Sunday 21 December 2014

Review: Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender


"Another dead person, what a shock."

To be honest, I was very tempted to not pick up this book, based purely on the fact that the cover simply didn't appeal to me. At first glance, the book seemed to have an interesting premise: The ghost of the late French queen, Marie Antoinette, haunting the streets of Paris and murdering the gorgeous elites that call the famous city their home. If I weren't such a fan of historical fiction and the paranormal genre, though, the chances are that I would have never read this little gem.

A simple narrative flows seamlessly through this roughly 300-page novel, and whilst not the most unique concept, the execution left me swooning over the streets of Paris and wanting to immediately start planning my next trip to Europe. The descriptions of Versailles and the peasant villages were enchanting and the historical information supplied to the reader throughout the novel proved there to be some extensive research on the author's part. Katie Alender sprinkles hints of the French language through the course of this novel, leaving the reader confused at times, but luckily, being fluent in French wasn't required to grasp the issues introduced in this book. A simple trip to Google Translate would fix any problems a reader might come across if they were to grow anal about the lack of translation in this book. 

Colette Iselin is an ambitious young girl who goes on a class trip to France. Whilst I did have a few issues with Colette, that was immediately dismissed when I came across the gorgeous descriptions of the Parisian city in which they were staying.  The fact that she often chose to bend her will in accordance with peer pressure was a weak point in this novel for me, and one of the main reasons why this book was more of a 3.5 out of 5 stars for me, instead of 4. Her main love interest, Jules, on the other hand, was a total win for me. Charming, sweet and not overly described by the main protagonist. You know those novels where the heroine is constantly referring to her crush's 'gorgeous blue eyes' and 'dazzling golden locks'? Well, luckily, Katie Alender doesn't overuse these adjectives and focuses more on developing Jules' family background and personality. Something I wish was seen a bit more in YA novels nowadays. A reader should be able to fall in love with a character's personality, words and actions; and this book does exactly that. A+ for love interest #1. Love interest #2, however, was a different story. Armand is first introduced to readers as Colette and her friends are inside one of Paris' steamy underground clubs. I was already slightly annoyed by the setting Colette met Armand in, and even more so when he is shown to be a complete jacka#! of a player, toying with Colette's friend and leading her along like a sick puppy. Although, I must admit, since I had absolutely no sympathy towards both of Colette's friends, I did enjoy these parts a little.

The so-called 'scary' scenes were interesting at first, but quickly grew repetitive. The initial chapters of the deaths were intriguing, enticing the reader and giving them a taste of the mystery that was yet to come. Of course, once this mystery had been written and read to fruition, it was messy. Very messy. The initial structure of this mystery was fine enough, quite interesting, in fact, but unfortunately, because it was introduced so late in the novel, readers are barely given the chance to gain a proper understanding of it. Scenes become rushed near the end of the novel, and the story behind Marie Antoinette's ghost returning seemed underdone. I really wished I could have enjoyed the end of this book more, considering the first two-thirds had left me so dazzled. Unfortunately, the end of this book and the resolution of both the romance and the conflict just didn't do it for me.

I picked up this novel during a terrible reading slump that regrettably lasted more than a couple of months, I was in the mood for something that would get me reading, and despite all of its faults, this book did pick me up where I had left off. This is still an enjoyable read, and I do not want to scare any potential readers from picking this up. A word of advice for those planning to purchase this novel though, try borrowing it from the library first...


"She did NOT just say that!"

Overall Rating: 3.5/5 stars

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