Cece > Recent Status Updates

I feel like I am starting to understand that nothing is true haha

Hasn’t grabbed me yet. He’s supposed to be the great spy guy, so I am hopeful!

Is he a psychotherapist or a psychic? He gets a headache when she does? He gets an image of her with her fist in her mouth, biting back words?

I find the protagonist’s fixation creepy! Is that a normal experience?

Have I actually finished this book? I definitely further than I’d thought. Sounds so familiar

Trying to finish some of the books I had to return early before the end of the year! Crazy this one came out in 2015. A little prophetic

If you like trains and timetables, this book is for you. I do, annoyingly, feel that I am at least one question ahead of the detective.

Uh oh, Victor’s happy. Something is about to go wrong! Lol

Oh, the wretch!!! 💔💔💔

I am so surprised by how little this book has to do with the “wretch” of Frankenstein. It’s not called a “monster”, at least not yet.

Part courtroom drama, definitely creepy, but not outright scary. Horrific only due to real-life consequences of an irresponsible scientific experiment vs. because of a raving monster’s rampage.

Victor is such a freak. Eww.

I don’t know if we’re “supposed to” but I like Beatrice. She seems like a good hang. Lol

I had no idea this book was so short. It’s always coming up in comparisons to Gothic novels and it’s so contemporarily new.

“Content with the little glory of the living present.” Ugh.

Still not sure how “Millie” is short for Seraphina

Cozy mystery is great but rn I am loving campy spy.

“Someone always leaves a banana peel at the scene of a tragedy.”

The conversation with “recruiting” Lopez had me laughing out loud. “You misunderstand me completely.” Lolol

This is exactly like the stuff I love to watch on BritBox haha Way up my alley. ♥️

“He knew more about the death of Lula Landry than he had ever meant or wanted to know. The same would be true of basically any sentient being in Britain. Bombarded with the story, you grew interested against your will. And before you knew it, you were so well informed, so opinionated about the facts of the case, you would have been unfit to sit a jury.”

Gosh, that’s relatable.

I have made it to the end of the first part. This book has not hooked me.

Some thoughts:
- The one-eyed cat being called Drosselmeyer is so cute.

- This is so not a Russian book. I often forget he is actually in Russia; speaking French, not religious, etc.

- He has NOT suffered for his station. I don’t really feel badly for him. I do like him, but I also don’t really care about him.

Finally some depth…

Enjoying the book but I’m not sure it’s the right book for me right now. Tempted to set it aside. Very into seasonal reads at this time.

The Count is a human version of Paddington. Not for clumsiness but for earnestness and child-like charm.

Also stories of kindnesses repaid. ♥️

All the insinuations implicit in “did I really see your [esteemed] grandmother’s carriage at the house of [that awfully controversial] XYZ family?”… Along with meaningful looks after a response… these are the hooks of these stories for me.

Ending at the opera again… superb.

“Mrs. Lovel Mingot had the high color and glassy stare induced in ladies of her age and habit by the effort of getting into a new dress.” Lol

“Everybody knew the melancholy fate of the few gentlemen who had risked their clean linen in the municipal or state politics on NY. The day was past when that sort of thing was possible.” Lol 150 years ago.

Have to remember a secretary would be a man in this time. Haha