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Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer in Books

Jan 23, 2020

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer

Katie Alender | 2018 | Paranormal, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)

8.3

(3 Ratings)

Book Rating

I only picked up Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer for two reasons: 1) Marie Antoinette is a serial killer. I had to see it. 2) I'm in need of a book that's less of a romance. Oh, and I need a break from all of the books out there that do before I blow a gasket. Really, it's for everyone's benefit.

This book is a fantastic break for me – it's not a fluffy book set in Paris with a Paris romance (though there is a sort-of Paris romance I'm totally peachy with), despite the fact Alender starts things off with a gruesome murder involving a head being chopped off by a ghost.

No, I did not actually enjoy reading a person getting her head chopped off by a flying broken mirror shard caused by a ghost. I might be a ninja and secretly evil, but I don't actually enjoy those kinds of things.

France's history in the late 18th century is quite intriguing – from helping the US with the American Revolution against the British and then entering their own Revolution against the monarchy a little over a decade later. Alender's book is full of rich details involving French history and culture circulating the Revolution (despite the fact some facts were liberated by Alender to fit the overall plot of the story) as Colette tours France with her classmates, questions her roots and her friendship with Hannah, and tries to figure out why she's seeing a Marie Antoinette lookalike everywhere.

The amount of French the author uses throughout the book isn't overwhelming – it's enough to keep the intrigue, but not enough where it'll be overly confusing and categorizing the book as a piece of French literature. Then again, it's probably helpful when 1) the main character isn't entirely proficient at French, and 2) the romance languages are so similar, I pretty much understand the basis of the conversations with my sliver understanding of Spanish and Italian.

On the overall basis of the book being well written, I had mixed feelings for Colette for awhile – she's both likable and not likable at the same time. She's not likable because she just seems to have a very snobby attitude of sorts, tries too hard to fit in with the rich and wealthy at her private school, and spends her time being a doormat in the beginning of the book for fear of facing Hannah's wrath. As the book goes on and everyone makes Colette questions her friendship with Hannah, Colette slowly becomes likable – someone who isn't snobby after all, and her ending with Hannah is quite fantastic. Of course, it does become a little obvious there's some sort of gap between their friendship (and growing) since Colette secretly rebels at times without Hannah's knowledge.

All in all, Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer is a book about deception, loyalty, and how even the dead can come back for revenge to complete unfinished business before they can finally rest in peace.

<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-marie-antoinette-serial-killer-by-katie-alender/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>

Kudos

The Marinated Meeple (1853 KP) rated Guillotine in Tabletop Games

Oct 5, 2018

Guillotine

1998 | Card Game, Humor, Napoleonic

8.1

(12 Ratings)

Tabletop Game Rating

Simple, Easy, Elegant, Dark Humor (1 more)

Theme works perfectly even if it's a bit distasteful

A great travel card game.

This game is a must when we travel. It plays elegantly two players, and even better with more players making it slightly more chaotic. The whole game is using the cards in your hand to manipulate the line in order to collect the most powerful heads from the guillotine during the french revolution. This game is super easy to teach: Here's your cards, read what they do.... each turn you can play one of them to change the line. After playing your card (or not) you get to collect the next "head" in line.

For something this simple there really shouldn't be as much depth to this game, but it does have some good strategy, and really is a good time. Plus it's quick, we play a game in about 15 minutes.... perfect for having a drink on a balcony overlooking the ocean, and working on the line.