harrietj's reviews
227 reviews

Why didn't I like this when I first read it? It's brilliant. Brian K. Vaughan knocks it out of the park as usual, and the art is just stunning. Matt Wilson's colours are beautiful. I could stare at them all day. So glad I gave this series another shot. Roll on volume 2!

I like this in colour. I think it loses some.of the DIY charm of the original black and whites, and it feels more modern and thus less nineties but I think it works. Especially probably for readers new to comics.

Great characterisation and fantastic dialogue. Fast paced and funny. So evocative of a particular time and place.

I get it now. These books are crazy soap operas. Totally wild plot twists and crazy situations. Taken in that spirit, this whole series is unbelievably funny, and I love it. It doesn't hurt that Maupin has such a wonderful ear for dialogue. I could listen to these characters talk to each other for hours.

I suppose it's unfair to judge what it basically a children's romance novel as an adult who isn't really a romance reader, but I just kept thinking while I read this how much YA fiction has come on since 1982. There was great stuff then, too, but this kind of almost magazine-style pulp publication, two cheap formulaic novels a month kind of business model doesn't seem to be such a thing any more, at least beyond Beast Quest and so on, which are for much younger kids.

Saying that, the Point Horror and Point Crime books have a special place in my heart. They're not good, but I read them as a child and nostalgia makes me fond of them as an adult. Perhaps if I'd grown up in the 80s rather than the 90s this would have charmed me more.

Night of the Prom was a very basic story with extremely low stakes and no tension. I did enjoy the extensive descriptions of early 80s fashion. As a period piece it did have some charm.

Had promise, but it was boring and the dialogue was abysmal. Also left me with tonnes of unanswered questions and not a very satisfying ending.

Didn't enjoy this as much as other Koontz' I've read - overlong and a little slower than others. I also don't like it when horror gets so explicitly Christian at the end (looking at you, Imaginary Friend). 

I usually really enjoy Sophie Hannah's books but this was just really boring. I didn't really care about the mystery, the stakes felt low, and I thought the main character came across as obsessive and smug. I also really didn't enjoy the dialogue in this book. It all felt deeply unrealistic and wooden. Also there was a random chapter set in the daughter's school that honestly could have been lifted right out and nothing would have been lost. I assume it was intended to show how protective a mother Beth is so that Flora looks worse? But it was hamfisted. 

I'll still pick up Sophie Hannah books but this was my least favourite yet.

This was fine. Like reading through nine Wikipedia articles. Nothing too in-depth but I read it in one sitting at work and it was alright. I probably wouldn't bother to read it if it took more than one sitting. 

There was a weird moment when the author referred to 'borderline intelligence disorder' when I think he must have meant EUPD (emotionally unstable personality disorder) and he felt the need to refer to gay men's partners as 'his male lover' oddly frequently, which gave me a bit of a homophobic vibe - like why not just say his partner? We already know they're gay, it doesn't need to be stated every two sentences - but it wasn't too distracting.