going on, and most of the time even when they did still not really expressing it.
A book that lays out what has happened, and looks around at now. Will be thinking about it more over the next few weeks.
