Scan barcode
verkisto's review
3.0
The weirdest thing about this book (but not the Weirdest, because there's still a cosmic horror angle to it) is that it's a part of the Borden Dispatches, because when you get right down to it, Lizzie Borden isn't the main character here. She's a part of the story, yes, but the story isn't hers like Maplecroft was, and her character could have been pretty much anyone else and not affected the story at all. It's like the book was set in the same universe, but not in the same series. It's a shame, too, because the story is a good one, but it suffers from the slimmest of connections to the book that preceded it.
A-Z Horror: P
A-Z Horror: P
a_h_haga's review
4.0
It was a joy to finally get around to reading this book! It's been on my TBR for years, but I've never got around to buying it. Now, I finally did buy it for my birthday, and I soon read it as well.
CHAPELWOOD is set about 30 years after [b:Maplecroft|20821288|Maplecroft (The Borden Dispatches, #1)|Cherie Priest|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1394209050s/20821288.jpg|40167149], which I read a few years ago and loved! I have a much more informed view on Lovecraft now than I did back then, and so it was a double joy reading this book and seeing some of the things that makes me think about Lovecraft and his Mythos.
Anyway, this book has both Lizzie and Simon returning to the POV, as well as a couple of new characters.
I found all the characters well written and individual.
I could even see differences in the writing style when switching between the POVs.
Mostly, I flew through these books, but I did notice I fell out a little when Simon Wolf was the teller, and so I had to go back and read some parts again and again, and some times that didn't even stick either, as he was the most describing of the characters.
Even if I hate to do it, I have to compare this one to the first in the series a little.
While I loved Maplecroft, I did find it at times rather slow and the ending was unsatisfying and felt a little rushed.
Comparing this book to that, I am happy to say the ending was better, and there was a lot more going on here!
Not only was it the main story, which I found interesting and fun - when aren't cultists fun? - but the political aspects of this book was really interesting in today's political climate. It is a reminder of how far it can go if people don't stand up for each other.
For a time I did think about giving this book 5/5 stars, but it didn't spark any strong emotions in me, and so it only got 4/5, as that is what I usually holds as a rule for that last rating.
CHAPELWOOD is set about 30 years after [b:Maplecroft|20821288|Maplecroft (The Borden Dispatches, #1)|Cherie Priest|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1394209050s/20821288.jpg|40167149], which I read a few years ago and loved! I have a much more informed view on Lovecraft now than I did back then, and so it was a double joy reading this book and seeing some of the things that makes me think about Lovecraft and his Mythos.
Anyway, this book has both Lizzie and Simon returning to the POV, as well as a couple of new characters.
I found all the characters well written and individual.
I could even see differences in the writing style when switching between the POVs.
Mostly, I flew through these books, but I did notice I fell out a little when Simon Wolf was the teller, and so I had to go back and read some parts again and again, and some times that didn't even stick either, as he was the most describing of the characters.
Even if I hate to do it, I have to compare this one to the first in the series a little.
While I loved Maplecroft, I did find it at times rather slow and the ending was unsatisfying and felt a little rushed.
Comparing this book to that, I am happy to say the ending was better, and there was a lot more going on here!
Not only was it the main story, which I found interesting and fun - when aren't cultists fun? - but the political aspects of this book was really interesting in today's political climate. It is a reminder of how far it can go if people don't stand up for each other.
For a time I did think about giving this book 5/5 stars, but it didn't spark any strong emotions in me, and so it only got 4/5, as that is what I usually holds as a rule for that last rating.
brittanybwrites's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
My first three star of the year...
So let's get started with this book review, shall we? Chapelwood was an alright book-had the same feel as the first book, but it was totally different, since it was set in Brimingham, Alabama. It felt like a southern gothic story, and it didn't pick up till the end, where Lizzie finally grabbed an axe and killed all those people...but then she disappeared. Like she left and I have no idea where the heck she went at the end. But I felt like the ending the flat, and that we don't get a really good description of the so called "God" that was in the basement when Inpector Wolf found it.
But we are introduced to Ruth Stephensen, a girl who is terrified of her father and the Chapelwood Church. She has these little "spells" that takes over her, and she talks to the spirits. Her father beat her and her mother, and she decided to leave one day when her family went to Chapelwood. Something about Chapelwood scared her, because she left her house to go to Father James Coyle for help. Father Coyle listened to her and gave her a solution: marry Pedro Gussman, a latinx man who was a handyman. She does, and her father finds out about it. So what does a father do when he learns that his daughter eloped with a strange man that he doesn't know?
He unalives the Father.
After that, that's when Inspector Wolf comes down to Brimingham, which is rich with prejudices and the so called 'True Americans' and the KKK, to pay his respects and to also see through Ruth and the trial of her father, in which he knew that he would walk free. So he asks Lizzie Borden to come down and help him, only to find out that the same evil that was in Maplewood before was down here in Birmingham. Then everything spirals to the end, where something happened to Lizzie, we don't know what, an earthquake happened when Wolf threw the reverend into the hole where the so called "God" was, and Ruth became a medium and is working under Wolf.
It was an alright book up to the end, wish it ended better, but then, Lizzie was older than she was in Maplecroft, and things just fell flat for me when I thought it was going to get better. But I did like murder parts in the beginning, with Leonard Kincaid started going mad seeing the numbers. But other than that, that was it. No appearance of Nance, no nothing. Fell a bit flat for me, but hey, I still enjoyed it, though.
So let's get started with this book review, shall we? Chapelwood was an alright book-had the same feel as the first book, but it was totally different, since it was set in Brimingham, Alabama. It felt like a southern gothic story, and it didn't pick up till the end, where Lizzie finally grabbed an axe and killed all those people...but then she disappeared. Like she left and I have no idea where the heck she went at the end. But I felt like the ending the flat, and that we don't get a really good description of the so called "God" that was in the basement when Inpector Wolf found it.
But we are introduced to Ruth Stephensen, a girl who is terrified of her father and the Chapelwood Church. She has these little "spells" that takes over her, and she talks to the spirits. Her father beat her and her mother, and she decided to leave one day when her family went to Chapelwood. Something about Chapelwood scared her, because she left her house to go to Father James Coyle for help. Father Coyle listened to her and gave her a solution: marry Pedro Gussman, a latinx man who was a handyman. She does, and her father finds out about it. So what does a father do when he learns that his daughter eloped with a strange man that he doesn't know?
He unalives the Father.
After that, that's when Inspector Wolf comes down to Brimingham, which is rich with prejudices and the so called 'True Americans' and the KKK, to pay his respects and to also see through Ruth and the trial of her father, in which he knew that he would walk free. So he asks Lizzie Borden to come down and help him, only to find out that the same evil that was in Maplewood before was down here in Birmingham. Then everything spirals to the end, where something happened to Lizzie, we don't know what, an earthquake happened when Wolf threw the reverend into the hole where the so called "God" was, and Ruth became a medium and is working under Wolf.
It was an alright book up to the end, wish it ended better, but then, Lizzie was older than she was in Maplecroft, and things just fell flat for me when I thought it was going to get better. But I did like murder parts in the beginning, with Leonard Kincaid started going mad seeing the numbers. But other than that, that was it. No appearance of Nance, no nothing. Fell a bit flat for me, but hey, I still enjoyed it, though.
samanthabryant's review
4.0
I really enjoyed the first of these books…and while you could read this one without reading [b:Maplecroft|20821288|Maplecroft (The Borden Dispatches #1)|Cherie Priest|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394209050l/20821288._SX50_.jpg|40167149] and it would make good sense, certain backstory aspects feed into motivations here, so I bet you'd like it better if you read them in order like I did.
I was really pleased to see Simon Wolf, the visiting and mysterious inspector who piqued my interest in book one and get to know him as a character and see who he actually works with. Since this story takes place thirty years after the happenings of book one, Lizbeth is now nearer elderly and I think I like her even better as an old broad with an axe than I did when she was younger. I liked the connection between her and Ruth Gussman, the young woman at the center of the mystery. Nice resonances between their stories and personalities, even though they have vastly different backgrounds and lives.
Like book one, there is an open-ended aspect to the ending. While some things are resolved, others are not. That felt right to me--we don't typically get all the answers we seek, especially in situations swathed in secrecy and lies, so it makes sense to me that our heroes didn't get all the answer either. It's on theme for Lovecraftian horror in that way as well, with characters denying even to themselves what they have experienced to protect themselves and their sanity.
A great escapist read. I was very happy to have it during a stressful week.
I was really pleased to see Simon Wolf, the visiting and mysterious inspector who piqued my interest in book one and get to know him as a character and see who he actually works with. Since this story takes place thirty years after the happenings of book one, Lizbeth is now nearer elderly and I think I like her even better as an old broad with an axe than I did when she was younger. I liked the connection between her and Ruth Gussman, the young woman at the center of the mystery. Nice resonances between their stories and personalities, even though they have vastly different backgrounds and lives.
Like book one, there is an open-ended aspect to the ending. While some things are resolved, others are not. That felt right to me--we don't typically get all the answers we seek, especially in situations swathed in secrecy and lies, so it makes sense to me that our heroes didn't get all the answer either. It's on theme for Lovecraftian horror in that way as well, with characters denying even to themselves what they have experienced to protect themselves and their sanity.
A great escapist read. I was very happy to have it during a stressful week.
tarynor's review
2.0
Just okay. I liked the first one better, but the format still didn't work for me. I have a hard time connecting with the characters, despite their close narratives. It feels too distant somehow. I appreciated some of the themes, but the plot and resolution were very bland to me. I probably won't read any subsequent books in the series.
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review
4.0
As a follow up and a conclusion to the first book, this works pretty well, though Borden's reason to be in the book is weak.
The other negative aspect is that Pedro who risks his life to help a woman really doesn't get that much of a speaking role and he should.
However, I did enjoy Ruth and I hope to see her again.
The Lovecraftian elements combine with the identification to the politics of the time was well done, though it lacks the power of a [b:The Ballad of Black Tom|26883558|The Ballad of Black Tom|Victor LaValle|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1447086249l/26883558._SY75_.jpg|46932536], though I don't think that Priest could have written Ballad, not because LaValle is better author - they are equally good - because LaValle has the background. It is to Priest's credit that she doesn't use any token diverse characters, though Pedro who is Puerto Rican comes very close. (It is part of the reason he should have had more of a role).
But it was spooky.
The other negative aspect is that Pedro who risks his life to help a woman really doesn't get that much of a speaking role and he should.
However, I did enjoy Ruth and I hope to see her again.
The Lovecraftian elements combine with the identification to the politics of the time was well done, though it lacks the power of a [b:The Ballad of Black Tom|26883558|The Ballad of Black Tom|Victor LaValle|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1447086249l/26883558._SY75_.jpg|46932536], though I don't think that Priest could have written Ballad, not because LaValle is better author - they are equally good - because LaValle has the background. It is to Priest's credit that she doesn't use any token diverse characters, though Pedro who is Puerto Rican comes very close. (It is part of the reason he should have had more of a role).
But it was spooky.
smithla8's review
4.0
It took a while to get into this second of Cherie Priest;s Lizze Borden books, but it was worth sticking it out through some epistolary exposition to get to some excellent creepy fun.