Audrey

Cute, but certainly not the best children's adaption of the movie. Most of the plot lines and characters were omitted. 

Why oh why did I let this sit on my shelf for so long?! I was captivated from start to finish. I didn't realize I knew so little about Francisco Franco's regime. Ruta Sepetys illustrated the differences between the life of an American and the life of repressed citizens of Spain marvelously. I love walking away from a historical fiction book ready to read more about a specific event or time in history. 

I'm usually wary of YA books because often I'm not too fond of the writing style or characters, but The Fountains of Silence was exceptional. I loved Ana, Daniel, Puri, Rafa... pretty much all of them. Ana and Daniel's rapport was a treat to read. I felt like I was there.

I tried reading Frankenstein several years ago but didn't get past the first few pages. Attempting it again, I was surprised at how absorbed I became. Not so much in the story itself, but the questions pondered, particularly involving the ‘being'. 

After seeing endless spoofs in TV shows or movies, I went into this expecting some form of satire. That's not to say I was under the impression this was a comedy... I'm not sure how to put my exact expectations into words. Anyway, as it went on, I got the gothic feel, though I wouldn't personally consider this a horror story. Twisted, but not particularly scary. It felt very literary. 

I found Victor easy to dislike and I sympathized more with his creation at first. Then the tables turned, and then by the end, I wasn't sure who I ought to root for. I love books that leave me feeling unsettled. I also think listening to this book on audio also made the difference. The narrator did a fantastic job portraying the being. It added so much to the atmosphere of the story. I'm already looking forward to a future reread. 

This is a book I've been meaning to read since high school. I think at one point I actually did start it but didn't get through the first chapter. Now as an adult, I still found myself quite bored throughout most of the story. I found the history of the book mentioned in the foreword more interesting.

My disinterest was more of a plot/character problem. I simply wasn't interested in the subject matter. Another problem was the years of build up and having it fall short. Perhaps this is an unpopular opinion, but I found the storytelling dull. As a piece of historical literature, it's interesting, but definitely not a book I would have read otherwise. 

2.5 I was disappointed given how much I enjoyed the first installment. I started this the same night I finished the first book and while it started off fine, toward the middle of the book it went off the rails. There were way too many things happening at once and some ultimately felt irrelevant in the greater scheme of things. Then the conclusion came all too quickly, which I did anticipate as I've noticed this theme in other books by Rhys Bowen, but this tops the others I've read. I can't say why without having to mark it for spoilers, but I can say where it draws from historical events, the reasons behind the mystery Molly is trying to solve is glossed over all too quickly after monotonous (and frankly improbable) steps getting here. I also found Molly's naivety more endearing in the first book than the second — as though she's learned nothing from her first mystery.

All that said, I'm not discouraged from the series yet. It had disappointing and baffling moments but I'm invested enough there are still ends I'd like to see tied up. I do enjoy Rhys Bowen's stories. Even when they don't sit right with me I continue to come back.