November 2019: Colleen's Bday Pick - The Strange Case of the Alchemists' Daughter

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon, Not a book hipster!]

The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter will be my birthday pick for November.

I'll also be reading 11/22/63 if anyone wants to do a buddy read.

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon, Not a book hipster!]

I have this book from the library, but I'd like to finish my current book before I start... so it'll be a few days into November, at this rate.

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon, Not a book hipster!]

I started this last night. Only 2 chapters in.

I'm finding the writing style interesting. It's being told by Catherine, primarily, but there are interruptions which are comment(arie)s from some of the other people involved. I don't always like narrator intrusions into the story - sometimes it takes me out of the story - but because the narrator is one of the people involved in the story, it's having the effect, for me, of giving it a bit of character flavor instead.

[Becky]

I put this on hold from the library as an audiobook... I have a feeling it will be more my speed that way. But that means that I'll be getting to it later in the month. So... See you then! :)

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon, Not a book hipster!]

I wonder how the audiobook will handle the interjections from the characters. In the book it's almost written in script format in those sections.

[Becky]

Hmm... I guess we'll find out. I thought that I had the ebook, but I can't seem to actually locate it now, so I'm wondering if I imagined it or maybe added it on the wrong shelf. So weird.

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon, Not a book hipster!]

I'm around half-way through. It's a bit slow going - at least insofar as I'm being distractable by other things - but it's interesting enough. I enjoy stories where other characters are sort of woven together, so I'm liking that aspect of it, but still waiting for the story to really take off.

[Beth]

I read this not long after it came out (won it in a GR drawing!) and it was also slow for me at the beginning. It never became a nail-biter but it did end pleasantly and with the feeling I wouldn't mind reading more of it, not necessarily going out of my way to do so.

[Becky]

OK.. I have un-officially started... I have read like 2 pages, and I already see what you mean about the interjections, Colleen. Very weird formatting.
Maybe it'll grow on me.

[Ala]

Read it today. The interjection started off annoying but eventually I enjoyed them.

Story overall was nothing special but the writing was serviceable and the characters had a bit of charm. Not enough to keep me reading this series, but not bad for what it was.

Mostly just a meh book, really.

[Becky]

LOL, I love how you're like "I read this today".

Though I guess if I wasn't reading 337 books at once I probably could make better progress.

I'm liking it so far though.

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon, Not a book hipster!]

Ala wrote: "Read it today. The interjection started off annoying but eventually I enjoyed them.

Story overall was nothing special but the writing was serviceable and the characters had a bit of charm. Not eno..."


Unfortunately, I think I agree - though I did like Justine's story, towards the end. It was the one, I felt, which had the most pathos.

I rated it 2.5, bumped up to 3, so I enjoyed it a bit more than you. I am debating about whether to give the second book a try - but I do hope it's a bit more actiony than this one was.

Like, I appreciate that it's more "the story of how [they] came together", and once I was able to focus on that more than on the mystery I was able to enjoy it a bit more...

But if they're going to continue the mystery of the Society, then I'd hope that now that the set-up is over it can be more focused on the mystery in future books.

[Ala]

Becky wrote: "LOL, I love how you're like "I read this today"

See, if i tried to read two books at once I'd never finish. You and your idea of reading entire shelves at the same time is just crazy.

@Colleen

If you do continue, let me know if it gets much better. I wouldn't mind reading more of it if there's a guarantee that it actually picks up the pace and became more interesting.

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon, Not a book hipster!]

Ala wrote: "@Colleen

If you do continue, let me know if it gets much better. I wouldn't mind reading more of it if there's a guarantee that it actually picks up the pace and became more interesting. "


Will do. :)

[Becky]

Ala wrote: "Becky wrote: "LOL, I love how you're like "I read this today"

See, if i tried to read two books at once I'd never finish. You and your idea of reading entire shelves at the same time is just crazy..."

Yes. I don't dispute this. But I get myself bogged down in obligations and then I feel bad when I can't meet them, and so then I at least try to participate in them which results in my reading all of the books that exist at once.

[Becky]

Alrighty! I have finally finished! In the end, I liked it. I think I would have liked it more if it was from one perspective throughout and if the interjections weren't there, but I liked the concept.

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon, Not a book hipster!]

Cool. I'm glad you ended up liking it, for the most part.

Any plans to continue?

[Becky]

I dunno... I guess it depends on what the series ends up being... I don't know if I'd want to read a full series of that style, but a sequel? Sure.

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon, Not a book hipster!]

Looks like it's a trilogy.

[Becky]

A trilogy might be doable. I think that since we now have the formation of the group, and know who the girls are etc, it would make subsequent books go much smoother. I definitely liked it more once they started coming together.

[Becky]

I added the others to my TBR. I don't know why I assumed that they wouldn't be out yet. LOL

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon, Not a book hipster!]

Becky wrote: "A trilogy might be doable. I think that since we now have the formation of the group, and know who the girls are etc, it would make subsequent books go much smoother. "


That's what I'm hoping/assuming as well. *fingers crossed*

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon, Not a book hipster!]

What were your and Ala's thoughts on the (view spoiler)[sort of romancy vibes with Holmes? Did you feel it was more a one-way crush, or that Goss might actually develop in that direction?

Because I'm not sure how I feel about that... (hide spoiler)]

[Becky]

Yeah... I was thinking about that too... I don't know. (view spoiler)[ I mean, I know that much older men did often marry much younger women way back when, (and still.) but for such an established character in literature... It's just weird to think about him having a romantic relationship with a teenager.

I hope that it turns out being unrequited, simply a crush on her part. Maybe he addresses it directly, as is his style, to say that it will never happen. She would be hurt, but I wouldn't feel squicky about reading their romancing. Or, she just grows up a bit and out of it. (hide spoiler)]

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon, Not a book hipster!]

Funnily enough, there's a series called Mary Russell where (view spoiler)[that exact thing happens. He's even older in that series, and she's 19... and it's more a "meeting of the minds" than totally romantic or anything... but, it's still a bit squicky.

But Russell "reads" so much older that I often age her up in my head and sort of gloss over the weird age thing. (hide spoiler)]

[Becky]

I think I have read the first book in that series... The Beekeeper's Apprentice, right?

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon, Not a book hipster!]

Becky wrote: "I think I have read the first book in that series... The Beekeeper's Apprentice, right?"

That's the one.

[Ala]

(view spoiler)[I read it as Holmes knows she's into him but doesn't actually care. He's just interested in seeing her mind at work. At least, that's what I hope anyway.

Otherwise it's just weird, for the reasons yall said. (hide spoiler)]