Tegan
Loving this book so far, a bit different to his other short story collections but in a good way.
I received this book for free (ARC) from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I loved the first book so dove immediately into the second. The second was... good, not great. Twists and turns as usual and I read 70% of it in one night. I had issues with the beginning and middle specifically the MCs motivations. I felt there was a lot left out at the beginning that we would have liked to see. I feel that the author tries to create a world that is realistic in its reactions to situations but the MC start the start felt very two dimensional to me in the first third of the book. The beginning plot was cliche imo. Things only occurred to make MC stay in that situation and the MC didn't explore their feelings or the situation enough. I felt that MC lost that fire and drive that they had in the first book. I understood the rage they felt but I felt it was only there to create conflict on a superficial level. I did like the book but I don't think I'd re-read all of it. If I was reading the series over again I'd skip to the last 1/3 or 1/4 of this book. The spicy scenes were really good though!
#BloodofaFaeSeries #netgalley
CW transphobia in book, use of outdated terminology to describe a transgender person
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Got through a hundred pages of encumbering descriptions (I rolled my eyes easily twice a page) before hitting my deal breaker. I can deal with flimsy plot and under developed characters - I was a third of the way through after all. The unnecessarily long descriptions stuck in my craw but I powered through and gave it a chance.
What I will not put up with is explicit transphobia. Yes, this book is from 2005 but that isn't and shouldn't be an excuse. The characters clear revulsion at having to speak to a [outdated term used by the author for a transgender person, most often used negatively] and refusing to accept their femme-aligned name as their real name was distressing to read. The transphobia lasted maybe one page and was written in a way that assumed we would understand and identify with the protag's thoughts and behaviour. Ugh.
You, Stel Pavlou, make my skin crawl.
0/5 stars and I'm glad I bought the book second hand for $1.
Excellent book, loved it! I love that in a murder mystery we get to spend time with the killer. There were twists and turns right up until the end!
One of my favourite SK books, I like it all the more because this was one of his first that he wrote.
Although many people I have talked to about this book regard it as being boring (as it is a monologue), I believe it's a great book for that very reason. I loved it!
I read this book in fits and starts - a couple pages a day for about a month. I could have torn through it in a day or two at my regular reading pace, like a starving person inhales a meal, but, in my opinion, it wouldn't have been as enjoyable.
I had time to sit with the characters - their lives so real they seemed to jump out from the pages. I had time to wrestle with the story - the nightmares, the sleepwalking, the constant brush with death, the thin line between reality and fiction.
Scot Gardener did a wonderful job of sketching the characters, anchoring them within the story, and filling in the empty spaces. Every page I turned I learned a bit more about them and, at the same time, I wanted more. I wanted to live in this world. Nothing was tied up in a neat little package and I love it for that.
Scot Gardener took a slice of real life, with all of its ups and downs, good intentions, well wishes, awkward fumbling, slightly off centre outcomes, and served it to us in the most wonderful way possible.