Nina > Recent Status Updates

There is very little buildup & tension between Lydia & Jean before they kiss. It doesn't make sense when it happens bc they haven't spent enough time together. There is no indication ,at least in Lydia's case, that she is attracted to Jean. It feels rushed, inauthentic. I just don't believe Lydia & Jean as a romantic match at all. I'm hoping i'm wrong and magic awaits, but so far, not thrilled with this one.

One of the biggest letdowns of this book is the inordinate amount of time spent on Robert and Charlie. I didn't anticipate so much of the book being dedicated to laying out Lydia and Robert's relationship-how it started and how it's ending. At this point in the story, Shaw has described their relationship in a more passionate and meticulous way than she has for Lydia and Jeans' supposed blooming relationship.

Started off with an interesting premise, but the racism is quite distracting. It's not a stray comment here or there that you might move past to focus on the substance of the mystery. These are glaring , consistent, cartoonishly racist physical descriptions and stereotypes that Agatha Christie goes out of her way to include, and which only serve to detract from the story.

You would think an idea like that has potential to go somewhere, but it doesn't go anywhere. It's not developed. The story ends when it could get interesting. This collection is my first disappointment with Mariana Enriquez's work. That element of mystery and fear is missing here. So far in the stories that i've read, they come across as bits and pieces of something that could be good but never makes it there.

Julie relies so heavily on the main character being overweight and also comically unattractive. Julie is a side show act . Her physical description as this grotesque window dressing for the story just seems lazy. Here, look at this fat, cross-eyed girl who insists that she has sex with spirits. Isn't that weird? Isn't that creepy?

Now THIS is a story 🔥🐉