<I>Quinsey Wolfe's Glass Vault</I> by Candace Robinson

<b>Star Rating</b>: ★★★★★ 5/5 stars

<b>Format</b>: ebook galley

<b>Summary</b>: People have been going missing in Perrie's small town around the same time a new mysterious building pops up. It advertises itself as Quinsey Wolfe's Glass Vault and no one really knows much more about it. When Perrie's ex boyfriend and cousin both go missing she and her best friend August set out to figure out the mystery of this glass vault.

<b>Review</b>: I received a free copy for review from NetGalley.

I legit almost put this book down in the first few chapters. It just seems like silly high school nonsense at first, I don't really like contemporaries which is why the setting put me off at the start. But it quickly changes and becomes something I totally did not see coming at the beginning of the book. I'm so glad I kept going because this book was so good and the ending left me shook.

SHOOK. I am shooketh. There was no way I could have seen that ending at all. It was great, I love when I'm totally blown away by a twist in a book. This definitely cemented my rating for the book, I enjoyed the whole book too. I just can't get over the ending, twenty four hours later and I'm still just shook.

I liked how the horror and retellings worked into the novel. It was well done and I really liked them, especially since Perrie and August were trying to figure out each story that they were thrust into and work out how each one varied. I liked the chemistry between Perrie and August a lot, thought it was well done.

All the characters were really awesome and I liked them, I wasn't really sure about the ex boyfriend Neven. I wish we got to really see more of who he was. I don't have a very clear idea about him at all. I think the ending could be more powerful if we knew more about him, we mostly got a lot of telling from Perrie who was mad at him most of the book.

The book ends on a cliffhanger, of a sort, it could be a definite ending in my opinion but there is a lot of unanswered questions and a second book coming. I'm really eager to read the second book, I am invested in finding out what happens next.

<b>Recommendation</b>: If you like horror and retellings, pick up this book. It was a lot of fun to read and I highly recommend it. Also I need more people to yell about that ending with.

I was intrigued by this book's cover and the fact that it claims to be a YA horror with retellings, but I feel like it reads more like an outline of a finished novel, instead of a fully developed one in its own right.

I feel like the retellings part was giving me vibes of a video game in that each section was disconnected and the characters changed outfits and identities. It felt a bit rushed, but that could be rectified by just fleshing it a bit more. I mean, the ebook I read was only ~170pages, so there's a lot of room for possible additional detail.

It does suffer from a lot of traditional YA pitfalls: instalove, fairly bland characters (with even the "quirky" one kinda average). As I said above, however, this can be easily fixed if the book is to be fleshed out about 100 or so more pages. It's not a bad concept, but in order to be more than average in a YA landscape that's chock full of retelling as of late, it needs more.

I'm looking forward to see if Candace Robinson does intend to take another crack at this novel or release an extended version later on. It's just bones right now, but it's good bones.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of Quinsey Wolfe's Glass Vault by Candace Robinson. The sinister prologue spooked me and made me curious at the same time. Perrie is an only child living with her single father, since her mother left years ago. Her best friends are her next door neighbor and cousin, Maisie, and August, the teenage boy she has more than just friend feelings for. There's an odd mystery about the breakup with her ex-boyfriend, Neven. One day, on their way home from school, Perrie, Maisie and August see a large building that they've never seen before, Quinsey Wolfe's Glass Vault. A sign stating there are job openings is hanging on the door. Curiously, Maisie has a job there by the next day. The characters are charming and the humor is refreshing, while something creepy lurks in the background. People are disappearing from their community and August and Perrie enter the Glass Vault when Maisie can't be found. I don't want to give anything away, but the twists floored me! A wonderful supernatural horror story full of fairy tale and historical retellings, worthy of 5 stars! Look closely at the cover for hints of retellings in this story!

A bit underdeveloped at times but this was a decent novel! It took some time for the story to *finally* move along, though. Some parts weren't really something I'd label horror, but overall, it was an okay novel.

DNF @ 36%

This has nothing to do with the book but with me. The writing, premise, and characters are really good but I feel like this is not my cup tea since I'm not really a horror girl and I'm dragging my feet with it. Also I read in the book of the book so I know what the " twist" is. So it's best for me to put it down before I force myself to finish it and give it a bad review.

This book begun in an entirely predictable fashion and, for the first quarter, I felt there was nothing inspired or unique about the plot. But, my gosh, did all that change!

Madeline's home town is plagued with mysterious disappearances. After both her best friend and ex-boyfriend join the names of the missing she vows to discover what secrets her town is hiding. Madeline, along with new boy in town, August, discover the museum of a mad creator and get sucked into a world of magic and mayhem when the doors close behind them. But will this adventure lead them any closer to discovering where the missing have gone? Or will they just becomes names added to the list of the lost and forgotten?

This novel was one bizarre and peculiar adventure I did not see coming! The first quarter is set up to deceive the reader into believing this book to be something predictable but it soon becomes evident that it is far from true! From Jack the Ripper to the Legend of Sleepy Hollow to Snow White and the huntsman: this book encroaches on a plethora of famed fairy tales and legends and weaves them seamlessly into this horrific mystery, that sees both the reader and the characters sucked down the rabbit hole and into Wonderland.

I really enjoyed this dark fantasy that combined horror (and a respectable amount of gore) with fairy tale retellings. I love well done retellings especially if the author has come at them from a different angle as is the case here. I suppose some people will find the gore a bit much but I am not at all squeamish and this book was just great. Engaging characters, plenty of twists and a deliciously dark storyline. More like this please.

Robinson did a fantastic job with weaving in the horror elements with all the classic fairytales that we all know and love. In the beginning I was wondering when that aspect of the book would start, but when it did I could barely put the book down! I didn't see much humor in the book, but I did see a lot of darkness. I think I was expecting a little bit of a creep factor like in Dawn Kurtagich's book, but this just had a more gruesome tone than creepy. 

Perrie as a main character did not stand out as much to me as the side characters did. I almost wish her cousin Maisie was the main protagonist, but the end of the story made me change my mind. As Perrie and August go through each fairy tale, it seems as if they figure something out and by the next tale they have to figure it out all over again. By the time Perrie figures out how things are connected, I couldn't help but just say "duh". I think because once they are in the vault the pace of the book goes by very fast, so the author kind of goes into telling almost every detail rather than just showing how things unfold and let the reader try to figure it out for themselves. If we were on the same pace as Perrie, I wouldn't have minded so much. 

Other than Perrie, I really enjoyed the plot of this story (well after they actually go to the museum, the beginning could use some light editing just to make it go faster to the actual plot). It seems lately that I have been reading a lot of retellings, but none of them have had a horror twist aspect. The little snippets that we get of each one does a very good job of being very "scary-esque", but I wish we could have stayed a little bit longer in a few of them to really explore the possibilities. Some scenes went by so fast, it was almost like why even put it in the book?

The ending, however, really brought up the book from 3 stars to 4. Sometimes it is really hard to write a very good ending, but Robinson did a very good job with this one. I almost wish I didn't have to wait until October to read the second book!

“Overwhelmed with boredom, Vale stares down at his fingernails. He can only spend so much time tormenting hose he encounters in the afterlife. After making them as miserable as possible, he finds himself needing to search for new prey.”

Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass vault is one of a kind, a spectacular piece of horror and supernatural genre.

Summary:-       "Some see it... Some don't..."
People in the town of Deer Park, Texas are vanishing. There is a strange museum, known as Quinsey Wolfe's Glass Vault, that appears overnight. Perrie Madeline's best friend and ex-boyfriend are among the missing. Perrie, along with her friend August, go on a pursuit to search for them in the mysterious museum. Could the elusive Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault have anything to do with their disappearances?

A book that intertwines horror elements and retellings, with humor and darkness.

My thoughts:- In the prologue we see a person named Vale preparing to destroy Humanity from the face of the earth due to his hatred towards humans. In his long era of immortality he is known to take various names and forms, this time he calls himself Quinsey wolfe.

He starts preying on humans from the town Deer Park, Texas. By creating a Glass Vault he lures them out and keeps them imprisoned in the Glass Statues. Perrie Madeline her cousin Maisie and friend August find the building and when Maisie disappears after entering it Perrie and August set out to investigate and the tale of horrors ensue.

To tell the truth the plot of the book is not very new to me as I have read quite a few mangas and fanfictions with nearly the same plot, a person reading a book or watching a painting in Picture Gallery and being sucked inside it, playing the roles of the characters present in the book or the painting, or even a soul sucking cursed mirror which sucks the soul of the protagonist and he/she finds him/herself inside the mirror and his/her quest is to come out of it and set the other souls free who are stuck inside it for centuries.

One of the most popular of this type of literature is a Japanese manga called Fuushigi Yuugi or Curious/Mysterious Play by Yuu Watase in which the protagonist Miaka gets sucked into a book she reads and is given the role of the heroine of the book. The series has an anime adaptation too.

The only difference is they are getting sucked into a portal of the glass statues of various fairy tales.
But even with the cliché plot the writing quality of the authoress is fine enough to engross me and create the atmosphere of horror. Especially in the Jack the Ripper one, it is amazing.

The cover is superb. Actually it was the cover that compelled me to check out the blurb of this book. And when I checked the description I just had to request this novel [It should be called a novella according to me as it is only 31 chapters(including Prologue and Epilogue)].

Among the characters I absolutely loved Maisie. Her quirkiness and the devil-may-care attitude about that quirkiness are too endearing. A pixie with creativity and cute eye patches, Maisie is the light of the novel. She doesn’t even care about having a boyfriend! Well different much!

Drawbacks and ratings:- The first thing is Who is Vale? He called himself a monster but I mean to ask What type of monster is he? What is his ORIGIN? And what is the reason of his hatred towards humanity? It would have been better to have these answers. However as this is the first book of the Glass Vault series I believe there will be answers in the next book.

Sometimes the story lags, and the ending was a bit too abrupt, as if the authoress wanted to hurry it up to the finishing, although it has a sequel, I wanted a bit more suspense towards the ending.
But it is definitely a good book. A great choice for those who wants a short book but full of suspense in the Teen/YA genre and lover of supernatural and fairy tales go for it. Recommended.
As for rating actually 3.5 star but 4 star can be granted.

Thanksgiving:- Thanks to the author Candace Robinson and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

That...was not the ending I expected! But this book was full of twists and turns that left me wondering what was going on throughout the entire book, so I shouldn't have been too surprised. While I don't normally read horror stories, this one was so unique that I couldn't pass it up! I've also noticed that horror books don't bother me as much as movies do, so that's a thing...

The characters are unique and kept a bit quiet for the purposes that it is a horror story, technically. I enjoyed Perrie comparing herself to a horror story character, it made me smile and appreciate her a bit more for sure. She was very down to earth and logical enough to figure out bits and pieces of whats going on. Massie was my favorite character even though we didn't see her nearly as much throughout the story. August is an interesting character that bothered me at the beginning because I felt we didn't know much about him until the story started moving. Neven I felt was very underdeveloped and I really hope that he appears in the second book because I feel there is more to that storyline.

Intense, fast paced thriller, people going missing, disappearing buildings, possible hallucinations, and a slight hint of romance...how could I say no to this one? This is a captivating story and very unique from what I know about horror stories. I can't wait for the second book but there isn't even a summary up yet!! Hurry and save my poor mind from having to guess at what happens next! 4/5

Received from NetGalley

People in town are stating to disappear. And the the strange building appears, Quinsey Wolfe's Glass Vault, that only some people can see. Our main character Perrie, best friend start to work there one night and goes missing. That is when the story really starts. Perrie and August (other best friend) go on search.

It is really original story, with many totally unpredictable twists and turns. It is spooky at times. Really good book

Low rating because I didn't fell the chemistry with it. Wasn't being pull in or gripped by the story.

Disclaimer: I’d like to disclose that I received a free copy in order to write this review.

Overall thoughts

As a whole, I was very entertained by this novel and really enjoyed reading it. The story is very fast-paced and it’s fun all throughout, there are never really any dull moments. The author retells other stories, which I believe fit the mood, style, and story of the book incredibly well (I was also glad to see that some of these retellings were focused on historical events that remain as mysteries to this day!). While the story is fun overall, it is not very original, though there are certain aspects or elements in the novel that are quite creative. When it comes to the characters, they are neither a strength nor a weakness of the novel since some are very memorable and likable while others are quite boring and unoriginal. The language is easy to follow, for the most part, and adds to the fast-paced nature of the book, though the amount of detail is very inconsistent throughout the novel since some things are quite detailed in the description and others not so much. As far as ratings go, I’d be inclined to give the novel 4 out of 5 stars. I’ll certainly be looking forward to the sequel. For a more detailed account of my thoughts and comments please read below, though be warned that there might be some minor spoilers throughout the review.

Plot, themes, and characters

In a few words, as mentioned in the description, the book is about the strange disappearances of people living in Deer Park, Texas and the relation of these disappearances with the bizarre new museum that has randomly popped up into existence in this town. To solve this mystery, Perrie, the protagonist, and her friend August venture into this museum. It is here where they are sucked into a series of parallel worlds or realities where they have to figure out a way out before it’s too late and they’re stuck there forever. These alternate realities that they are exposed to are based on previous works, which is where the retelling of stories comes into play.

As such, the first major element or theme in the novel is the heavy reliance on the retelling of stories or events. The inspiration for the different scenarios varies since the author uses fairy tales as inspiration, which can be seen in a Snow White inspired reality, and others which are based on historical events, such as a world based on Jack the Ripper. These retellings add an interesting layer to the novel since there could be an endless amount of scenarios which the characters could be exposed to. Especially since the author didn’t limit herself to any specific kind of material to use as inspiration. Luckily, for those that are familiar with the original works, the author doesn’t outright copy the original stories. As I mentioned before, they are mostly used as a way of inspiration and to set a certain type of theme within these alternate worlds, though they are all set to share a similar dark and ominous mood and tone, which is constant throughout the novel. These worlds all seem to have their own set of rules. The rules can be seen in the way that the characters can exit them, but also in the speed in which the days go by or the duration of the day and night cycle. These scenarios seem to be very similar to video game levels, at least based on the manner in which they are described and talked about.

Another theme that is explored throughout the novel, to some degree, is family. As readers, we are exposed to Perrie’s family. We slowly learn about the family history and are exposed to the dynamics of the family. This is especially important considering that her best friend, Maisie, also happens to be her cousin and neighbor. Perrie and Maisie end up spending a lot of time together, thus, we are also exposed to the dynamics in Maisie's family. There is also an indication on the dynamics of the families of other characters, though those are more limited and not explored to as in detail as the ones mentioned above.

The family dynamics are not the only ones explored. Due to the characters belonging to the teenage years, we are also exposed to the social context and dynamics that affect them. In this case, we are exposed to the socializing aspects within an academic context and outside of one. Some of the things that are explored are the way in which friendships are formed, and to some extent, reinforced. There is also an exploration on how teenagers view relationships and how they are affected by them.

There’s also the theme revolving around the paranormal or supernatural beings and forces in the novel. The prologue of the novel starts by describing one of these supernatural entities, though it is not immediately clear how or why this entity will be important in the novel. It is not until the museum is found that things start to make a bit more sense. The museum itself is quite a creative an interesting setting. Unfortunately, we are exposed to it in a quite limited way. I can only hope that this is explored in more detail in the sequel. There are other beings that make an appearance within the different alternate realities which the characters are exposed to. However, it is unclear whether or not these beings are confined to those imaginary realms, or whether they could exist within the regular world. There are indications of the latter being true, though hopefully this will also be further explored in the sequel.

Lastly, I would like to discuss the issue of the characters. As mentioned before, the characters, in my opinion, are a bit all over the place. For example, the protagonist, Perrie, while likable, is not very memorable nor original in my opinion; she doesn’t seem to be very complex or deep. August suffers the same fate, for the most part, though this could be arguably different towards the end of the book. The most memorable character, by far, is Maisie. I believe that her character is the most unique and enjoyable, though unfortunately, her presence is quite limited at some point. The rest of the characters are pretty bland and boring, though this could be due to their small amount of exposure and importance in the novel.

Use of language and narration

The novel is narrated in a first person perspective which belongs to Perrie. However, there are instances, such as the prologue, where the narrator jumps to a third person perspective. These switches are not very confusing and serve their purpose quite well. While the story is told through the Perrie’s experiences, there are also elements and aspects that are introduced via memories. Unfortunately, it is not always clear when Perrie is remembering something and when she’s actually living it. As mentioned before, the descriptions and the use of language varies quite a bit throughout the book. There are some aspects that receive a lot of attention and are described in great detail, while others are almost ignored. This is something that could be looked into and worked on in future entries. As a whole, however, the language is very easy to follow. This ease of language and flow give the story a high degree of immersion and add up to the fast-paced nature of the story.

Recommendations

I would recommend this book for those that are interested in horror books, particularly for novels that are fast-paced, entertaining, easy to read, and/or relying on retellings. For those that enjoyed this book and are looking for more reading material, my first recommendation would be REX’D: Welcome to Scholomance by J.B. Skelter and Jack Reher, due to the similar pace and tone of both books. I would also recommend The Code of Magic by David D. Hammons due to the similar pacing and some of the elements in the book, though this one is more within the fantasy genre. Lastly, I’d also be inclined to recommend Ready Player One by Ernest Cline due to the similarity of video game levels or missions that can be found throughout book novels.

I would like to thank the publisher and the author for giving me a chance to review the book, and I’d also like to thank those that read this review. Happy reading!

A very interesting story that could have been better with some additional editing.

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Synopsis taken from publisher:

Some see it… Some don’t…

People in the town of Deer Park, Texas are vanishing. There is a strange museum, known as Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault, that appears overnight. Perrie Madeline’s best friend and ex-boyfriend are among the missing. Perrie, along with her friend August, go on a pursuit to search for them in the mysterious museum. Could the elusive Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault have anything to do with their disappearances?

A book that intertwines horror elements and retellings, with humor and darkness.
————————-

Okay, so first, let’s talk about the things that bothered me.

•
The writing.

The writing isn’t horrible by any means, but I feel like this book really could have benefited from some additional editing to improve the flow of the story. Perrie is the MC/narrator, and she was constantly telling us what was going on, as opposed to describing. It was like she was dictating events to a jury, so it did get to be a little much.
Then there was the strange wording that was sprinkled throughout, another thing that could have used some editing. I had already used this example in a status update on my Goodreads, but here it is, August reaches over, and with his hand he pulls apart mine that are clasped. It sounds so weird, and brought to my mind the spoof movie, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, which has a moment in which a character tells his mafia don-like boss, “I will take these cotton balls from you with my hand and put them in my pocket.” (I love the movie, which is why I couldn’t help but remember the line). So the strange wording threw me off a bit, and that did come to mind when I was rating this things.

•
Maisie and her stinkin’ eye patch.

Perrie’s cousin and best friend Maisie had and endless supply of homemade eye patches, and did she need them? No, she was wearing them in solidarity with people who only had one eye. Right… When it comes to unique fashion, I could care less, usually, but I couldn’t help but think of the long-term damage that was likely happening to her eyesight. She also drove Perrie to and from school everyday, which seems like it’d be dangerous, but what do I know? I’m just basing this off the fact that she really did have 20/20 vision, but chose to wear a patch for the fashion aspect, and not out of real necessity. So yeah, ridiculous.

And finally:
•
Perrie and August’s “relationship”:

August is another person Perrie labels as her best friend, and throughout the story, we’re seeing Perrie describe how she’d started looking at him differently, and in a more romantic way. But as I read it, I felt like it just didn’t make sense, and didn’t like these moments at all. Theirs was not a relationship I cared to read about.

Now, for the good.

I really enjoyed the story itself, and loved the horror aspect of it. Once we get to the real action, it’s so good! There are several well-known stories that are intertwined with the plot, and I really enjoyed how they each played out, as well as the author’s added touches to these stories, making them a bit more morbid or just plain interesting than the originals.
And can we talk about the fact that there aren’t many horror stories in YA, so how cool is it that this book really is centered on it?! I am such a fan of horror, so when I saw the ‘horror’ tag, I knew I had to read it!

Finally, that ending!!! It really surprised me, and now I need to know what happens next, so I definitely will need to read the next book!

Will recommend for fans of horror; just be mindful of a slow start, cause once you get further into the story, it’s definitely worth it!

First of all, let's take a moment to appreciate this amazing cover shall we? It's glorious and full of illustrated aesthetics and I love it!

This book honestly feels like it was created for me to enjoy. Sharing a last name with one of my all time favorite villainous characters ever (Quinsey Wolfe (his original name is Vale, but that's besides the point)) feels incredible!! When that opening line hit and we get this unfeeling, pretentious, malicious, va va voom character that has very very meticulously clean fingernails and I fell in love! I'm so salty that there wasn't more in his point of view. He is so callous and terrible and such a jerk, but at the same time I just really loved his character.

My second favorite character is actually Maisie. She is a secondary character who is best friends with our main character Perrie and I love how amazingly quirky she is. She wears and creates awesome eye-patches and sells them online and she is always and forever unapologeticly herself. She is so independent and free as a person and I'm so so happy to see a character like that in ya.

Then their is August. Sweet sweet August. Who has waited in the wings all along caring for Perrie and being her rock before and after they start their journey through the Glass Vault. He was always so genuine and I loved him for that. I loved the interaction between him and Perrie and it felt like she was a better person when she was with him.

Now our main character Perrie. She also in her own way was 100% herself. She was emotional and scared and going out through all those trials in the Glass Vault made her crumble a little bit, but she never gave up. Her friends were her strength and those moments when she finally began to want something more with August (finally letting herself be happy) made me happy. Reading through her point of view made me feel that she was very young and a bit naive, but she survived through so much and I admire her for that.

The Vault itself was awesome. Going through so many twisted fairytales and being chased by murderer after murderer kept the horror coming. Some of the descriptions of certain characters exsisting in the Vault were grotesque and I was living for it!

Read Quinsey Wolfe's Glass Vault and you will find a story full of intrigue and an ending that will grab you and shake you and make you scream for more. This is a fabulous ya horror. You will love it!

I came into this book expecting great things! It sounded like a very haunting and dark novel but I just didn't get that. What I got was a very middle-grade feelish horror story, to where the haunting was made to be humorous and not scary at all. The writing was not the best, and the characters weren't easy to relate to AT ALL. It was just all very underwhelming and not near as good as I was expecting.

Got free copy from NetGalley. Thank you.

For the few first chapter, I must admit how thrill I am folding every pages, the mystery kind of thingy make me drown even more to just know the truth. Beside our own Perrie inner feeling obligation towards her ex bf, and her new development feels towards August and all the mysterious dissapearance.

From beginning of this book I may reckon about horror story that I love to watch during my childhood like Are You Afraid of The Dark and Boogeyman. The kind of story that still uplift the excitement but does not bring an actual-happy-ending.

The idea of missing person mystery and love triangle is okay, but Im not really sure on the part where August & Perrie finding their friends. It was all just too plain, no excitement and honestly a kind of boring storytelling. I feel like im in a game with no solution and I'll just respawn for nothing all over again. I just skipped ever words and read it really fast so the chapters end quickly.

Although some of the plot were really disturbing like a bloody twist of a happy ending story. I read it on midnight and yeah I have goosebumps. Kudos for that.

The ending just what I thought, not entirely satisfying but I get it because yeah the Quinsey Wolfe was a maniac with magic. I think I'll just embrace the situation tho I may know my heart gonna be broke if the author puts more emotion on its end. Luckily it just mend because of the truth.

Nevertheless, if you a fan of Are You Afraid of The Dark series (the horror is real here) or even The Mist (where you want to bang your head so hard because of how its end) then this is the book.

Last, thank you for the book Candace. A part of it I must say I enjoying it. 🤗

First of all the prologue of the book was really creepy. I like the start of the book. Characters are most important part of the book and another important part was glass museum.

Characters were okay at their place. I am not too attached and not too detached with them. Character I loved the most was Maisie. She was smart and unusual character. I really liked her eye patches and I was amazed for her creativities. Antagonist was a surprise package- Dark and horrible and uniquely created.

Museum was wonderfully written. That display line for the museum -“Quinsey Wolfe's Glass Vault –a glass museum and not for the faint of heart”- that was really nice and exactly goes for the book. The displays in the museum and description of them in the book was creepy and cool. I liked how story was progressing, turning all fantasy into dark and twisted world. From the concept to the characters everything was very unique and interesting.

The twist and the end! Brilliant! I didn’t see it coming. If I can give all stars I will give it to this part. If author has not win my heart during the book, she won it at last by writing this amazing twist and cliffhanger.

I really want to read next book of the series.

Only thing I didn’t like was,- combining past and present life of character in first 20% of the book. It was good and helped to know character more. But I feel, past life was coming so sudden while reading the present life. If that past part was in ‘italic’ then it could be easy to go with the flow for me.

Overall, It’s fast paced book, will keep you on the edge, something different to read. I like it. YAs would love to read it.

I think I would rate this at a really, really high 3.75 stars that I'll round up to 4 because I LOVE the cover and there are just so many retellings--both classical and fairy tale--that its just so cool.

The biggest thing that ruined the book for me was the ending. [Specifically how Perrie 'gave herself' to August and then he wasn't who he thought she was. In my opinion, that is especially awful considering that this is a YA book. Maybe in an adult book it would be a little more acceptable but I would hike up the rating a bit. (hide spoiler)] Overall, this book is definitely in the horror genre. The cover looks beautiful but it is bloody and there is some gore and graphic descriptions. I like that type of thing though, but just a heads up.

Things I really did like though: I keep raving about the cover art so that's huge. I love the retellings. We've got everything from Sleepy Hollow to Rapunzel so there is literally something for everyone. I think there are five or six total in the book? Plus references to a few more but they travel through five or six worlds so that's pretty cool. The characters are interesting and no one drove me crazy so that was good.

I tend to frequently gravitate towards retellings or reimaginings of well-known stories that have a bit of a twist into horror and darkness—and this is definitely one of those novels. Just as the museum itself proclaims, this story is not for the faint of heart. We follow characters who are falling into the gruesome and gritty parts of dreadful worlds, based in both reality and fiction. Though, as I said, this book may not be for those on the squeamish side, it takes those who are not “faint of heart” on a macabre adventure through multiple retellings.

In this novel, we follow a young woman named Perrie Madeline as she is thrown into a dark realm of nightmares come to life, in her efforts to rescue those she cares about. The town of Deer Park, Texas is being plagued by a string of inexplicable disappearances that leave absolutely no traces of the victims or potential leads to follow. These mysterious occurrences seem to center around a museum that appears overnight—in fact, it appears and disappears at the most random, and sometimes inopportune, moments.

It came out of nowhere, this giant stone structure claiming to be a museum named “Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault”. Though it comes as quite a shock when she first sees it, Perrie doesn’t think much of this strange place until her ex-boyfriend disappears after mentioning it, followed rapidly by her best friend’s disappearance after the first night she should have spent working at the Glass Vault. Soon, Perrie puts two and two together, and journeys with her friend August into the bizarre and twisted world of Quinsey Wolfe in a desperate attempt to save Neven and Maisie.

I thoroughly enjoyed how unique this story turned out to be—it was a fun and highly imaginative experience. Robinson definitely breaks away from many of the commonalities of the genre, creating her own surprising and highly effective twists and turns to what could have been a typical retelling. There is very little predictability in this complex and atmospheric plot that she weaves. This not only pulls her readers in, but keeps them hanging on every moment, over every turn of the page.

There were only a few elements of this novel that were a bit problematic for me. This narrative is sort of split up into two halves—it begins in the natural world and moves into many fantastical alternate realities. Though I enjoyed being in both settings, I felt that the transition between the two was really rough. The way it came across was less fluid and more like being plucked out of the first story and dropped into a completely new one.

Though Perrie and August were equally confused at their new surroundings, they both seemed to handle this sudden change a bit too well at times. It didn’t take them as long as it probably should have to come to terms with the fact that something extraordinary and magical was taking place—though they were pretty freaked out, they also appeared as if they knew and understood almost exactly what was going on in a matter of minutes. One would expect them to have to take far more time to process their situation, and therefore, this made the transition into the fantasy side of the novel seem very rushed.

The characters were a very strong part of this novel—in fact, this is a very character-driven novel overall. Each one was very well-portrayed and likeable, and Robinson did a good job building up their personalities. She took the time to make each character very three-dimensional and distinctive—highly relatable and memorable. Perrie was a fairly strong narrative voice, and I really loved how her relationships with the other main characters, particularly Maisie, were portrayed. I fully connected with, felt for, and rooted for all of them throughout the trials they experienced, and that really drew me further in to the novel as a whole.

Though Candace Robinson’s writing did not flow with me quite as well as I would have liked, I could definitely see a huge amount of talent and strength in her words. She built up the worlds and the atmospheres with ease, and her depictions of the various settings were very vivid and not at all difficult to place oneself in.

One of the only negatives I came across in the writing itself was the tendency to rely on brief and concentrated info dumps, which simultaneously bogged down and rushed the plot. Robinson did a considerable amount of telling rather than showing, which did not serve a story as intense as this one could be well. This is a narrative that needed to feel fast-paced, not rushed, and while it was a mesmerizing story, too much of it dragged on with explanations.

I would have liked to have seen and experienced more of what the characters were going through rather than read paragraphs of them flat-out explaining where they were and what was happening. Because everything about this plot was so unique, I really wish that this novel could have been a bit longer, allowing Robinson time to flesh out each individual setting and its accompanying retelling, as well as Perrie’s and August’s experiences handling the hurdles of each one. In the end, it felt like there was a bit too much information crammed into too short a space and timeframe.

Though I had some mixed feelings on certain aspects of this novel, I overall really enjoyed reading it. With unique and vivid world-building, Robinson creates a very gripping reading experience. Though it is not devoid of some minor issues and the pacing does not quite hit the mark, it is still an intriguing, humorous and, at times, chilling read. If you are a fan of dark retellings or horror stories, I would highly recommend giving Robinson’s book a try. This novel ends on a massive cliffhanger, so I am definitely looking forward to picking up the next installment once it’s released.