Reviews

Death by Silver by Amy Griswold, Melissa Scott

gillianw's review against another edition

5.0

4.5 stars

I could have sworn I wrote a review for this already but apparently I did not.

In any case, I really enjoyed this one. Historical m/m romances are kind of becoming my favourite genre (thanks entirely to KJ Charles who is the standard against which I measure all others) and Death by Silver was not only an interesting and compelling mystery novel, the romance was absolutely lovely. All in all, it was a fun read.

My only complaint: the Kindle copy is selling for $9.99 CDN on Amazon and I found that kinda pricey. Thankfully, the story was excellent so I don't feel ripped off, but then I can get great stories from KJ Charles for half that price so....

Highly recommend.

comrade_bestie's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

ptaradactyl's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.25

I really enjoyed the ham-eating plants, and I would like more Miss Frost. Julian and Ned were cute to watch as they circled around each other. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Minor: Homophobia

lalexvp's review against another edition

4.0

Overall, this was a good book. The magic and world building were really interesting and well done. I loved how the enchantments work and how the characters each interacted with the idea of magic differently. The characters and their backgrounds were also well done. Their romance, however, was not engaging in the slightest.

This was highly reviewed by two of my favourite authors, so I decided to give it a try even though I typically don’t like “who done it” books. And I think that’s probably the only problem with this book - I just don’t like this variety. I found the driving plot, the mystery itself, dull and predictable. I knew who had done it from their first introduction on the page, which was disappointing.

I think there are more than one book here and I may give the others a try after a little break from the mystery scene.

whatsmacksaid's review against another edition

5.0

A fun and twisty murder mystery with a side order of pining. It took a little while to get into--the beginning is front loaded with an explanation of the magic that I genuinely didn't care about--but overall this was a good read and I'm looking forward to the re-release of the sequel. (I will add, though, that I don't understand why Miss Frost was mentioned in the book's summary. She didn't play an outsized role in the story at all.)

Thanks very much to Queen of Swords press for an e-arc of this book.

helianthus_books's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

starslang's review

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

unforth's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

pelicaaan's review against another edition

4.0

Fun. :)

nenya_kanadka's review against another edition

4.0

This was a really great read. The flashbacks to their school years were surprisingly dark, and altered the tone of the novel from the light fun of the rest of it, but worked well to explain why they had such huge issues with Victor's family. The mystery was fairly interesting, and I loved seeing so many characters in the serving professions, as well as assorted metaphysicians, entrepreneurs, and criminals. Where this book really shines, though, is in the relationship between Julian and Ned. Loved the peek into Victorian gay culture, too. And the magic of course was fun as well. Must see what else is in this series!