Greetings Earthlings! Today I’m reviewing The Carnelian Crow by Colleen Gleason, the fourth book in the Stoker and Holmes series!
WARNING SPOILERS
Rating: -A: Good story with characters that got better and a slow plot line
Oh my god! GUYS THIS BOOK LIKE I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO STARTED! I’ll start like this hi I’m Grace and earlier in the year I read this first three books in the Stoker and Holmes series by Colleen Gleason and I loved them. If you would like to hear my full thoughts on them then click right here to read the review. I was so excited for this book because the third book was so great and I love this series. The book follows Evaline Stoker, the sister of Bram Stoker, and Mina Holmes, the niece of Sherlock Holmes, and they are back at it solving crimes together and it’s amazing but at the same time this book fucked me and it fucked me up hard.
So I’m just jumping right to thing I want to talk first which was that I was right that we weren’t going to see the last Dylan! He pops up in the last chapter and I don’t get me wrong I was happy to see him but through out the book we are given all this development with Grayling and Mina’s relationship like in the beginning of the other books she calls him her nemesis but she doesn’t and they start began friends and IM LOVING IT!
I became accustomed to the feel of his leg brushing against my skirt, and I discovered I rather enjoyed the slight movement of the muscles in his arm beneath my hand.”
When I read that quote I was just dying because I ship them so much and Ambrose really likes her. He evens asks if she can start calling him by her name and I was hoping for them to kiss or start dating which the dating thing because he asks her out to the ball thing and I was facing palming when Mina was like what case are we going to solve by going to this ball and he is just like um.. we aren’t I asked because I wanted you to go with because I thought it would be nice.
Case. Right. Er…Miss Holmes, I regret to inform you that…och, well…that I had no particular case in mind to investigate tonight. I merely—that is to say—I merely thought it would be pleasant to attend the Yule Fête. With—er you .”
I blinked.
And suddenly, just as my bedchamber had seemed to shrink in size when he’d gone in to investigate the crow markings outside my window, so did the interior of the carriage all at once become much smaller.
Not in an uncomfortable way, but in a very… aware sort of way. A strangely pleasant way .
“I see . I -”
He rushed on, “I do hope you aren’t disappointed, Miss Holmes .”
“No. No, no, no, I’m not disappointed,” I said quickly, aware that my face had become undeniably warmer. I certainly hoped he couldn’t see what surely must be a bright red tint in my cheeks. “Not at all .”
“I’m relieved to hear that.” He hesitated, then continued, “After all, we had discussed perhaps meeting at the British Museum to take in the Japanese woodprint exhibit. And when Lady Cosgrove-Pitt insisted I attend the fête tonight, I…well, I thought of you.”
Now my cheeks felt as if they were on fire, and I shifted on the bench seat in an effort to move out of the small circle of light so as to hide the glow beneath my skin. Though it was so bright he probably could see it in the dark. “I am most obliged, Inspector.”
Oh Mina you are so smart but so obvious when it comes to man. Yeah so as I was saying I like Dylan. He is a good character, a big cinnamon roll, and he also cares about Mina but I can’t see them together. I talked about this in my last review for the three books, I don’t what them together because I don’t think that they are a good match for each other and I think Ambrose and Mina are a great pair and that really shows in this book as they work together and make something really great. But then Dylan comes back and he comes back because 2016 isn’t the same as it was before and he had to come back. I was happy to see him but at the same time I was like no. Dylan baby I love you but you couldn’t have come at a worst time.
Now let’s talk about my baby girl Evaline who is basically Buffy in Steampunk 1890s. I’m sad to say that #giveevalinelove2017 has failed. Evaline had such a sad storyline, I mean it wasn’t the sad I mean just the impact it had on her and the fact that she deserves real love makes it sad. So after the whole saying that if it came to then Evaline would kill Pix and then she hasn’t heard from him and then suddenly her sister in law Florence says that because of finances and Bram working on his novel that Evaline can return home to Ireland or she has to get married.
Evaline,” she began in a hard, impersonal voice. “It’s…it’s more than that. We… Well, Bram has been spending so much extra time working on his novel that he’s neglected our finances. Even worse, some of his investments weren’t very smart, and with the change in laws and taxes and tariffs…well, things are dire. So dire, in fact, that by the first of the year, we will be faced with two choices: go back to Ireland and move in with your parents, or…” She hesitated, then rushed on. “Or you must marry.”
Evaline is just like how ever heard of a vampire hunter getting married and I’m like no one.
It was part of my heritage. Part of my history.
I couldn’t…
But I couldn’t get married, either.
Whoever heard of a vampire hunter getting married?”
Normal girls marry vampires and Evaline isn’t a normal girl, she’s like Buffy and Buffy never married anyone. Also I’m thinking Pix is more her Spike then her Angel. I’m not saying that’s my official opinion but that’s what I’m leaning towards right now.
Evaline starts looking for suitors and she mets this guy named Ned *what a basic ass name but she still holds a torch for Pix and I feel so bad for this because I have a bad feeling that my baby is going to be alone. Buffy ended up alone and that’s because being a vampire hunter is no easy life. She gets engaged to this Ned guy and the what do you know Pix finally returns! I think it’s weird that I finally like Pix and then suddenly he has such a small part in this book. WHY?!?!?!
The book has kind of a sad ending as Dylan and Miss. Alder return yeah she was missing the whole book until the end. Then Ambrose arrests Pix because there was a death and he’s been accused of doing it and both Ambrose and Pix seem so sad because Evaline is getting married and Dylan has returned and he knows that Mina and him like each other and their both upset and I’m like no please don’t have them get all this development and then abandoned it! Please Colleen Gleason! DON’T DO THIS TO ME!! PLEASE DON’T DO THIS!!
Neither of them gave us a backward glance.”
Even though I loved this book, unfortunately there were two things I didn’t really like. For one the writing style seemed different for some reason and I don’t know it really enjoy that and for some reason it has like future Mina and Evaline like interrupting the story and I didn’t remember that happening before. Did I just miss that before in the last three books or is that new? I don’t know I thought it was weird. Also for some reason the feel of the book didn’t feel the same to me. It’s probably because Evaline and Mina aren’t together a lot and that made me upset because they are such a great team together.
Other than that I enjoyed this book a lot and I’m so sad that this series is coming to an end. We only have one more book! I DON’T WANT IT TO END! AND CAN MINA AND GRAYLING GET TOGETHER IN THE NEXT BOOK? AND CAN #GIVEEVALINELOVE2017 A THING? I’m excited for book five and I can’t wait to see how Colleen Gleason wraps the series up. I think I’m going to have to post more then once a week for a while because I have so much to do! Also I have a poll on Twitter for my next book of the month so please go vote on that. The choices are between the Handmaid’s Tale and Still Star-Crossed which is winning. Have you guys read this book? What did you think of it? Did you like or did you hate it? Let me know! You should follow my book club here and other social media links. I posted rants like this once a week every week. Look out for more reviews and other random posts. Like, Comment, and follow for more rants like these! Also make sure to follow my social media links.
you know you love fiction,
Grace
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Bookclub: Epic Adaptations
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