The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter (The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club, #1) in Crazy Challenge Connection

Dec 29, 2020 ☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣ rated it really liked it

Q: We are modern. And, of course, monstrous . . . (c)

I read this one on a whim and am not disappointed too much.

The good:
- The banter lovely.
- The sleuthy setting.
- Love the setting and the character building.

The bad:
- Where's the info for the world-setting? Yes, I know, everyone's always crying about infodumps. Well, I love my infodumps and there's no info in here. Who are these people standing next to the grave? For example, who is this gal Diana? Why do I have to look for this unfo around t ...more

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May 18, 2018 Lindsay♫SingerOfStories♫ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018-reads

Two things drew me in to this book: the cover and the title. From just these two things, I couldn't fully tell exactly the time period or genre, but I did know that I wanted to find out more and I'm glad I picked it up.

The book mainly centers around Mary Jekyll--yes, as in the daughter of the infamous Dr. Jekyll. She is alone and penniless after the disappearance and (alleged) death of her father and recent madness and death of her mother. Mary decides to seek a reward for the capture of her fat Two things drew me in to this book: the cover and the title. From just these two things, I couldn't fully tell exactly the time period or genre, but I did know that I wanted to find out more and I'm glad I picked it up.

The book mainly centers around Mary Jekyll--yes, as in the daughter of the infamous Dr. Jekyll. She is alone and penniless after the disappearance and (alleged) death of her father and recent madness and death of her mother. Mary decides to seek a reward for the capture of her father's capturer, the mysterious Mr. Hyde, in order to solve her financial troubles. Her search leads her, in stead, to new companions in the form of Hyde's daughter Diana, Sherlock Holmes (whom she turns to for aid), Catherine Maureau, Justine Frankenstein, and Beatrice Rappaccini. The soon-to-be-called Athena Club's adventures lead them around London seeking answers about dark experiments which are both fascinating and dangerous, but which link them all together in some way.

I very much appreciated the concept of this book, which was getting together the 'daughters' of gothic horror. For once, we're not seeing all male monsters but females, and they're heroines! What?! They are making the role of monstress look good! Its so interesting--the author gives each character their own personality based on their environment and how they were made, taught, raised, or "born" if you will. We get to hear their stories and it really is so fascinating. We do also see a bit of the personality of Sherlock & Watson as well. Goss really does touch on all of the characters.

The only reason that I didn't absolutely love the book is the structure. The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter is written with frequent and random present-day dialogue interruptions from the characters in the Athena Club. A running commentary, if you will. To me, they are sometimes too distracting and excessive. I just didn't feel they were necessary. I just couldn't figure out if they were meant to lighten the mood? I have no idea what the purpose is. They are literally anywhere from 2-10 lines of dialogue every few pages. Why? Oh well.

Other than that though, I really enjoyed the book. I love classic, gothic literature and this was a great spin on the stories. I can't wait to read more in this series! ...more

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Jul 28, 2021 Carissa Brown rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, cover-lover, young-adult, history-historical, borrowed

This book was so much fun. I appreciated a book centering around females that was not about the males they were wanting, chasing, in love with, or out of love with. Seeing how the author created a world where Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde having different daughters was a nice little twist.

Best quote: "No wonder men didn't want women to wear bloomers...If they had pockets! With pockets women could conquer the world!"

...more

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Sep 14, 2020 Kristin rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: gothic, 2017-books, fantasy-magical-realism, libby-available, 5000-2020

This book is a compilation of characters from several 19th and 20th century novels. Included are Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Dr. Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, as well as others. This book adds female characters related to these characters and builds a gothic plot . It is an interesting idea with these unlikely female characters. I am interested to continue the series.

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Feb 12, 2022 Chaitra rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery, historical-fiction, fantasy, retellings-spinoffs-adaptations, horror, historical-mystery

More like 3.5 stars for going on a teeny bit longer than strictly necessary, but it really was fun. I loved Diana and her dynamics with Mary. Not quite sure why they count Mary among the monsters, but maybe she's an honorary monster? I also really liked the character of Mrs. Poole. ...more

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