Leah's Bookshelf
Likes: Horror, macabre, fairy tales, ghosts, hauntings, serial killers, zombies, werewolves, shapeshifters, vampires, time travel, orphans, clones, thrillers, classics, gothic
I like to read anything that tells a good story, duh ;) Genre doesn't really matter much but I tend to read dark fiction and fantasy the most. I skip chick lit and romance novels with a few exceptions for the extraordinary.
My ratings system:
5 stars - ADORED; plan to read over and over and over.
4 stars - ENJOYED; will likely read once or twice more.
3 stars - LIKED; may or may not read again ... someday.
2 stars - MEH; no plans to read again.
1 stars - I didn't enjoy the story and was lucky to finish.
0 stars - I couldn't or wouldn't finish for reasons that may or may not be listed in the review box.
The Wyvern Mystery by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Rating: 4 of 5
Rife with Victorian Era mystery and intrigue, The Wyvern Mystery was my first encounter with J.S. Le Fanu, and I dug it.
There were times Le Fanu had me on the edge of my seat and other times laughing out loud, but always wondering what would happen to Alice. All the trappings of a soap opera - secret affairs, greed, betrayal, murder - yet written with such style and skill that I don't feel the least bit guilty for having enjoyed the melodramatic ride.
And what a ride it was; I thought for sure I'd solved the mystery at least three times only to have the next chapter ruin my prediction. Oh, and the foreboding, brilliant! I was so dang worried for Alice and at the same time more than a little peeved with her for being totally naive and oblivious; it was simultaneously exciting and nerve-racking.
My only complaint, if I was forced to make one, would be the story's pace. It definitely could've moved faster in certain areas; however, maybe that was just my impatience at wanting to solve the mystery and (hopefully) arrive at a happy ending?
Disclaimer: Not for anyone bored by 1869 prose, a slow pace and/or melodrama.
