3.5 stars. This gave me And Then There Were None meets I Know What You Did Last Summer meets Air Force One vibes. There are sooooo many plot holes it’3.5 stars. This gave me And Then There Were None meets I Know What You Did Last Summer meets Air Force One vibes. There are sooooo many plot holes it’s ridiculous, and the motive behind the killings is stupid and felt out of left field. The main character, Emily is definitely more focused on boys than getting her life situated and makes a lot of stupid moves. Just like in a scary movie, you’ll find yourself yelling at her not to run up the stairs, as she runs up the stairs. Despite those issues, this was a fun escape read....more
2.5 stars. I have never been that interested in the history of the civil war but I figured if anyone could get me into that particular era of US histo2.5 stars. I have never been that interested in the history of the civil war but I figured if anyone could get me into that particular era of US history is would be Erik Larson. I am still not interested in the history of the civil war and I almost DNF’d this so many times. There is a point when there is TOO MUCH information and research. I can safely say I never needed to know about a farmer that Abe Lincoln sold his furniture to and how much each piece was prior to Lincoln’s train ride into Washington.
This might be my least favorite of Erik Larson’s books that I have read, it is at least tied for bottom 2 with Isaac’s Storm.
10 things I learned and have thoughts/opinions on:
1. James H. Hammond deserved a horrible and torturous death. (Spoiler: he died of natural causes)
2. Edmund Ruffin, who is credited with shooting the first shot of the civil war, deserved a horrible and torturous death. (Spoiler: he shot himself with a rifle to avoid submitting to “Yankee Rule” post war)
3. Abner Doubleday is often credited with inventing baseball but he definitely didn’t. (Larson never put in the book who did)
4. Jefferson Davis took his 2nd wife to the grave of his 1st wife for their honeymoon. He also wouldn’t let her follow him to Washington when he was elected Senator because he said she kept “harassing him with stupid details”. (Spoiler: the stupid details were about not starting shit or seceding)
5. The London Times reporter, William Howard Russell sounds like Hannibal Lector when describing Abe Lincoln.
6. MY FAVORITE LITTLE NUGGET OF INFO: Mary Chestnut threw a dinner party that hosted judges and senators and their wives. Discussion of divorce was brought up and every wife there knew EVERY STEP to get a divorce. Mary Chestnut deserved to die penniless. (Spoiler: she did)
7. “Engaged in flirtation” is southern for having an affair.
8. The first 34hrs of the war was actually bloodless with no one hurt or killed.
9. The same flag that was shot down and surrendered by Robert Anderson on Fort Sumter on 4/14/1861 was the same flag raised at the end of the war by Robert Anderson on Fort Sumter on 4/14/1865.
10. Robert Anderson after raising the flag gave a speech at 10pm. During the speech, he thanked Abe Lincoln and praised that Lincoln could now travel freely all over the country. Abe Lincoln was dying at Ford’s theatre during that speech, having been shot at 10:15pm....more
This was one of the smartest plotted murder and ways to get away with it that I’ve ever read and fun to read as Andrea and her people figured it out. This was one of the smartest plotted murder and ways to get away with it that I’ve ever read and fun to read as Andrea and her people figured it out. I can’t wait for the next book! ...more
4.5 stars. Andrea is amazing, but I felt pity for her safe choices and wanted more of her background to understand why she chose Jeff and having so ma4.5 stars. Andrea is amazing, but I felt pity for her safe choices and wanted more of her background to understand why she chose Jeff and having so many kids. Kenny was hit or miss. I liked him most of the time, while some times I hated that I could relate to his selfish inner thoughts but also giving him credit for acknowledging his inner self hatred and narcissism. I am definitely going to start book #2 immediately!...more
**spoiler alert** I want a prequel book about aunt Ethel.
I liked how Lark made glittery arts and crafts out of her “trophies”.
As far as the story we**spoiler alert** I want a prequel book about aunt Ethel.
I liked how Lark made glittery arts and crafts out of her “trophies”.
As far as the story went, it seemed very disorganized. I didn’t get the impression that this killer was the same killer who appeared at the very end of Butcher & Blackbird? Plus, with all of his Texas roots and cowboy attitude I didn’t even get the PNW vibe and aside from one sentence than mentioned Oregon, I wouldn’t have even thought he was the OG serial killer Rowan talks about at the beginning of B&B. Abe somewhat reminded me of Silas from The Da Vinci Code which made him seem unoriginal and actually pretty boring. Abe going after Lark’s family and family business partners in order to get to Lark and Lachlan to THEN get to Rowan and Sloan? That was way too disconnected to make real sense of. I get the “holier than thou” bs Abe was spewing as far as trying to get rid of all the sinners but I mean he’d been stalking everyone for years and had so many opportunities. I actually had assumed that they were looking for the killer of her family and also happened to be being watched and stalked by Abe (much like the twist at the end of B&B). The final showdown itself was very anticlimactic. Did they even stop the emails going to the police or the media? Was the bomb an actual dud?
I felt like having Lark keep her “multiple deletion” hobby from Sloane diminished their friendship and their bond to the reader.
And finally, the last chapter with Rose, is supposed to be a cliffhanger for book #3 but instead it just didn’t make sense and came off as TOO vague....more
**spoiler alert** Well that whole egg searching adventure happening the night before a wedding would cause way more undue stress than just not finding**spoiler alert** Well that whole egg searching adventure happening the night before a wedding would cause way more undue stress than just not finding the egg. And that’s before you realize you have to fly to an entirely different state to look for it in a marsh and the. have to hop on a flight the morning or your wedding! Also was definitely surprised about the very end. ...more
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