I will be honest up front, I had a hard time connecting with the characters, keeping track of the story, and I almost did not finish this book. I even looked up the ending prematurely, seeing if it would get any better for me. And it really did not.
I kept notes while reading this book, at least one bullet point for every chapter. I kept track of who was used which day, who died, and who was sleeping and not being utilized. I honestly do not think I could have mapped out the book in a more clear way by my own hands, and I was still absolutely lost. Just when I thought I was getting into the book, I would lose interest just as quickly. It took a lot for me to keep reading, when all I wanted to do was set it down and pick up a different, and hopefully better, book.
I know this will be a highly unpopular opinion given the outstanding reviews on here and Instagram, but I have also talked to a couple other people who feel the same way I do. It is okay to not agree with everyone else, and to admit when a book does not meet your expectations. The ending alone was enough to make me want to put down this book, but out of principal I needed to read the whole thing. At one point near the end I was just like "wait, what?" due to how the events unfolded and secrets were brought to light. I think the ending was a cheap cop-out in the same way where stories end saying "and then I woke up and realized it was all just a dream." Maybe the author struggled to write an ending after such a complicated and dense story, or maybe she just saw that it fit, but it kind of seemed to come from nowhere and not tie into the rest of the novel at all. Yes, there was hinting at a life outside Blackheath, but not in the way that the novel played out.
Overall, I do have a lot of quips about this novel and I hate that I spent so much time reading it when there are so many other good books on my TBR list. However, I still think it is important to read books even if you are not liking them, if not just to dissect them and figure out what you truly like and dislike about a book. This one might not have been it for me, but hey, you could have your own opinion and sometimes you just have to disregard others and see for yourself whether you will like it or not. And I hope if you do pick up this book, you at least enjoy it somewhat, and do not feel as you wasted your time
I kept notes while reading this book, at least one bullet point for every chapter. I kept track of who was used which day, who died, and who was sleeping and not being utilized. I honestly do not think I could have mapped out the book in a more clear way by my own hands, and I was still absolutely lost. Just when I thought I was getting into the book, I would lose interest just as quickly. It took a lot for me to keep reading, when all I wanted to do was set it down and pick up a different, and hopefully better, book.
I know this will be a highly unpopular opinion given the outstanding reviews on here and Instagram, but I have also talked to a couple other people who feel the same way I do. It is okay to not agree with everyone else, and to admit when a book does not meet your expectations. The ending alone was enough to make me want to put down this book, but out of principal I needed to read the whole thing. At one point near the end I was just like "wait, what?" due to how the events unfolded and secrets were brought to light. I think the ending was a cheap cop-out in the same way where stories end saying "and then I woke up and realized it was all just a dream." Maybe the author struggled to write an ending after such a complicated and dense story, or maybe she just saw that it fit, but it kind of seemed to come from nowhere and not tie into the rest of the novel at all. Yes, there was hinting at a life outside Blackheath, but not in the way that the novel played out.
Overall, I do have a lot of quips about this novel and I hate that I spent so much time reading it when there are so many other good books on my TBR list. However, I still think it is important to read books even if you are not liking them, if not just to dissect them and figure out what you truly like and dislike about a book. This one might not have been it for me, but hey, you could have your own opinion and sometimes you just have to disregard others and see for yourself whether you will like it or not. And I hope if you do pick up this book, you at least enjoy it somewhat, and do not feel as you wasted your time