Of Monsters and Madness by Jessica Verday
 Buy on Amazon |
| Of Monsters and MadnessBy: Jessica Verday Published by: EgmontUSA ISBN: 1606844636 Author’s Website: http://www.jessicaverday.com/ Author’s Social: Twitter | Facebook Format of Review Copy: digital Recommendable for people who enjoy: Murder Mysteries, Edgar Allen Poe fanfic |
Synopsis (from Amazon):
A romantic, historical retelling of classic Gothic horror featuring Edgar Allan Poe and his character Annabel Lee, from a New York Times best-selling author.Annabel Lee is summoned from Siam to live with her father in 1820’s Philadelphia shortly after her mother’s death, but an unconventional upbringing makes her repugnant to her angry, secretive father.Annabel becomes infatuated with her father’s assistant Allan, who dabbles in writing when he’s not helping with medical advancements. But in darker hours, when she’s not to be roaming the house, she encounters the devilish assistant Edgar, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Allan, and who others insist doesn’t exist. A rash of murders across Philadelphia, coupled with her father’s strange behavior, leads Annabel to satisfy her curiosity and uncover a terrible truth: Edgar and Allan are two halves of the same person – and they are about to make the crimes detailed in Allan’s stories come to life. Unless Annabel stops them.
Releases simultaneously in electronic book format (ISBN: 9781606844649).
My Thoughts:
You guys! To quote my kindle notes:
Wow! Talk abt hooking you in!
*This is from an ARC (uncorrected proof) of OF MONSTERS AND MADNESS. Passage may not be included in the finished copy.
“Blood is everywhere. Splashed on the walls and spilled across the floor. The scent, heavy upon the air, is like a fog that rises up early in the morning. Loops of glistening flesh are strung out upon a table, and in the middle of it all is a single lock of hair. Dark. Curled. Obscene in its loveliness amongst such carnage.”
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– Your Highlight Location 12-14 | Added on Sunday, June 22, 2014 6:13:14 AM
I’m going to break this one down to pros and cons.
The Pros:
I enjoyed the authors writing style. It flowed well and was captivating.
I enjoyed the story premise.
I enjoyed the characters. * I just didn’t need the first 70% of the book to get to know them, is all.
Annabel Lee, a cooky family, murder mystery, and twists at every turn. Interesting. Very interesting.
The Cons:
The book is, dare I say: 80% character development, 3% story set up, 2% mystery, and 15% ya trope/”I saw that coming”.
In Conclusion:
This book did a fantastic job of hooking me in, but it took FOREVER to get past the “getting to know the characters” phase. At 70% I was still saying “show me something!” That’s a bit long for me. I did like it enough that I stuck with it, and didn’t DNF the book. So that says a lot, as far as I’m concerned. I say pick it up, especially if you like mystery type thriller whodunit type books! However, and I need to say that in all caps, so…. HOWEVER, do not pick it up expecting anything amazing, or anything remotely resembling Poe. Well, besides a the character names. ha.
Also note: The ending. BAH! This is the first book in a series, yall. I wish they would have advertised that.
Mom Notes:
A little on the creepy side. Some violence, but not too bad. I say for ages 13+, but may require some guidance.