Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Of Monsters and Madness - Review

Of Monsters and Madness by Jessica Verday

Rating: 2.5 Stars
Source: NetGalley

Description:  Annabel Lee has been summoned from Siam after her mother's death by a father she's never met.  Arriving in Philadelphia, she meets her kind grandfather, her frequently cruel father, and her father's assistant Allan.  Adding to her discomfort is the rash of murders that are occurring in Philadelphia coupled with realizing she lives in a house full of secrets.

Genre: Fiction

Why I Picked This Book:  I've been kind of fascinated by Poe since the first season of The Following when I realized that I hadn't read much of his work.  Plus, I know someone who named their daughter Annabel Lee after the poem which always struck me as a little strange.  Not quite as strange as the woman who named her daughter Emily after Faulkner's A Rose for Emily but still a bit odd.

My Impression:
Pros;  Verday did a good job with the atmoshpere.  You definitely get a sense of gothic with this book.  The foreboding is almost a character in it's own right.  I liked Annabel's interest in medicine.  It felt very authentic and natural to her not like a gimmick added to her character to make her unusual.  Maddy was an interesting character and her friendship with Annabel was so obviously the only bright spot in Annabel's life.  I liked that she both helped Annabel figure out the new world she had landed in as well as reminding Annabel that Maddy was the servant.  Though not all of the twists were a surprise I did want to keep reading to see how everything was revealed.

Cons:  While in general I liked Annabel and her naive attitude made sense at the beginning it did get a bit trying.  Her character didn't seem to progress much until the end.  For the first half she's hit by so many waves of shame I was worried she'd drown.  When she wasn't swimming in waves of shame she was feeling lightheaded or flushing,.  This seemed somewhat at odds with her ability for healing.  The pacing seemed a little off as well.  For the bulk of the book nothing happened and then in about the last 20% we're hit with all kinds of developments.  Part of this is because it's part 1 in a series.  I would've liked to have had a little warning about that so I could expect a cliffhanger ending.

Overall:  This book was okay.  It won't make my top ten but it was still readable.  I think the length worked in it's favor.  Having 100 pages of buildup is much more readable than 300 pages of buildup.  I most likely will read the 2nd book in the series because I'm curious but it won't be a pre-order.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?:   I might read the next in this series but I doubt I'll go looking for other books by this author.

Would I Recommend this Book?:  Maybe. If you're fascinated by Poe you might find this interesting.

18 comments:

  1. I love the sound of the gothic atmosphere. I haven't read a lot of Poe though so it mightn't mean too much to me. I think at this stage I'd rather read some Poe instead and maybe in the future I might look at retellings .

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    1. I think I agree with you and should do the same. I will be reading Poe and giving this one a miss!

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  2. I also got this off of Netgalley. Although at the time it was only because I recognized the author. I really didn't have any intention of reading it. But recently I read The Madman's Daughter(LOVED IT) and am kind of in a gothic mood. Your review is fantastic! I know you didn't love it, but you kind of make it sound like I might enjoy the book. So I'm probably going to give it a go. :)
    Happy reading!
    Brittany @ This is the Story of My(Reading) Life

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    1. Thanks! It wasn't a terrible book and it definitely has the atmosphere. As for giving it a go - it's not a particularly long book and I'm always more adventurous with short books! I look forward to seeing what you thought of it if you read it!

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  3. I've been in a gothic mood for a while so I really thought this one was going to appease that need I have for a gothic reads but sadly i don't think it will :( I do love how you felt the whole atmosphere of the book was done well but Annabel doens't seem to get much character development until the very end which can be quite annoying! Hopefully you enjoy your next read more!

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    1. Don't worry I definitely enjoyed the next book more. I didn't hate this one it just wasn't what I wanted. I think I'm going to do what Trish suggested and just read actual Poe to get my gothic fix!

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  4. I'm a huge Poe/Gothic fan, but this one sounds a bit bland. If you want a great Poe story, Nevermore by Kelly Creagh is a great one :)

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    1. It kind of was. It definitely didn't have the intensity I was looking for. I will definitely give Nevermore a try as I think there's lots of potential for a really great story! Thanks for the recommendation!

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  5. Well, you have made me feel better about my decision to DNF. I was bored despite things I liked, as you mentioned but not invested enough to care. When I cannot slip in, I am slowly learning to walk away. Thanks for sticking it out. Great review

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    1. I think walking away was probably best. While I did find it readable I don't think you missed much by walking away.

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  6. Thanks for another honest review. Although I like Gothic, I probably won't read this because there are so many other books on my TBR list.

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    1. I think there are better Gothics out there. There's definitely better books out there!

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  7. It's really interesting to see what the author has done in fictionalizing Poe and Annabel Lee. But I think I'll hold off and see what the reviews are like for the second book. I'm not big on creepy stuff, though I read my share of Gothic romances (Victoria Holt, anyone?) when I was younger!

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    1. I like a good Gothic romance as well but this really didn't wow me. I'll probably look for the 2nd book but it definitely be a must read!

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  8. I've read other reviews of readers who finished the book, but weren't very enthusiastic about it :)

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  9. Brilliant review. I had seen this book around but wasn't too sure if it was something I wanted to read myself. You've made me feel pretty good about the fact I decided against it in the end. It sounds okay, but not a book that I am going to love.

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  10. I\m a big Poe fan so I'll check this out, but I'll go in with an open mind and not put all my eggs in one basket.

    -Kimberly @ Turning the Pages

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  11. I've always been fascinated by Edgar Allan Poe. At least since I had to memorize The Raven in high school. I am curious about this one, but I don't think I'll rush out to read it.

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