I struggled with this book, unfortunately, I think it was me being in the wrong frame of mind to read it rather than any fault of the book though. Look at the other reviews, not just mine, as a lot of people loved the book. It just wasn't for me. I didn't engage with the main character, found the other characters numerous and confusing and the storyline was just a bit dull. As I said though look at the other reviews and decide for yourself. A book with so many 5 star reviews is definitely worth a try, right?

A wild read, with all sorts of fantastical everything woven in. Kidd is a masterful storyteller, with an incredible talent for worldbuilding. This is gothic Victorian mystery and romance at its strangest, spookiest, and finest.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a hard rating, because I loved the writing style. It was so well written and the characters were so well developed.. I just didn't love the story. I wanted to.. But the story fell flat for me. I felt it was a lot of back and forth and I didn't like the way the timelines intersected. The writing was almost too good for the story. I felt the writing style, while very beautiful and vividly descriptive, really slowed down the story of the book.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

DNF'd at 49%.

I have been forcing myself to finish this book but struggling to find the motivation, so I've decided it was time to accept that it just not for me and move on. I enjoyed the time line, the premise and the character of Ruby. This story reads like a cozy mystery which I feel is the cause of my lack of motivation, as it's a genre I don't typically reach for,

I would like to thank Atria books, the author and NetGalley for the eARC.

This book answers the question as to what you would get if you mixed Sherlock Holmes, Oliver Twist, and Creature from the Black Lagoon, but with a female protagonist. It’s a 19th century London mystery, with unique and outrageous characters, both human and mythical. The author is fearless; time and again she makes you wonder if she will take the shocking leap into the taboo and macabre. I assure you, she does.

A Victorian detective novel, fantasy, and fairy tale rolled into one. Bridie Devine is a detective tasked with finding a missing child. But not just any child...she has characteristics that make her irresistible to collecters, doctors, and scientists. As Bridie closes in on the kidnappers with the help of her 7 foot tall housemaid Cora and her champion boxer friend (who just happens to be a ghost), an unexpected enemy from her past reappears.
I love the writing style. The fairytale elements are seamlessly incorporated into the detective novel. Bridie is a great main character, tough as a detective, but the flashbacks to her childhood show a different side to her. I look forward to more booksby this author.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Detective Bridie Devine is used to dealing with otherworldly mysteries. She’s known for solving complex cases that have a (seemingly) supernatural twist. Now she’s been tasked with finding a unique little girl who’s been kidnapped. Rumor has it the girl can read men’s minds and kill them in just one venomous bite. Sure, Detective Devine doesn’t believe in any of that nonsense, but she’s still desperate to find the missing girl before something terrible happens to her. Unfortunately, she’ll have to come face to face with some demons from her own past in the process.

MY THOUGHTS

This isn’t my usual genre, but, wow, what a phenomenal book! The first 20 pages were a little slow, but once the story picked up, I was hooked. There’s a perfect balance of mystery, fantasy, and realistic character development—even for a reader like me who never reads anything with “supernatural” elements. Just goes to show that sometimes breaking out of your routine is just what you need to get yourself out of a reading slump!

4 stars

You can read all of my reviews at https://www.NerdGirlLovesBooks.com.

I haven't read a lot of gothic books, mainly because I'm a big chicken and get scared easily. (It's why I don't read or review horror books) The gothic books I've read aren't necessarily scary per se, but they can be creepy. There were times in this book when I felt a bit creeped out - which I guess is the purpose, right? SO, job well done, Ms. Kidd!

I love stories set in Victorian London. In this book, Bridie Devine, a talented female detective, is hired by Sir Edmund Athelstan Berwick to investigate the kidnapping of his secret daughter and return her home. Rumors are that the girl is peculiar and has supernatural powers. This makes her a valuable commodity that other collectors would be interested in obtaining.

Bridie is an interesting character that I really liked. She is smart, capable and fearless, but still has a big heart. There are three main characters that assist her in her investigation, as well as a few peripheral ones. The first of the main characters is her seven foot maid, who Bridie rescued from a circus. The maid provides much needed security for Bridie, as well as a person to bounce ideas off. Another character is an apothecary that provides Bridie with her favorite mixture of herbs to smoke in her pipe, and lastly, a sensitive tattoo-covered ghost that insists Bridie knows him.

I love the relationship between Bridie and the ghost. While Bridie and her maid may be hardened to the horrible things they see, the ghost's reactions to these events and sights are much the same as a regular person's reactions would be. He also helps Bridie deal with painful memories from her past which often haunt her. Overall, even though I was occasionally creeped out, I enjoyed this gothic mystery. It was well-written, compelling and had a sense of fantasy about it. It's not a book that you'll race through. The author takes her time in telling the story, but it's worth the wait.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book but sadly it just wasn't for me. I have tried on several occasions to read it and in addition I bought the audio version to try to enhance my enjoyment. I'm sorry but this one just wasn't for me.

I was very excited about this book and have been dying to dive into it for sometime. It was my very first Book of the Month pick, and I have heard some interesting buzz about it. I started reading this story, and then was trying to rush to finish it before we left for vacation. That might be why I found the story a bit slow and cumbersome towards the end.
The entire tale we are following Bridget as she tried to rescue a little girl who is also a Merrow (or mermaid.) The entire story is filled with fantastical elements including a ghost who she apparently met as a child and fell in love with while he was human. I did like how the story intricately wove the fantasy into the reality of London during the 1800s. But the ending was a bit of a let down for me. I wasn't sure where I wanted the story to take me, but I thought it would have more of a conclusion. I'm not sure if the author is planning on bringing her female lead back in a future book, but the story did end on quite a cliff hanger. I do enjoy that from time to time, but my excitement for this book was not deserving of the story I read. It was well written, but has a very quirky style at the same time. I wouldn't tell you not to read this book, but it wasn't my all time favorite.

This is a book about a missing child set in Victorian London. It contains mystery, fantasy, science and a strong Victorian female lead, all of which I love. This book just didn’t do it for me however.

The writing style was very flowery and it lost my interest at times. I felt like more effort was put into the writing style than the actual story line. More often than not I felt myself thinking that I wished the author would just get to the point.

There is a lot of praise for this book and I can see why, it was just not for me.

During the 1800's in dreary London, a female investigator/doctor's assistant and a ghost only she (and animals) can see, try to solve the mystery of a kidnapping of a strange child whose origin is unknown.

Birdie Devine is called into service to locate a child, Christabel Berwick, the secret child of Edmund Berwick. Having just come off a case where she was unable to save the child she was looking for, and having just run into a ghost, Rudy, who says they have met in the past but refuses to tell her how they know each other, she is hesitant to take the case.

But she does decide to look for the kidnapped child, and through a series of (mis)adventures begins to put the pieces of the puzzle together as to what happened to Christabel.

Throughout the story, we get glimpses of Birdie's past. As an orphan, she was sold from one person to another, ending up in the family of a doctor. Although life was good and she learned much as his assistant, some family members and staff had cruel intentions.

As Birdie moves around London with her band of merry, quirky, characters, her maid Cora with a beard, Rudy her ghost and other oddball circus types, she begins to uncover what exactly happened to Christabel and perhaps more important, where she came from.

In the spirit of Diane Setterfield and her novel Once Upon a River, Kidd creates a world of real life intrigue with creative fantasy and imagination. She explores human's flaws and shortcomings and how people treat others who are different from them. The story is filled with mystery and imagination and incredible plot twists.

Thank you #NetGalley #AtriaBooks #ThingsinJars #JessKid for the advanced copy.

This books is completely different from my typical reads! The writing is superb, beautiful and magical. I was in love with this book from page 1.

A supernatural mystery book, with a female detective, Birdie Devine. Birdie is determined to find out what happened to a young missing, illegitimate child. As long as you can suspend reality, this is well worth the read.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy, in exchange for an honest review.

Bridie Devine is a detective hired to find a child that was kidnapped. While investigating, she realizes that perhaps the child is something else perhaps not human especially as she gets pulled into the seedy underbelly of Victorian London and meets all sorts of shady characters along the way. The child has garnered the unwanted attention of collectors of curiosities, but secrets abound in this foggy underworld where spectacle is king and nothing is quite what it seems. Set in 1800’s London, Things In Jars by Jess Kidd is definitely a fantastical tale of historical fiction coupled with folklore. We meet some interesting characters throughout the book including a ghost named Ruby and a 7-foot tall housemaid named Cora.

I loved all the quirky characters, especially Ruby and his relationship with Bridie. I hoped for a different ending for them, but understand why the author went the direction she did. The circus setting in some parts was interesting and definitely beneficial to the story.

The book is told from two different timelines. We go back and forth from 1843 where we learn of Bridie’s upbringing and what gives her the background she has in medicine, and 1863 where we focus on the kidnapping of Christabel and Bridie’s investigation in these matters. The two timelines intersected well and helped bring the story together.

I struggled with my rating because although I think the writing was exceptional, this story just wasn’t for me. I felt like the author’s descriptions at the beginning of each chapter were beautifully written, but not necessary to move the story along. They actually slowed it down a lot which almost made me not want to finish this book. I think that Victorian England is just not the right setting for me. Overall, if you like Victorian England and the fantasy genre, I think this is the book for you.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for my review copy! This was an intriguing story told in Victorian England, and it caught me from the very beginning. I took longer reading this book than I usually might, as I wanted to savor it! I don't want to give too much away, but it was an enjoyable, well-written story!

Rating: 3.5 rounded up to 4 bizarre stars

This book is wild, crazy, and inventive. It is a blend of Historical Fiction and Fantasy. The writing is superb. The story is set in Victorian England and the author, Jess Kidd, portrays the ugly underbelly of London with its slums and inhabitants struggling to keep body and soul together the best way they can. The hero, Bridie Devine is a strong woman in a society that does not value that.

Intermingled in the historical fiction is a large vein of fantasy. Bridie is hired to find a fantastical child whom many people want to control. This is Bridie’s quest, and a cast of strange characters including her 7-foot tall maid, and a pugilist ghost aids her.

It took me awhile to get into the story. It is probably the strangest book that I’ve read in a while. There is unexpected violence, and horrid descriptions of exploitation. The story line about the legend surrounding the stolen girl, and how the world reacts to her is wholly fantastical. That is not my normal reading genre. However, after I suspended disbelief about the fantasy elements and got immersed in the story, even the girl’s story made sense in the context of the book.

I rooted for Bridie and her band of crusaders to find and liberate the child from the clutches of the various bands of baddies who wanted to control her. It is a quest story embedded in a framework of historical fiction. I would recommend that you give this book some time to grow on you. The writing is inventive and the story is unique.


‘Thank-You’ to NetGalley; the publisher, Atria Books; and the author, Jess Kidd; for providing a free e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book caught my eye when I saw it was being promoted for fans of The Book of Speculation. Set in a Gothic and gloomy villainous world, Things in Jars is clever and fresh, blending mystery with quirky characters, magical moments, folklore and spectacle.

I just could not finish this book. I loved the storyline but the story is dragged out and slow. To much description that I felt was not needed. Also seemed to repeat quite a few things for me. I did make it to 62% but I didn't care what happened.

I received this from Netgalley for review.

First off the cover is pretty but that's all it has going for it with me , I've tried the last few days to read it and ,Sadly I'm DNF it , I just can't get into the book , and I so wanted to like it , it's slow, boring and confusing at times to the point I had to go back and re read a few pages to try and understand what just happened, and the written style isn't helping .with that said I want to say thank you to the publisher as well as Netgalley for at least letting me try to read it but sadly this author isn't for me.

This book has so much atmospheric appeal that it was a pleasure to read and imagine the events unfolding. It centers around Bridie Divine, who is a women investigating the disappearance of 6-year-old Christobel from her wealthy family's estate.
There is so much depth to this story, set in Victorian England and giving all the feeling of an old-fashioned "Who done It?" type of mystery except there are also fairytale themes and magical realism throughout.
One of my favorite connections is between Bridie and Ruby., a deceased boxer, who assists her with the investigation. I would love to see these two in future books by Jess Kidd.
I began by reading this in physical format then listened to the audiobook, which was fabulously narrated by Jacqueline Milne. She has such an expressive voice and range of accents that I found myself listening and reading together once I was able to choose the format. Highly recommended!
Thank you for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.
#Netgalley #AtriaBooks