I didn't expect to love this one as much as I did. It is very "telenovella" as some reviews have stated, but to me, that's what makes it entertaining. At first, I wasn't sure how all of the parts would come together, but they ended up tying in nicely. I enjoyed the characters. I wasn't expecting it to quite take the turn it did, but it wasn't a detriment to take it, in my opinion. The ending was perfection.

I really loved this one. The way it blends Irish folklore with history is very well done, the pacing is just right, and I loved the characters. The ending was perfect imo. I enjoyed the ways the narrative unfolded, and this was a book where the timeskips made sense. Each twist added an extra layer to the mix, and I thought they worked well. It was a great gothic read, perfect for winter.

I wasn't thrilled with the time jumps in this one. To me, they didn't feel quite as cohesive as I would have liked for the periods that they were jumping to and from. I enjoyed the story itself, the characters were realistic. I felt like the pacing could also be a little more consistent. This is definitely a book that I think would work very well for a movie, I just thought that in written form, it left me a little lacking.

As someone with depression, it was interesting to see the topic of suicide viewed through a purely philosophical lens. It definitely resonated in ways I wasn't expecting, and it brought things into perspective, especially how absurd the idea is (and yet how easy it is to reject reason in favor of it due to emotional response). This is definitely a good precursor of The Rebel, since it follows a similar line of reasoning.

I get the premise and while I do think its points are ones that should be examined more, this one was just a struggle to get through. The comedic style at times just completely killed any horror atmosphere and I found it taking me out of the story more than it was contributing to it. The characters were enjoyable but at the same time, I felt like there could have been more done with some of their story arcs. Truthfully, there are a lot of books that do "institution horror" better imo.

I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did, but it is a very balanced approach to Plato and his effects on Grecian politics. The author cites sources and offers some differing opinions, which I enjoyed, while also mentioning the opposing viewpoints so you do get a measured POV of the events. Definitely an interesting read and would highly recommend!