19058 Followers
397 Following
moonlightreader

Abandoned by user

RIP Booklikes.

First book of bingo - Mayhem by Sarah Pinborough

 

Yippee! I've finished my first bingo book! love books set in Victorian England and am fascinated by Jack the Ripper, so when I was looking for Halloween Bingo books, I decided to pull the trigger and buy this one. I'd been cover-coveting it for ages. I've never read anything by Sarah Pinborough, so I didn't really have any idea what to expect.

 

It definitely has supernatural elements to it, and is a twist on the standard vampire tale, involving a creature known as an upir. If you're a fan of the television show Hemlock Grove, this is probably a word that is familiar to you. Pinborough's upir is a frankly terrifying twist on the standard creature, based upon information that I was able to find on the internet that explains the origin of the word. Thus, I am moving this one from the supernatural square to vampires v. werewolves, since it makes more sense to fill the narrower category first!

 

Mayhem - Sarah Pinborough  Murder - Sarah Pinborough  

 

Mayhem is the first in a duology. There is a sequel to Mayhem, which I will definitely read, although I don't know when!

 

The writing was good, and I liked the atmospheric nature of the book. The book begins with three separate character narratives that converge about 2/3 of the way through the book. There are some plot threads that are wrapped up rather too quickly, in my opinion, and the ending is delivered really fast. Too fast, I think. There isn't enough of a denoument to satisfy me.

 

It's also super gory. If you're put off by descriptions of decapitated bodies, dismemberment, and detailed information about decidedly unpleasant odors, you're going to want to stay far away from this one.

 

I'm interested enough in Pinborough to seek out some of her other books as well. Also, whoever she has designing her books is doing a bang-up job, because her covers are some of the most beautiful I've ever seen! 

 

Look at the covers of her fairy tale retellings:

 

Poison - Sarah Pinborough  Charm (Tales from the Kingdoms) - Sarah Pinborough  Beauty - Sarah Pinborough  

 

And tell me those aren't three of the most gorgeous covers you've ever seen!