There is a strong element of wish fulfillment in this novel, and I must admit I enjoyed that real life fantasy. Camilla writes gothic novels, and there are elements of those here as an homage to the genre. Even though I’m not familiar with that genre, I still spotted a few; I probably missed others, but it wasn’t that big a deal to me. The characters are fun and the plot was strong. I did have some issues with the pacing at the end, but overall, I enjoyed this. It certainly left me anxious for the next one.
NOTE: I received a copy of this book in hopes I would review it.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/02/book-review-dark-and-stormy-murder-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Erika Kehlet (21 KP) rated A Dark and Stormy Murder (A Writer's Apprentice Mystery, #1) in Books
Feb 21, 2018
I've always loved Mary Stewart, Phyllis Whitney, Victoria Holt, and similar authors, so I was very excited to hear about this cozy. I was not disappointed. There's the young heroine, living in an unfamiliar house, the "is he good or is he bad" guy, and the "he must be good but there's something we don't like about him" guy, and lots of other suspicious characters for us to distrust. All of these elements, combined with a modern mystery and a likable amateur sleuth, created a story I didn't want to put down.
This one also wrapped up a little differently than most cozies - the reader is left with a pretty good idea of what the characters will be doing at the beginning of the next book. I can't wait for it!
Roxanne (13 KP) rated Black Roses: The Killing of Sophie Lancaster in Books
Nov 14, 2018
This is a beautiful collection, handled in a very sensitive way, I hope for this to reach more people as things need to change.
Rest in peace beautiful Sophie.
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Iron Angel (Deepgate Codex #2) in Books
Nov 15, 2019
As with Scar Night, Campbell's imagination creates some stunning characters and imagery; the Soft Men, John Anchor, a nightmarish journey through hell. The descriptions are extremely evocative, the whole having a sort of Gothic Steampunk feel to it.
This is, however, weaker than Scar Night, partly because there is just so much Campbell is keen to show us that the detail gets lost, and at times the story grinds to a halt for some lingering descriptions of something that although interesting has no real bearing on the story and just means momentum is lost. The result is unfortunately a bit of a mess.
Not a bad book by any means, but a case of an author's enthusiasm for their own creations reducing the focus on developing an interesting and coherent story
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