Reviews

The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn

penguin25's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad slow-paced

3.0

megsz_1's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I don’t really know how to quite put into words how phenomenally good this book is. What a ride of an adventure! 

undercoverfeesh's review against another edition

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I just couldn't get into this. I tolerated the first act. The second act, there was far too much of the children's terrible, selfish, immature, racist and classist parents, when the children were the most interesting part. Not interested in reading about the bored and self-centered rich. 

funteamjen's review against another edition

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3.0

I strongly debated between a 3 and 4 star rating for this book. Despite its length, it flowed nicely. The descriptions were vivid and the wide cast of characters intriguing. I felt sympathetic towards most of them, even the unlikeable ones. Given the timespan it covered, the length actually felt rather appropriate. However, it seemed to be lacking in plot and theme. Perhaps the whalebone theatre itself was a symbol or metaphor for something, but if so, that was lost on me. It took up very little space in the story despite carrying the title. The pinnacle event was extremely predictable from early on. But most disappointing, Cristabel had little discernable character growth and a rather lackluster resolution at the end of the war.

roses_reading_corner's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

sienamon_roll's review against another edition

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

3.25

dsuzno's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

maikelmaikel's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

this might be one of the most beautiful books i have ever read. I almost dnf'ed it because the first few chapters didn't really speak to me, but I am so glad I kept reading. It's an incredibly well written book full of scenes and details that brought tears to my eyes because they just highlight the kindness and humanity in the world. I also really like that there was no drama for drama's sake, which is often the case in historical books like this. It really never goes where you think it will, but to me that just really highlights the human experience, again. Wonderful Wonderful book that I cannot recommend more to anyone who enjoys reading, no matter if the genre is something you usually enjoy or not.

doodlydelight's review against another edition

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

3.0

michmonette's review against another edition

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I triiiied to get into this but it was taking so long and I was bored