Clara Bell > Recent Status Updates

Still chipping away at this ever so slowly. Getting to the point that I just want to be done and don't much care how it ends.

I am having such a hard time finishing this. It's not that it's a bad book, but I don't feel a particular pull to keep going. I guess I'm just not hitting a momentum. I'll think that I can either read another couple chapters or play some phone bingo or the like... and the bingo (or the like) almost always wins.

Tries a little too hard, and doesn't seem to know what kind of book it wants to be. Teen drama? Paranormal romance? Spy thriller? Dialogue was stilted at times, and character skills and thought patterns weren't realistically explained (not talking about the psychic abilities here). Interesting idea, undeveloped execution. And geez, do I hate cliffhanger endings in novels. Write a discrete story, please!

Cute enough, but lackluster ending.

First Gillian Flynn book, and I have to say that I'm a fan.

Badly in need of some editing, typos everywhere. A nice if unsettling view into the mind of a depressed teen. I say that as one who's been in Maura's situation back at that phase of life. It felt like reliving those days.

The misuse of psychological terms is really starting to grate. Xanax, not Xanex. Psychologists don't prescribe meds; psychiatrists do. And Horney's name is pronounced Horn-eye, not Horny, so that juvenile joke doesn't work so well. Kindly do thy homework when you spout about psychology, authors. Argh.

A touch slow at times, and the painting interpretation was somewhat ponderous, but the characters were fantastic. I'd read this again.

A nice, sedate, relaxing read.

Not what I'd expected, but I do really like Pekkala and the author's writing style. Must make a point of checking out book 2.

Quick enjoyable read. A touch predictable at times, but really creative and fun.

Quick, cute read. Pretty good figure what it is.

Not bad, not great. 'Twas a book.

...wow. As a therapist working with trauma survivors, color me impressed.

Been meaning to give this a go for a while now. Might as well get to it.

Yeah, I just can't right now. The fawning adulation of Fiona by the whole darn city, the unnecessary name-dropping, the general implausibility, and the caricatured class villains are just too much. This feels more like amateurish YA than an adult novel. Maybe I'll finish it later, maybe I won't.

Okay, Fiona's utter perfection is wearing very thin. I'm also getting frustrated with the ham-handed insinuations that are never actually followed up with explanation. Everything is glossed over. Why is anything being glossed over in a book this size? Do some much-needed editing, and there would be time to actually tell the story, not just hint at it. I may not be able to finish this one.

Investigators or self-important showboats? You be the judge!

Could Fiona be any more of a Mary Sue?

Hardcopy idle read at home. Let the absurdly slow and haphazard leafing commence!

Wow, this is a doorstop, not a book. Let's see how it fares against my ferretlike attention span...

Not Bourdain or Hamilton, but good. Personal and engaging.

A little too meandering in the prose, which is a shame, as the story ideas had some merit.

Decent writing, interesting premise and set-up. Just having trouble getting going for some reason. Maybe just in the mood for something else. I'll try again later.

Well, the other reviews weren't kidding about the twists. The resolution of Rhyme's life dilemma was a little too pat, though.

Oh my god, the rat scene. Gah.