I enjoy reading Amy Carol Reeves' Ripper novels. I love the setting and the overall gothic feel the author creates from London in the 1880's with a sprinkle of the supernatural. It is also interesting to travel back in time to an era when girls weren't supposed to want anything for themselves, other than a nice home, and certainly not should they ever fancy themselves becoming a physician.
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| My copy of Renegade was provided by the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review. |
If you missed my review of the first book in the series you can check it out by clicking on this link.
There will be spoilers - continue on at own risk!
"The End Is the Beginning Is the End"
We're picking up almost where the first book ended. One of the members of the cruel and twisted Conclave is still out there somewhere and of course he is after Abbie Sharp and her friend. This time there are cruel murders in London, again, people being resurrected and suspiciously sounding like vamps. However things get lost and Abbie keeps having these visions of a creature that is half woman, half large reptile. Not a good sign! The rest is up to you to find out, I will not reveal the whole caboodle.Some pet peeves - and start spoilers
Why does the girl, almost without exception, choose the guy who is an ass over the good guy?! Some bad guys(and girls) are nice and just bad by reputation and if you've tried being with them once and it doesn't really work out that well then why o' why try again?Old affair out in broad daylight
In this case the love interest confesses as to have had a partner earlier in his life, after Abbie picks up some vibes when she and Mr.Lovely visits this past flame, an older woman, and her husband for dinner. Abbie reacts to this, no wonder really it must feel weird to discover such a thing in that kind of setting and I would think that had made anyone a bit insecure. Also Abbie is no more than seventeen, she is supposed to react to these sort of things with a bit of a hormonal outburst. It will pass, but that was not the issue for me here. My problem was the way the boy/man behaved after the relationship went down the drain after this. He behaved like an ass and turned to the bottle instead of trying to win Abbies trust and be the best man that he could be for her and make her see that the past was the past. Instead he welled in self pity, very charming! How can a girl resist such a behavior? Read with dripping sarcasm on tongue.Chemistry with a capital C
When Dr. Charming makes Abbie's heart beat faster, and the chemistry actually makes my own heart beat a bit faster and the butterflies in my stomach start to dance, she gives it a thought about five seconds and decides no I'll go hook up with "Mr. pity party" over there. Please Mrs. Reeves don't let it end like this, I am begging you!Historical
I love the historical setting and all the bits and bobs of history that lies hidden in the inky lines. Some historical figures has been written into the story and others are mentioned so I've taken my sweet time with this novel as I wanted to find out more about the real characters(Google, Wikipedia etc). This is not necessary, I am just that kind of curious girl. I have to say that as a bonus I discovered what is thought to be the first modern vampire story; The Vampyre by John William Polidori. It was a short little thing and I will try and review it shortly.Little clues and pieces of read string are strewn throughout the story making it possible to write some dark and intriguing stories in future novels in this series. I am sticking with it and looking forward to what comes next for Abbie and co.
Addictive but annoying...hm
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