2025 Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to discuss Things in Jars by Jess Kidd.

Pages: 369 pages

Length: 1 Month (November)

Participants: oshizu, Trisha, Marleen, Grace, Eileen, Ice.

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.


Happy Buddy Reading!

Hello, I would like to join this buddy read please! Looking forward to reading it with you all :)

Ice wrote: "Hello, I would like to join this buddy read please! Looking forward to reading it with you all :)"

Heyy Twin, I added you to the participants list! So excited to read with you again! :D

Hi guys, I will probably start reading this one next week. Looking forward to it!

I can't wait to start reading this book and will probably start in two days (Thursday).
Looking forward to hearing--I mean, reading-- the discussion as well!

I'm starting this book today.
And I cannot resist asking: Why are Trisha and Ice "twins"?
TBR Twins?

I've read the Prologue and Chapters 1-3.
The first section ends on Chapter 6, so I'd like to read the entire section before commenting.

Has anyone else started? The prologue was very weird, I thought, but the story engages me more and more as I read on. Still a bit weird, though.

oshizu wrote: "I'm starting this book today.
And I cannot resist asking: Why are Trisha and Ice "twins"?
TBR Twins?"

Lol, that’s right, you curious lady! Ice was my first ever twin and my ONLY twin friend who has allowed me to cling to her! ;)

oshizu wrote: "Has anyone else started? The prologue was very weird, I thou..."

Not yet started! Sadly I don’t have time to read anything these days 😭 October-November are crammed with Hindu festivals. I just login to Goodreads to do my mod duties and that’s about it! Promise to cover up before the month ends but I’m sorry, I’ll be super late in responding to your book updates.

Trisha
Well, I hope you and your family are enjoying your Hindu celebrations!
No worries about being late about adding to a Buddy Read discussion. We all read and comment when we can. :D

I'm finished with Chapters 1-12 which puts me, sez Kindle, at 46%.
And yet there are still so many hidden plot secrets to unravel!
The story is told through an omniscient third-person narrator through multiple POVs. I struggled to stay focused on this book during Chapter 1, but I'm hooked now.

Random thoughts on Chapter 1-12
(view spoiler)[*Characters: What a cast of unique and eccentric characters, so unconventional yet so determined to live life as they personally see fit.

Time shifts: I'm enjoying the flashbacks into different periods of Bridie Devine's past.. living first with the "resurrectionist" Gan Murphy and then with the surgeon Dr. Eames and his sadistic son Gideon. I'm sure her experience with Gideon will turn out badly for Bridie or Bridie's "protector."

*Ruby Doyle: Almost halfway through the novel and we still don't know how/when Ruby knew Bridie. In Chapter 11, I was surprised that Bridie starts wishing that Ruby weren't dead because she could imagine them raising kids and growing old together, followed by Ruby having the same private thoughts not long after. When did Ruby transform for Bridie from an annoying ghost into missed-opportunity Husband-of-the-Year material?
Perhaps Bridie finally remembering her past connection to Ruby will be unveiled in a future "time-shift chapter."

*The main mystery: We've only gotten little bits and pieces of it so far. Bridie will visit the circus impresario to see if he has plans to "acquire" Christabel."
Do you think Christabel is really Edmund whatz-it's biological daughter? Do you think she, intentionally or unintentionally, drowned both her mother and previous nurse?

*Storytelling: The evil nurse Mrs. Bibby loves to tell stories to Christabel. Gideon Eames also tells a horrifying tale to young Bridie about the thief's apprentice and surgeon's son.
Why does the author chose to highlight storytelling and how do these stories serve the plot?
Well, in Gideon's case, he's simply venting his sadistic fantasies while threatening Bridie but why does he choose to form his threat as a "tale." (hide spoiler)]

I'm still waiting for my copy to be ready at the library.. I'm number 7 in line so fingers crossed that I'll receive it soon ! :D

I started today. Have only read the Prologue so far. So far I have many questions and am very intrigued. (view spoiler)[Who are these people and what are they doing? Are they kidnapping or freeing this girl? And why? What is she? Is she human? She certainly has some unusual abilities. Lots of references to sea/ocean/water, I hope that’s indeed a theme because then I can use this book for one of my November challenge prompts hahaha (hide spoiler)]

Marleen,
Yes, there's a water theme. You could definitely use the book for the Water element!

oshizu wrote: "Marleen,
Yes, there's a water theme. You could definitely use the book for the Water element!"
Ooo excellent!

So here's my question: If I think the Doctor's dirty, could I use this book for my Earth element?
Just kidding, I'm reading a different book for that prompt. *winks

I just finished Chapter 29, which puts me at 81%. I'm going to try to finish book tonight, if possible.

More random impressions that I've split into chapters so you don't have to read the whole book before viewing spoilers.

Chapter 14
(view spoiler)[Mrs. Bibby tells Christabel a story about two girls, Dorcas and Della, who escape from their reformatory school.
Is this the same Bad Dorcas who worked as a maid at the Eames household while Bridie lived there? (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 18
(view spoiler)[Gah, this book is so stingy with details! Gideon seems to have accused Eliza of having a son sired by his father? Does that mean she's pregnant? What does he mean by "I'll have it."
Darn chapter ends on a cliffhanger. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 23
(view spoiler)[And now we learn what's become of Dorcas's friend Della. Why does Della refer to Gideon as her "forest buck"? Does that mean what I think it means? *waggles eyebrows (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 26
(view spoiler)[Now Dorcas is all palsy-walsy with Gideon Eames. I wonder what she'll do when/if she discovers Gideon's involvement in Della's death.
How impressive that young Bridie ("younger than 12 but older than 10" or something like that) managed to collect such solid evidence. Dr. Eames has no idea what his wife and son are up to.

I must say that I'm enjoying the flashback chapters more than the main story. Perhaps because they're usually so brief and leave our imaginations begging for more? (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 27
(view spoiler)[Where was Ruby when Bridie got attacked in the middle of the night? Why didn't he warn her?
I was sure she would be sexually assaulted, but the villain was satisfied with bruising her face and knocking her teeth out. Silver lining? She let that man follow her everywhere, assuming he was one of Inspector Rose's man. Huh. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 28
(view spoiler)[I came across two unfamiliar terms in this chapter.
What is an ex-Judy?
Also, I googled "lag" and found it's British slang for convict, but then "lag for hire" doesn't make much sense.

Otherwise, at this point in the book, we're starting to see connections between various people in the pasts of both Bridie and Dorcas. I'm still waiting to learn what the Bridie-Ruby connection is... (hide spoiler)]

Haha, just a bunch of unrelated, rather superficial observations on my reading.

I finished the book last night.
All the loose ends came together nicely at the end except

(view spoiler)[So...was Ruby Doyle the boy named Ronan who jumped in the water after Bridie when they were children?
I'd assumed at that time that he'd drowned since he couldn't swim but since he grew up to become a pugilist, I guess not? (hide spoiler)]

my hold just came in! will start in the next couple days

It’s been slow going for me but I’ve finished the first section, chapters 1 through 6.

(view spoiler)[I love so many of the characters we’ve met so far. Bridie Devine, what a great character. She seems to be a bit psychic with the way she was able to ‘divine’ (whats in a name...) the last moments of the corpse in the beginning. And she sees ghosts (at least the one). What else can she do?
I like Ruby too, I’m curious to find out what the connection is between him and Bridie, he knows her but she doesn’t remember or recognize him apparently. He clearly feels protective of her. Family member? Old lover?
And other fun side characters too, Bridie’s housemaid Cora, and Agnes who was showing her around the mansion.

So Dr Harbin is in on the kidnapping. Did he contact Bridie because he expects her not to solve the case (because apparently she was too late with her last case)?
I wonder how much Sir Edmund knows. He is a collector of ‘abnormalities’ in jars. Is Christabel even his child?
And what’s with all the snails? So many questions still. (hide spoiler)]

Marleen, about the snails. Something I learned from SarahKat during September's Wildlife Sanctuary challenge is that the book's cover is crawling with snails.

To see them, visit the book's page then click "Enlarge cover" on the cover art.

Just started and I’ve only read the Prologue. (view spoiler)[Weird (did someone already say that?) I just couldn’t understand what was happening- it felt like a kidnapping at the beginning, but then a whole bunch of people came in and took over. So did the kidnapping fail? But by the end of the prologue, it seemed like all the intruders were one team, so yes, it has to be a kidnapping! Right? (hide spoiler)]

Marleen wrote: "I started today. Have only read the Prologue so far. So far I have many questions and am very intrigued. [spoilers removed]"

I have the same questions.

Alrighty, my bad! I just read the blurb of the book and all the questions that I had earlier after reading the prologue, shouldn’t have come to my mind if I had cared to read the blurb before. I really need to make it a habit to read the goddamn blurbs!

Through chapter 6. Thoughts: (view spoiler)[

* I love the characters, especially Ruby and Cora. Both of them are so unique - how many times you come across a clingy ghost and a seven-foot tall housekeeper? I’m guessing Cora’s history could possibly add something to the ongoing case. Mrs Devine, so far is doing okay. She hasn’t been the likes of Holmes and Poirot, but it’s still too early so I’ll give her more time. I agree with Marleen, she was ingenious with the corpse she investigated in the beginning. Also, I’m curious to know the connection between Ruby and Mrs D.

* Love the whole set-up of the kidnapping. We know the physician is involved, but is he willingly part of this or blackmailed into it? The house is full of secrets and is super weird too, but at the same time so intriguing. Sir Edmund seems peculiar enough. Like Marleen, I have my doubts if he is truly the father of the kidnapped child. Why call an investigator and then withhold information from her? Was the child another collectible for him?

* I kinda think that we still don’t all the peculiarities of Christabel. Also, is she really a human child or a peculiar sea creature (amphibian because of course she can survive outside water)? What’s with eating snails? Eeeww! (hide spoiler)]

Marleen wrote: "It’s been slow going for me but I’ve finished the first section, chapters 1 through 6..."

Sorry, just read your spoiler after posting mine, and they’re almost identical. :D How far in are you now?

Editing this comment to add spoilers as I progress.

Chapter 7: (view spoiler)[ OMG, isn’t she the same Dorcas with a limp from Mrs Bibby’s story. Does that imply that the stories would continue? Gideon seems like a wicked boy - possibly the murderer of his own sister. Can Dorcas actually be Mrs Bibby - she, too, has a limp. I’m really liking the setup! (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 8:(view spoiler)[Another match!! Dorcas in the story was at the reformatory for a certain period of time and so was the Dorcas - Dr Dames’ maid. That can’t be a coincidence. It has to be Bibby! (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 9:(view spoiler)[Did Mrs Devine just fantasise about Ruby? Oh man! (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 10-12:(view spoiler)[ Christabel can manifest water. Weird! Initially the story was just peculiar but now it is beginning to crossover into fantasy. I liked this new character, Mr Prudhoe - intelligent and kind. I cracked up when he said:

“Moreover, women should have the uncontested right to enter the medical profession, being, as a general rule, notably less stupid than men. Further, that a rural doctor will take, on average, three months to realise that his patient has been poisoned, whilst a town doctor is four times more likely to poison his own patient in the first place.”

Haha! Also, chapter 12 has introduced two new villainous characters - Mrs Eames & Gideon. His story gave me chills. So horrifying! (hide spoiler)]

I’m stopping here today. Contrary to what I had assumed, this is a quick read. I’m 44% in at the moment and this is when I was reading alongside client calls and cooking meals. :P

oshizu wrote: "I'm finished with Chapters 1-12 which puts me, sez Kindle, at 46%.
And yet there are still so many hidden plot secrets to unravel!
The story is told through an omniscient third-person narrator thro..."

On your spoiler about Ruby: (view spoiler)[Honestly, I’m also clueless as to when that transformation happened. One moment she is wanting to investigate alone, and the other moment she is fantasising about making babies. Also, until chapter 12, Ruby hasn’t been of any help to her, has he? No valuable findings or observations made. There has to be a purpose to have him as a central character in the plot. But what? (hide spoiler)]

Trisha wrote: "Marleen wrote: "It’s been slow going for me but I’ve finished the first section, chapters 1 through 6..."

Sorry, just read your spoiler after posting mine, and they’re almost identical. :D How far..."
Haha, how fun to see that we had almost identical thoughts :) I’m not much further yet, had a few low-reading days, but hope to read a ton tomorrow.

Marleen wrote: "Haha, how fun to see that we had almost identical thoughts :) I’m not much further yet, had a few low-reading days, but hope to read a ton tomorrow."

Awesome, looking forward to reading your comments. :)

Chapter 14:(view spoiler)[It is now confirmed the Bad Dorcas (the housemaid at Dr Eames’ house) is the same as the Dorcas in Mrs Bibby’s story. All that need to be confirmed is whether or not Dorcas and Mrs Bibby are the same person. Also, where is Della or does she, too, have an alias now? (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 16 - actually not really 16, but earlier: (view spoiler)[Why has the Doctor not fled along with his daughter? Is he really his daughter? Does he plan to come back? Is Sir Edmund involved with the kidnapping so the Dr is assured that nothing wrong can happen to his daughter? Who is this he the Dr keeps referring to - a client or the mastermind behind this whole affair? Too many questions. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 18:(view spoiler)[What just happened? I just couldn’t decipher the trade that happened between Eliza and Gideon. The dialogues were so...umm...incomplete and wrapped up. All I could understand was that Gideon knew about Eliza’s affairs and that she had slept with other men (possibly his father), and that their house already had at least one of his father’s bastards - could that be Eliza’s son or was he referring to Bridie? Could Eliza be Della? No, that’s not possible. Della and Dorcas were friends, while Eliza and Dorcas aren’t. Also, Della was supposed to be pretty while Eliza is plain-looking, as described in her intro. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 19:(view spoiler)[ This is my favourite chapter so far! Now that I have been sucked into the plot, I just can’t put the book down. The folklore about Merrows was delicious and on looking up on the web, turns out to be true. A number of our questions were answered too - Christabel was Ellen’s child, and not Edmund’s, who along with the Dr, kidnapped her from her poor mother. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 23:(view spoiler)[Della finally makes an appearance and then, what, dies? I’m still confused about what transpired between Gideon and Eliza the other day. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 25:(view spoiler)[OMG, the attack on Bridie threw me off the edge. Was she sexually assaulted as well? How did she escape or did Mr Boyd, oh f**k mister, did Boyd realise that he can’t manage the whole act and left her after physically assaulting her? (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 29:(view spoiler)[Can Kemp be Eliza Kempton’s son, Edgar Kempton Jones? Then why would he be friends with Gideon knowing the latter assaulted his mother. But then he was too young to make any sense and we know how Gideon got extra-friendly with him. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 35:(view spoiler)[Confirmed - Edgar was Dr Eames’ illegitimate son. It makes me guess that the cryptic conversation between Gideon & Eliza (which was overheard by Birdie) was possibly about aborting another of Dr Eames’ bastards, Eliza must have been expecting another child then. (hide spoiler)]

Stopping now at chapter 40. Hardly 30 mins of reading left but I have to get up early tomorrow for my driving class. 🥺

Read through chapter 12 today, so I get to click open some spoilers woohoo!

My thoughts:
(view spoiler)[So by now I think it’s clear that Mrs Bibby is the same person as Bad Dorcas who worked at the Eames’ house, and she is telling Christabel sad and creepy stories from her own past. She’s clearly been through a lot. I like how we now seem to follow three different stories: Dorcas’ past, Bridie’s past, and the present.
So Bridie, Dorcas/Bibby and the Winter Mermaid jar were all in the Eames’ house and now, so many years later they all end up in the same spot again. Can’t be a coincidence.

I love Ruby’s moving tattoos. Am I the only one who keeps thinking of Maui in Moana?

I liked how Bridie was figuring things out in the chapel. Most of her theories were things I was thinking too so it really feels like we are doing this together. I love books where I don’t feel either a lot smarter or a lot dumber than the main character :)

More fun side characters in this part, I loved the Prudhoes. Both him and her. This writer manages to write really great likeable characters in just a few paragraphs.

When it was mentioned by Mr Prudhoe in passing that Gideon Eames is dead, my first thought was that Gideon could be Ruby, because he is a dead person from Bridie’s past. But in the next chapter Gideon turns out to be such a horrible person that I’m no longer thinking that. Because if he would be, he’d need such a long redemption arc that this book would need a whole sequel to manage to redeem him... (hide spoiler)]

oshizu, in reply to your 1-12 spoiler: (view spoiler)[Ruby: I too was very surprised at the sudden attraction between Bridie and Ruby in chapter 11. I see them becoming friends but did not see it coming at all that Bridie was developing feelings. And Ruby acting all jealous about Valentine Rose, and Bridie almost apologising to him about that? A bit too much too soon. I do like their chemistry but the change was too sudden.

Christabel: I do think that she drowned her mother and her nurse. My guess would be that the mother was unintentional at least. The nurse...depends on how she was treating Christabel.
(hide spoiler)]

Trisha, (view spoiler)[I hadn’t put two and two together yet about the Dorcas story after chapter 7, but I read your chapter 7 comment after reading the chapter and I couldn’t believe I missed the name connection! A few chapters later it definitely became a sure thing. Well spotted! (hide spoiler)]

Just finished.

Connection between Ruby & Bridie:(view spoiler)[ The connection between Ruby and Bridie was revealed in chapter 43, but it’s not how I wanted the link to be exposed. I had been looking for hints throughout the book to guess what could the link be, but now as I see, it was never hinted at. Deliberately hidden from the readers. Yoge writer made us like his character by putting him in every nook and corner of the plot but didn’t even devote a proper story to him. That’s not just sad but unjustified! (hide spoiler)]

Overall thoughts:(view spoiler)[ I’m not impressed with the climax, it’s an ordinary ending to a not-so-ordinary (deliberately not using extraordinary ) story. This was an exceptionally quick read considering that I took a couple of hours on two consecutive days to finish these 390 pages alongside another bulky GOT book. And that was only because Jess Kidd’s writing was so good, it was imaginative but believable, and even with all the supernatural elements and folklore, it didn’t make me jumpy at all. Ratingwise, I’d say -
No more than 4.25, no less than 4 if you know what I mean ;) (hide spoiler)]

oshizu,
(view spoiler)[
* Like you, I, too, loved the flashback chapters more than the main plot. Clearly more interesting and fun!

* I don’t think Boyd left Bridie after just knocking her teeth out, I do feel she was molested, though I can never be sure. In the final confrontation between Bad Dorcas aka Mrs Bibby and Bridie, the former said something like - more than one thing was taken from you. But, I have to remark that Bridie was an uncommonly strong woman to not lose her will and strength after the assault (even if it wasn’t sexual in nature).

* I couldn’t decipher the phrases used for Mrs Peach. Tried looking up on Google but to no avail.

* Yes, Ruby = Rohan and he didn’t die from drowning but from a fatal neck blow 6 months before the kidnapping of Christabel. His story is never revealed to us and we are left wanting for more. If he was so in love with Bridie that even after his death, he was along her side in spectral form, then why not meet her earlier and have a happy life together. Or, could it be that he didn’t know her whereabouts when he was alive, but once he died, his spirit was drawn to his one true love. Like the way it happens in movies. What say? (hide spoiler)]

Marleen,
(view spoiler)[
The moving tattoos, haha, now that you mentioned, I can relate it with Maui. Yesss!
Also, if not for your sympathetic characterisation of Bad Dorcas, I wouldn’t have thought kindly of her. You’re right, she did go through a lot in her earlier life which moulded her into the wicked person she became. (hide spoiler)]

Ladies
I can't figure out how far Marleen has read so I'll address this spoiler comment to Trish, for Marleen to read once she's done.

In response to Trish re: Ch 25
(view spoiler)[The reason I thought that Bridie was attacked but not raped is because she was a virgin. Wouldn't she have been way more upset if she'd been raped?
Also, the man's task had been only to steal (back) the Winter Mermaid from Bridie's room. Maybe he figured it was too much trouble?
Also, good for you figuring out Kemp's identity so early. I didn't figure that out until it was revealed in the story. :D (hide spoiler)]

I finished last night in my end sprint of November (ticked off my monthly challenge’s boxes with 5 minutes to spare 🤣). Loved this book and gave it 4 stars. I have also immediately added Jess Kidd’s other books to my TBR.

(view spoiler)[Bridie: what a great main character. I really enjoyed following along with her and figuring out together what was going on. Brave, inventive, funny, and just a really cool person. Loved her disguised outings as well. I was surprised that she didn’t really seem to believe in Christabel being a merrow, at least for a long time she didn’t, maybe in the end she did?

Ruby: the only thing I was disappointed in in the end was the (non-)resolution to the Ruby story. I liked his character but there was so much build up about him knowing Bridie from her past that I was expecting something very exciting. But I guess in the end we are to infer that Ruby is Ronan, a side character we meet for about a page and a half and had never heard of before. Bit of a letdown. Also I could have done without the romance between Bridie and Ruby, I don’t think it added much to the story at all.

Bibby/Dorcas: I wasn’t expecting her to call the shots with the kidnapping business as much as she was, I expected the doctor to be in charge more. The beheading of the doctor was a definite shocker! In the end I did feel some strange empathy for her, because we know what she’s been through because of her stories to Christabel (which I think she didn’t fully tell voluntarily but was one of Christabel’s ‘merrow’ powers of ‘hooking any thought or memory that swilled in [one]’s head’.)
I was waiting for her to find out about what Gideon had done to Della, and see how she’d react, but I don’t think she ever did in the end? She wouldn’t have worked with/for him the way she did otherwise I think. She was a horrible person pretty early on though, killing poor little Lydia Eames too! I was so convinced that had been Gideon. Only the attack on Eliza confused me, why did Bibby do that?

Gideon: I can’t believe I thought for a bit early on that he could be the same person as Ruby... What a horrible guy! A psychopath too I think.

Other characters: there were so many great side characters! That was one of my favorite things about this book. A few I had already mentioned in previous comments, and in the second half I also really enjoyed the one word Reverend with all his animals and his sidekick of many many words. I would have liked to have seen more of Cora and her relationship with Euryale.

I loved the storytelling and the writing, both the humour and the emotional and troubled stories. All in all a great book, I’m glad I read it. (hide spoiler)]

Oshizu and Trisha, in response to your comments about chapter 18: (view spoiler)[I think the dialogue in the stable is a bit confusing because it’s not quite clear who says what. And also Bridie doesn’t understand what’s happening so we don’t either. But the way I’m reading that conversation: I think Eliza is pregnant by Dr Eames again (its confirmed later in chapter 26 that she was pregnant when the gossiping staff talk about her attack and speak of a baby and it is implied that the baby didn’t make it) and Gideon is offering to perform an abortion on her. At one point I think she agrees and says ‘I’ll have it’, and then he says ‘when can I help you’, and further on ‘Come now, I’ll make it quick. You’ll hardly feel a thing.’ I think he was obsessed with trying out his abortion techniques, and then when she maybe changed her mind, he tried it out on Della later, poor thing. (hide spoiler)]

Trisha, you caught on early about (view spoiler)[Kemp being Edgar! I had no clue at all, and my mouth dropped when it was revealed later... (hide spoiler)]

I really enjoyed the book and the buddy read, thanks ladies!

I agree, Marleen. It was delightful to discuss this book with you and Trisha!
I hope Eileen, Grace, and Ice are doing okay.

Unfortunatly I had to drop out of this reading because I still did not receive my copy of the book at my local library ;,(