Well! This one honestly ended up being a fun read. The premise seems like it's setting you up to be insulted for not being a historical researcher (Diana discovers an old book at OXFORD and chaos ensues!), but it takes a couple of twists and turns that ultimately redeem the general pretension of the cast of main characters. I truly hadn't read a "oooo vampires" book since Twilight; this one could have been better but it also could've been a lot worse.‘Normal’ is a bedtime story—a fable—that humans tell themselves to feel better when faced with overwhelming evidence that most of what’s happening around them is not ‘normal’ at all.
At almost 600 pages, the book was a little intimidating (at least I had the ebook, thank you library). Even so, I got through it in about 4 days staying up well past my bed time because I didn't want to put it down! If you need plot that starts in chapter one and progresses logically and uninterrupted, this is not the book for you. If you like to get lost in someone else's life/experiences in a well-constructed and overly detailed world (like Outlander), this is the book for you.
The Good
- oh heck who could resist Matthew Clairmont, dang
- well-researched/historical (probably, I didn't actually verify anything)
- Diana is pretty likable. I generally am charmed by a self-discovery series, and this is pretty much along those lines. I could see how someone would not identify with her (she is very High Society), but that's not her fault.
- the first two-thirds of the book is pleasurably tolerable, but the final third really kicks the entertainment and ingenuity factor into high-gear. witchy hi-jinks and ensemble work ensue
The Bad
- well i mean, the stereotypical vampire novel is definitely not for shaping young minds. i personally like reading them but this is nearly as inherently problematic as the rest of them
- why won't matthew and diana just have sex, y'all are ridiculous
- taking a step back, this was really about setting up romance and not much else. there are a couple of threads i'm excited for the next one to follow, but Harkness needed to revisit the beginning parts of this book to tone down the excitement about Ashmole 782 (or whatever the number was).
- i can't believe we finally had an amazing cast of characters interacting and we're gonna up and leave that for the second book!!
Loved it
- i am SO psyched for the witch-in-training shenanigans in the next book (not necessarily a loved-it but i have to say it)
Hated it
- maybe it was just my kindle version, but there were a lot of places where an inherent pause in the text/story was not indicated by spacing between paragraphs, and it started to irk me pretty quickly
i am giving this 4/5 stars on Goodreads. i think it is more appropriate for fans of Outlander than Twilight. i am really excited for whenever i get off the waitlist for the sequel ebook!!
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