A Madness so Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

“Sometimes the loveliest places harbor the worst monsters.” 

Another arc I was blessed to received. This book just recently came out, and seeing as I just finished a novel of my own regarding mental asylums, I immediately leaped upon the chance to read it. I wasn't blown away, but I definitely wasn't disappointed. 

Stats:

Genre:  Historical fiction

Feelings: More or less. Not heart-wrenching, but moving.

Happiness: I loved a lot of the character dynamics, and those made me smile.

Cuteness: Not really.

Fast pacing: Slow as molasses, but still interesting. Nothing felt forced.

Series: Nope

Read if you like: Mental health, the history of asylums, murder, mysteries, detectives and angst

Content: Talk of rape. Some disturbing mental treatments, some including a pregnant woman going into labor that were quite horrifying. 

Trigger warning? Loss of a baby

In one sentence... A girl sent away to an asylum for something that wasn't he fault is taken away by a detective who obsesses over death, hoping to use the cover of her insanity to help him solve murder.

Thoughts: Creepy mildew wood and ice cold water

Messages: Interesting thoughts on the way life was for woman and mental patients.

Overall

Rating: 3.5/5

Very vague spoilers regarding character relationships

-The characters-

Ah, Grace. And interesting, well developed character. And yet, I never really connected with her. I didn't hate her, but she felt distant. That being said, her voice was strong, fitting well with the setting and aesthetics.

She dealt with some real crap, and early in the book, I felt for her. A lot. I was about ready to jump into the book to hide her away. As it progressed, the story got a bit slower, which may be why I didn't care for her just as much. That being said, she stayed strong, never once slipping. 

Thornhollow was a lot of fun. A few of the reviews I've read have compared this to the book Jackaby. 

Well, Thornhollow is nothing like Jackaby. He's dark, starting out uncaring and rude, wanting what he wants and not truly caring about Grace. But you can see that bit of quirk underneath, which makes him interesting. He's a lot of fun, really. His banter isn't that sarcastic or snarky, but somehow so entertaining. 

The side characters were great, and you could tell that they were developed. Each one had a unique voice, even characters that showed up for a short time. That's something I love in historical fiction. 

Also: NO ROMANCE. Can I just say how happy I am about that? Neither characters are ready for romance, and while I can see them in a relationship, I just loved that it wasn't forced. I loved watching their relationship grow into something protective and realistic. I think that's what this book's best trait is. Realism .

-The Writing and Structure-

I've heard nothing but good things about McGinnis's writing, and now that I have read her work, I agree. She definitely knows her words. I have yet to read Not A Drop To Drink, but I really hope she keeps writing historical fiction. 

The structure was probably the weakest part. It was slow.

While there was murder, everything felt weirdly paced. There were a lot of plot lines going on, consisting of Grace's father, the actual murder, Grace's secret insanity, and then the asylum backstory. All of these felt randomly pushed together, some of them not relating when all along I thought they would. The whole thing felt vaguely disjointed, and when different plot lines didn't connect at the end, it felt un-fulfilling.

Still, the writing was so good, and the actual plot points so interesting, that it wasn't a boring read, it was just less engaging than others I've read. 

Also: Totally random, but when an Irish character is introduced, and McGinnis attempted to write the accent so it read how it would be said...it just annoyed be. Like. No. Please don't do that.

-Messages and Other-

This book had less obvious messages it was trying to say, at least for me. It was an enjoyable read, but in the end, I didn't leave with anything new. That being said, it was definitely such a fascinating peak into this setting. 

The treatment of mental patients has grown so much, and the treatments in this day and age were so screwed up.

 I adored the descriptions, the look into the way things works. You could just tell how much research McGinnis did. 

Really, every person in the world has a dark twisted side, and this book really accurately showed how someone as quiet as Grace was, can have something lurking inside. It was a fascinating peak into the mind, and the early 19th century. 

Overall, this book didn't blow my mind, but it definitely will be put fondly onto my shelf.

These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly

"Trudy smiled ruefully. 'What can I say? I merely wish to smoke...You, on the other hand, wish to know things. And no one can forgive a girl for that.'"

Firstly: the cover. The cover. Can we....

Just look at that cover. While I was expecting some sort of scary, possibly horror book when I bought it, I still ended up loving this. I need all of Jennifer Donnelly's books and I need them now. Every part of this book, from the writing to that 1890's-vague-girl-power-feel, really somehow worked so well together. 

Stats:

Genre:  Historical fiction

Feelings: While not necessarily heart-wrenching, this book definitely had fun messing with me

Happiness: The writing. Guys. THE WRITING

Cuteness: I thought that certainly I wouldn't ship it. After all. INSTALOVE. But then I /did/ ship it.

Fast pacing: Well paced, but not fast

Series: Nope

Read if you like: 1890's, murder mysteries, and plucky female characters

Content: Some violence, some talk of sex but all in conversations of marriage and courtship, never graphic. A brothel is mentioned, discussed, and visited for investigation purposes. Some slight violence

In one sentence... Jo wants to write, and she wants to write not the airy things her all-girls prep school is teaching her to write, but she wants to write like Nelly Bly--and when her father is found dead, and she has a run in with a reporter who believes it was something other than an accidental death.....she might just get her chance to do just that.

Thoughts: Cobblestones wet with rain in the middle of the night

Messages: Some really cool insights into the gender-roles of that day and age

Overall

Rating: 4.5/5

This is a spoiler free review

The Lovely Bits

This was just such a fun book. I ended up doing a read along with Emma from Of Starry Knights and Lullabies, and it pretty much consisted of the two of us over skype freaking out. 

-Characters-

Ah, Jo. See, Jo is the type of character who in a modern day setting I'd probably hate. She wants big things. She wants success and importance. She wants to have a role in life. She wants to be dangerous. 

But Jo, dear thing, is so painfully naive. She's clueless, knowing nothing about the dangers of life. And so she does a lot of dumb things.

But here's the thing. She's a 1890's high-class girl, brought up to be docile and naive and well-bred. And that's why I love her. Because Jo, despite the fact that she knows so little about life, won't take anyone's crap. Forget the fact that she's so absolutely clueless, she's still going to do whatever it takes to figure out what she wants to know. She wants to figure out the truth, and she doesn't let her limitations stop her. 

It's such a hard character type to pull off, but in this setting I loved it. 

What I really loved about this book, is that every character had a personality. While some were more vibrant than others, not character she introduced, even if just for a few pages, felt cardboard. They all had some trait that stood out. Names would be thrown around like they needed no explanation and that really enhanced the feel of the book.

Eddie was kind of just a lot of adorable. Like, I don't love him as much as some others, but he was a fun character. His interactions with Jo....a+

-Writing and Structure-

Murder mysteries are hard. Historical novels are hard.

Historical murders mysteries? HA. Hats off to you, Donelly. She nailed it. Everything was well paced, confusing without being frustrating, and always interesting. 

And her writing. I just finished a historical mystery of my own, so reading this right after writin a crappy-first draft was a bad idea. Because her prose is so lovely. It fits the feel of historical fiction so well, making you easily slip into the cold streets of New York City, decades ago. It's obvious by reading her books. Jennifer Donelly is made for historical fiction.

-Messages and other-

Some books can come across too feminist, and for someone like me who's rather against many of the stuff feminists are saying nowadays, that can be tricky. But the thing is, in this historical decade, it fit. 

The gender roles were so screwed up in the late 1800's, and seeing that written so well was outstanding. I adore history, but even I didn't really quite see how messed up some of it was, because I've spend so much time in the 20th century, or the suffrage movements early 1900's. 

While many of the feminist messages aren't relevant in today's day and age, I really loved every message that was in this book, simply because of how much I learned without even realizing I was learning. 

Less Lovely Bits

There wasn't one particular thing that I can say I didn't like, there was just something that didn't seem quite right. Maybe what it was, is that I loved it but not enough for it to become THAT book. I finished it satisfied, but not blown away. 

The only things I can thing of is some cases of telling, especially when wrapping up stuff in the end. That got a little boring to read. Eddie and Jo were a bit insta-lovey, and while I don't want to look passed that with a "Historical Context" excuse, it didn't bother me as much, maybe because I liked them both. 

Also: The title. This whole book, from the page one peek at grave digging, I was waiting. When were they gonna start digging up graves??? I waited through hundreds of pages until it finally came, and while it wasn't bad I just was kinda hoping for more of that sooner.

Other than that, I have nothing else to say. These Shallow Graves is a solid story, and 


Overall, this book was so insanely fun to read. The writing was on point, the characters interesting, and the plot engaging. I would seriously recommend this to teens and adults a like, anyone looking to get a peek into the 19th century lifestyle....with a touch of murder.