Author: Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

An avid reader whose current interest lies in mysteries and thrillers. Line 'em up! Also personally love fantasies and any stories to do with magic, and a sucker for the occasional (good) romance.
discussion

Let’s Talk Bookish – What Makes You Pick Up a Book?

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books & Dani @ Literary Lion, where they discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each others’ posts.

APRIL 16: WHAT MAKES YOU PICK UP A BOOK? (SUGGESTED BY RAFAELA @ THE PORTUGUESE BIBLIOPHILE)

Prompts: What makes you pick up certain books? Is a pretty cover enough? Do you check for good reviews? Is the synopsis important? Do you look for diversity or #ownvoices? Do you look for any checkboxes? Do you have autobuy authors?

Welcome to another week here at LTB! I love this topic, there are definitely many different reasons that make me pick up a book, but I know for certain that it follows a pattern (even if I don’t want to admit it!)

I think I mentioned it previously, but pretty covers is a big one. Even if I don’t judge a book by its cover, inevitably it’s the first thing I see, and the first step to drawing me in. Realistically, who is going to pick up each book off the shelf and read the synopsis before making a decision? I know myself, and I usually reach only to pick up books that seem to call out to me. Alternatively, a good title is also good enough to attract my attention, usually. Of course, before actually reading the book, I also read the synopsis to make sure the title/cover aligns with what kind of book I think it will be, and whether it will interest me overall or not.

If it’s a book online that I’m researching, then reviews do also come into play. Although, I do find that in general reviews aren’t always the most helpful unless it’s fairly unanimous. If some enjoyed it while others didn’t…then how am I supposed to know which category I fall under? Or worse, the egregious “I loved everything about it!!!! 2/5” reviews. What does that even mean?! Please tell me someone knows what I mean when I say those reviews haha.

Continue reading “Let’s Talk Bookish – What Makes You Pick Up a Book?” →
3 star, adult

Review: The Language of the Flowers by K. Pigeon

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

After plunging into a lake, Lan wakes up in the body of a girl thousands of years in the future. Yet, she never forgot her promise to him.

Across space-time, “he” has the same appearance as “him”, but “he” is no longer human, and “he”… is no longer “him”.

They say love in this lifetime is a repaying of debt from the previous one.

When the rain falls and the meadows burgeon with blossoms blue as the sky, who still remembers the language of the flower, and who cannot let go?

Thanks to Asian bookish creators, I received a copy (with some special additional epilogues!) from the author in exchange for a honest review.

My overall impression is that I liked it. It was nothing mind-blowing, and there were a couple of things that I think I personally would have changed or made different. But overall it was a pretty good story, and I think I would commend the author on the world building, as I felt that was its greatest strength.

The romance itself was also acceptable. Perhaps the male lead was a tad too controlling and possessive for my liking, but nothing too egregious. As the story went on, I definitely cheered more and more for their relationship. That being said though, the timing and progression of their relationship felt weird. One moment they were at odds, and the next they couldn’t resist each other. It just felt a little bit sudden for my tastes.

The beginning was also a relatively slow start for me. Yes, building fantasy worlds take time, but the introduction of characters in this novel happens in a weird(?) way. The main character, Elizabeth (Lan), will meet a character, and then half-way as they talk, instead of using pronouns, the character will suddenly be replaced by a name (even though they never introduced themselves). This happens several times, so I imagine it is intentional, but it is a little bit strange, and I always wonder if suddenly a new character popped in or if I missed their introduction. Or maybe this is normal in some novels? It was strange for me.

Continue reading “Review: The Language of the Flowers by K. Pigeon” →
4.5 star, YA

Review: Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Stalking Jack the Ripper #2

Following the grief and horror of her discovery of Jack the Ripper’s true identity, Audrey Rose Wadsworth has no choice but to flee London and its memories. Together with the arrogant yet charming Thomas Cresswell, she journeys to the dark heart of Romania, home to one of Europe’s best schools of forensic medicine… and to another notorious killer, Vlad the Impaler, whose thirst for blood became legend.

But her life’s dream is soon tainted by blood-soaked discoveries in the halls of the school’s forbidding castle, and Audrey Rose is compelled to investigate the strangely familiar murders. What she finds brings all her terrifying fears to life once again.

In this New York Times bestselling sequel to Kerri Maniscalco’s haunting #1 debut Stalking Jack the Ripper, bizarre murders are discovered in the castle of Prince Vlad the Impaler, otherwise known as Dracula. Could it be a copycat killer…or has the depraved prince been brought back to life?

Kerri Maniscalco does it again! It is honestly rare for sequels to be as good as their predecessors, but I can truly, truly say that this sequel is every bit as good as the original. It perfectly picks up from where we left off, and characters keep moving forwards in their lives, ready to solve the next mystery thrown at them with their powers of deduction. In fact, Andge rates this as a 5 Drink Me Potions, and she actually enjoyed this even a little bit more than book one!

I think I would almost agree that it is better, but there’s just a little bit of the ending that I didn’t find quite as satisfying as I did in the first book. That being said, Maniscalco always manages to surprise me and lead me on this fantastic mystery-solving journey while providing deep and rich characters, and setting it on a very well-researched backdrop of late nineteenth century Europe.

Hunting Prince Dracula once again follows our dynamic duo, Audrey Rose Wadsworth and Thomas Cresswell, as they journey to the famous castle of Dracula in Romania, vying for spots in one of the top schools for forensic medicine. While it is initially a dream scenario, everything goes drastically downhill (as usual), as bodies are discovered, killed in very peculiar and haunting fashions.

Continue reading “Review: Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco” →