Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

This is a Buddy Read for Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco starting October 9, 2022.

Thank you Yanique! :)

I've started! Up to chapter 4 or 5 I think, (view spoiler)[ the description of the murder victim is particularly grim! Very vivid.

I remember now that I read Kingdom of the Wicked by this author and hated it, mainly because of the way she wrote romance. I have a bad feeling about the romance in this book already too! Just my personal opinion. (hide spoiler)]

Sorry for the wait! I'm really behind in my reading schedule >.>

I'm on chapter 5 right now. (view spoiler)[It is a bit surprising how detailed the corpses are being described.

I've also read Kingdom of the Wicked! Didn't like that book, mostly because of the main character and the romance.

The romance in this is also giving me some ehhh vibes. For one, I don't understand why Audrey is so hostile to Thomas when he's done pretty much nothing but exist. But then so far I'm finding her to be very judgmental and somewhat self-absorbed. (hide spoiler)]

Don't worry at all! :)

Omg totally agree with you, exactly the same as I felt about Kingdom of the Wicked.

And you know how detailed the descriptions of the corpses are here, in KOTW it was food being described that much and often 😂

In KOTW, the food descriptions were one of the few things that kept me going hahaha! I remember feeling hungry quite often during that book.

Currently on chapter 8. (view spoiler)[I'm almost positive there's a Sherlock Holmes x Dr Watson thing going on, with Thomas as Sherlock and Audrey as Watson. At least one of the chapter titles is also giving me those vibes. The romance is definitely meh so far, but somehow I'm more interested in Thomas as a character than I am Audrey. He's definitely an ass but she's just plain annoying hahaha (hide spoiler)]

How are you finding it so far?

Gaea wrote: "In KOTW, the food descriptions were one of the few things that kept me going hahaha! I remember feeling hungry quite often during that book.

Currently on chapter 8. [spoilers removed]

How are you..."

(view spoiler)[ I noticed the Sherlock Holmes thing too when they kept banging on about Thomas's amazing powers of deduction... So original haha.
Audrey really is annoying. I don't think this author can write characters that appeal to me. (hide spoiler)]

Finished! I got through this quicker than I thought I would.

(view spoiler)[ So basically, I'm done with Kerri Maniscalco. She's not for me! I disliked this book for pretty much all the same reasons I disliked Kingdom of the Wicked. The main character was vapid, annoying and just ridiculous. She spent most of the book suspecting all of her family and friends of being the Ripper, for god's sake how self centred have you got to be to suspect only people you know in a city of thousands of men?! Based entirely on circumstantial evidence she was willing to hang her own father...
Totally saw it coming that it was her brother as well. Which was stupid. Chuck in a bit of Frankenstein to go with our Jack the Ripper Sherlock Holmes book, why not!
Also had that typical YA problem - of course we need a 17 year old girl to solve this major crime that Scotland Yard have no clue on! *Rolls eyes*.

I won't be continuing the series, and I actually ban myself from trying anything else this author writes! 🤣 (hide spoiler)]

I thought about joining this... it was on my TBR a long time ago... but friend reviews turned me away when I considered joining... and it seems I was right, if you joined the rest of my friends in rating 2-3 stars...

The talk of YA stilted romance and stuff was a real turn-off for me wanting to try...

I got my dose of Jack the Ripper, this Halloween,<(view spoiler)[and Frankenstein and Sherlock Holmes and Dracula and others (hide spoiler)] with A Night in the Lonesome October this morning... I can see why some people read it every Halloween... more books should be dog POVs (that aren't just kids movies like Homeward Bound)... been forever since I finished the Iron Druid series with Oberon the dog...

Ooh I'll check that out, sounds fun!

Did you read my spoiler, Iain? I definitely don't recommend this author.

@Iain:
A Night in the Lonesome October sounds so interesting! I'm definitely adding that to my TBR.

@Siobhan:
I'm still on chapter 23 but it's so cringe and just overall not really good. The plot is average at best but my biggest gripe is the main character. She's just so self-absorbed and judgmental and comes off as pretentious a lot of the time. I'm still going to push through and finish it (because I've made it this far already) but I'll be surprised if I manage to give this a 3 star rating.

Oddly enough I gave KOTW something like 3-3.5 stars, but then that was because the plot and some of the characters (and the food LOL) were interesting. What brought the rating down for me was the disappointing main character and the romance. Guess this author just doesn't write main characters or romances that do it for us~

Sometimes, I learn about books through this group and Buddy Reads done around here, and just assume everyone knows the same books... I read the book a few Octobers ago, and rated it 3 stars because I wasn't paying close enough attention to the story and I think my chapters might have been jumbled...

Had plans to re-read, and followed through this week, listened slower and paid more attention, and did some google searches and really enjoyed it... 4-5 stars... planning to read more Zelazny next year with Nyssa... he's kinda known for mashing lots of ideas together in ways that make surprising sense, and all without writing super long books... most are between novella and regular book length, I think (150-300 pages)

And yes, I opened your spoiler Siobhan (that's why I included more characters in my own spoiler)...

:D ah of course!

I have been recommended Chronicles of Amber by Zelazny, I'll get to it one of these days...

Hey all! Man it's been forever since I commented on a BR. Unfortunately I think I'm gonna DNF this one at 100pgs in. It's just not grabbing me and I'm not liking any one character so far...and that's a big thing for me. And if I'm not excited to pick up the book day after day, why bother?

Some thoughts up to Ch. 9 (view spoiler)[I too was surprised how detailed the work with corpses was (forgot the job title, lol). Because of that I decided to stop reading right before bed. haha. Having the old photography before chapters was also very interesting. Not my kind of thing, but definitely fits the world and the themes.

The murders are so so from what I read thus far. Very Sherlock Holmes dynamics like you all have said. But it's missing the wit and smarts from those short stories. The main girl is ok, but seems to think a little too highly of herself at times. Don't like that other guy student at all. So if that is where the romance was going, no thanks. lol (hide spoiler)]

Siobhan wrote: "Finished! I got through this quicker than I thought I would...."

So I decided to read your final thoughts since I DNF'd this one. (view spoiler)[oh my gosh! She really thought that it was people around her. lol. the nerve of that girl. Where the 'world revolves around you'. I mean in this case she did know the guy? Her brother was the killer? no way! Didn't like him either. Too controling and protective. Sure these were different times, but yeah. lol

It's good to know that this author's other books aren't as good either. I'll have to make a note too.

I wonder. Would we have liked it more if we were younger? And that worries me. Because I don't want some of these romances/personality traits to be seen as 'great' for a young girl you know? Now I know why parents read books before checking if it's ok for their kids. lol Like sure it's a murder plot but give me some wholesome and good characters please (hide spoiler)]

That's a good point, Katie. We probably would have liked it more if we were younger.
I'm not sure I would have liked the MC, but probably would have found the dreadful coincidence of a plot easier to swallow. Less experienced readers! 😂

It's kinda messed up some of the stuff that's romantacized in media aimed at YA / children...

Like the Aria/Ezra romance in Pretty Little Liars... (high schooler and teacher that met at a bar before school year started)...

Siobhan wrote: "That's a good point, Katie. We probably would have liked it more if we were younger.
I'm not sure I would have liked the MC, but probably would have found the dreadful coincidence of a plot easier..."

Right? I do feel bad for less experienced readers. There's so many better books out there!

And like you said Timelord! It's crazy that we're romanticizing these toxic relationships especially for young readers. I'm not a fan either.

Totally wasn't okay with the Aria/Ezra romance while she was still in school. ugh.

I finally managed to force myself through the last few chapters! Dear god, that was a struggle T_T

Awww I'm glad we got through it together!! 😂

The buddy read aspect definitely helped a lot <3

I was almost, almost tempted to put the next book on my TBR... But the inevitable torture probably wouldn't have been worth it haha

Hahaha I've definitely decided it's not worth it! 😅