Reviews

Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw

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bysarahalexander's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious slow-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? No

3.0

earthier's review

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4.0

The only thing I can compare this book to is Grimm the TV series which I was fond of the first couple of seasons. But instead of Great being a Grim she's a second-generation specialist doctor helping and healing the creatures with glimpses into their lives and inner circles. I do think there were slow points in the writing and a bit too much internal monologue at times from Greta doting on the loss of her father. I also really appreciate the stance the author took on the creatures' narratives as almost empathic in the sense that they have their own trauma despite being dead or undead. I'm not sure people consider the quality of lives led by Vampires/Vampyres, demons, or ghouls given their individual natures. But all in all, I really like the creature characters and the intermixing historical elements the most.

buttons_buttons's review

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3.0

I found it kinda hard to get into this book, but after a hunderd pages I really started to love it. I'm not completely found of the language, it sometimes felt a bit clumsy and amateurish and my main problem was that I couldn't get myself to like Greta or Varney at all and that never changed.
The reason why I kept going and startet to love the book anyways were all the sidekicks who I tought were amazing. I absolutely loved Ruthven and Fass and I also enjoyed the whole storyline. I've never read anything about health care for supernatural beings before and found the topic not only very interesting but also well implemented.

sabcazas's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious tense fast-paced

3.0

mylenedesbiens's review

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3.0

London, the undead, magic...The first part of the book gave me St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries vibes. I felt like I was entering in the backstory of a doctor that worked in that the Wizarding World. I loved the characters we were meeting ; Ruthven, Varney, Fastitocalon, August... they were all endearing and I loved to learn about each "species" and their particularities.

Unfortunately, where the story fell flat for me was the plot. I didn't really feel like it evolved super well. The "Villain" for me was bland and didn't really have what it needed to drive the story.

BUT, I did love Shaw's writing style and I will probably pick up the next book just to give it another shot.