Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth - Starting February 16th, 2020

[❀ Crystal ✿ -]

Our story begins in 1902, at The Brookhants School for Girls. Flo and Clara, two impressionable students, are obsessed with each other and with a daring young writer named Mary MacLane, the author of a scandalous bestselling memoir. To show their devotion to Mary, the girls establish their own private club and call it The Plain Bad Heroine Society. They meet in secret in a nearby apple orchard, the setting of their wildest happiness and, ultimately, of their macabre deaths. This is where their bodies are later discovered with a copy of Mary’s book splayed beside them, the victims of a swarm of stinging, angry yellow jackets. Less than five years later, The Brookhants School for Girls closes its doors forever—but not before three more people mysteriously die on the property, each in a most troubling way.

Over a century later, the now abandoned and crumbling Brookhants is back in the news when wunderkind writer, Merritt Emmons, publishes a breakout book celebrating the queer, feminist history surrounding the “haunted and cursed” Gilded-Age institution. Her bestselling book inspires a controversial horror film adaptation starring celebrity actor and lesbian it girl Harper Harper playing the ill-fated heroine Flo, opposite B-list actress and former child star Audrey Wells as Clara. But as Brookhants opens its gates once again, and our three modern heroines arrive on set to begin filming, past and present become grimly entangled—or perhaps just grimly exploited—and soon it’s impossible to tell where the curse leaves off and Hollywood begins.

A story within a story within a story and featuring black-and-white period illustrations.

[❀ Crystal ✿ -]

Started early...
35% (view spoiler)[I’m not sure if it’s more confusing because I’m reading via audio or not. There are soooo many characters and I’m not always sure on the time period we’re in. It’s sooooo unnecessarily long too. (hide spoiler)]

[❀ Crystal ✿ -]

55% (view spoiler)[I’m so sick of the narrator saying “Dear Reader...” constantly 😠 (hide spoiler)]

[❀ Crystal ✿ -]

73% (view spoiler)[I feel like I’m still as confused as I was at the start. I’m up to date with the modern characters but the past keeps confusing me. (hide spoiler)]

[❀ Crystal ✿ -]

Finished (view spoiler)[Umm I didn’t get that book at all. Was there a point? The brothers killing that woman was garbage. No wonder that place is cursed, or is just the story that makes it cursed.? No idea. Maybe my mistake was listening to this rather than physically reading it? I just don’t get the point of it all and why oh why it had to be so damn long lol (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

6%
(view spoiler)[ I feel like I read and read and I'm only at 6%. That felt like a lot of exposition to me. I do like background and that was really only a small percentage of the book, so it's okay. I love footnotes! I think they add so much to the story- just those little bits here and there. (hide spoiler)]

[❀ Crystal ✿ -]

Ashley wrote: "6%
[spoilers removed]"

Yeah this one was a real struggle for me too. And it’s sooooooo unnecessarily long! I feel your pain lol

[Dr. Andy]

❀ Crystal ✿ - wrote: "Started early...
35% [spoilers removed]"

I was definitely confused in the beginning. It didn't quite catch my attention until around 50% and then I was invested. I didn't mind that it was long. I wanted to listen to the narrator forever hahah

[Dr. Andy]

Also it took me until after I finished this book to realize the character is Merritt and not a mispronunciation of Meredith.

[Dr. Andy]

❀ Crystal ✿ - wrote: "55% [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I thought it was a nod to Jane Eyre. It didn't bother me and I don't really remember it happening that many times. (hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

❀ Crystal ✿ - wrote: "73% [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[It was hard to keep track because there were like 3 different timelines in the past. Really cool but also a lot. I think my favorite past characters were Lizzy and Alex. (hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

Ashley wrote: "6%
[spoilers removed]"

There's footnotes!! Ah I wish I read this physically. I only have the audio tho so I think it was incorporated into the narrative.

[Dr. Andy]

Finished/some thoughts (view spoiler)[ The fixation with yellow jackets or whatever was so WEIRD. Also creepy. I would like to believe Lizzy escaped near death and went off to live abroad but I don't really know what to believe. There didn't seem to be a good way for Lizzy's timeline to end. But I also love that in present time Harper, Merritt and Audrey reunited at the movie release or whatever that was. I really liked those three together. It was so weird that all three of them were in on it, but they thought every one else was in the dark. Wild.

I'd like to reread this one with the physical book at some point. There's so much build up with the atmosphere and setting and I definitely felt like I missed a lot of it with the audiobook. (hide spoiler)]

[❀ Crystal ✿ -]

Andy wrote: "Finished/some thoughts The fixation with yellow jackets or whatever was so WEIRD. Also creepy. I would like to believe Lizzy escaped near death and went off to live abroad but I don't really know ..."

(view spoiler)[Glad you liked this. I too think maybe audio wasn’t the best way to have read this. Wonder if I’d have liked it more reading the physical book. (hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

❀ Crystal ✿ - wrote: "Andy wrote: "Finished/some thoughts [spoilers removed] ..."

I've heard there's illustrations of some sort so that would be cool to see!