Overall, not a bad story, but I felt like the science behind it was lacking, and that's why it was set during the late 1800's in Paris. The magic/science equilibrium didn't seem to match up.

I liked the main character and the writing is decent. There are some elements of the mystery twist that were off-putting and the end happened quickly and tied everything up in a bow. I would possibly order for my library, but not sure how much it would go out.

A huge thank you for the opportunity to read this book early thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge approval on Netgalley of the e-ARC.

I am....conflicted? I was originally going to say bothered but that didn’t seem like the right word. I honestly can’t think of the word that would fit for how I feel about this book.

The details are INTENSE. Prepare to be constantly looking over your shoulder for creepy murder people.

Spectacle is not my usual go to genre. Murder mystery with vivid descriptions make it hard for me to sleep at night to say the least. Ha!

It started off very quickly and I thought maybe I could really end up liking this story, but it almost immediately took a turn for the slow. I am grateful for the slow moments as it made it easier to get through without having an anxiety attack after each chapter, but some of the detailed explanations of her walking up the street I could do without. I will admit that I understand why it was necessary for what I am sure you will see.

Though it was not for me, I do recommend this book for fans of historical murder mystery with a somewhat magic twist. The explanation, while it took FOREVER to get to, for the power was quite different than just the “Oh everyone has powers secretly! Or some people just have powers and some people don’t *shrug*.”

The ending did make me want to pick up the next book, but I can DEFINITELY wait patiently for that one to release and just listen to the audiobook instead. Now I’m off to read something nice and fluffy to help me sleep, as it is 4 am and unlike Nathalie, I can remember the last three days of reading this creepy little tale.

Nathalie Baudin writes the morgue column for Le Petit Journal, which is all the more impressive considering she’s a sixteen-year-old in 1887. Though she longs for a more challenging journalist position, she dutifully attends morgue viewings each day without incident. That is, until the body of a murder victim is displayed, and Nathalie has a vision of the killing in brutal detail. Soon, Paris is in a panic as more bodies are discovered and someone begins taking gleeful credit for their demise— the Dark Artist. Nathalie realizes, with the aid of her newfound visions, she might might be the only one able to find the killer’s identity and bring peace to city, even if she risks becoming a victim herself.

Great books, in their opening pages, totally transport readers to a different time and place. Here, readers are plopped into a stunning portrayal of 1880s Paris, and it's due to the careful direction of author Jodie Lynn Zdrok. She opens with a bang, expertly twisting the start around Nathalie attending a crowded corpse viewing at La Morgue and then suffering a psychic vision. It’s doubly unexpected, but sets the tone perfectly— here’s a society obsessed with death, and it’s about to get even more macabre.

But then Zdrok pulls back, letting some slack in the pacing. She takes her time building the mystery, building the characters, and, ultimately, crafting an engrossing world. The payoff is immense. This glimpse into Paris feels real, and there’s an ever-present danger— after all, there’s a killer on the loose. But it’s not immediately evident how this directly affects Nathalie. Zdrok dangles each reveal carefully, dropping new twists that draw Nathalie in and propel the action forward at the most delicious times.

Really, there’s perhaps no better character to follow around 1880s Paris as she stalks a murderer than Nathalie. She’s cool, determined, and complicated— everything a main character should be, and more. She’s helped along by a brilliant cast of friends and family. Scenes with her mother are highlights, and Zdrok, with finesse, navigates the complications of a mother-daughter relationship as Nathalie moves to the cusp of adulthood.

At its core, this book is a mystery, but it certainly isn’t a standard one. In fact, it tosses out the formula entirely. There’s more introspection, with Nathalie constantly questioning her role in the sleuthing process. Her detective work is just as much about her journey as it is about the case, which clicks. It’s a character-driven process, with clues and red herrings taking a backseat at times, but Zdork merges these two narratives in such a satisfying way.

All of this is not to suggest there isn’t a bit of fun to be had. Nathalie’s best friend, Simone, works in a club and adheres to some mysticism, providing both fun and tricky subplots. And there’s some mild flirting with Christophe, an inspector. Refreshingly, romance is not a major element of the book, and their interactions feel sweet and perfectly natural.

That’s the beauty of Spectacle. Sure, there’s a serial killer on the loose and some paranormal aspects that are being kept hush-hush, but everything feels natural. That’s an amazing feat on Zdrok’s part, and it’s resulted in a brilliant debut.

I really enjoyed this! The mystery was really well done and there was a lot of interesting subplots and side characters and complexities. I also loved that there wasn't really a romance? There were hints there, but it was very minor to the plot. The main mystery wrapped up a little early for me, but there were added components to help the story not feel like it's dragging on. I'm also intrigued because where it ended left room for a second book and I'm curious what would be done with that.

3 STARS

TW: murder, gore, self-harm, suicidal ideation, other suicide mentions, domestic abuse mention

Having read this on the heels of Truly Devious and The Vanishing Stair, I was definitely in the mood for a murder mystery, all primed and ready for sniffing out suspects. I had the sleuth bug, the mystery itch, the NEED for some good old murder solving.

This may not have been the place to go looking for it in a rush.

It wasn't that Spectacle was bad so much as it was slow. Some folks like me are probably willing to stick with it, but I suspect a lot of people would probably be unhappy with the pacing. It's almost halfway into the book before Nathalie, the main character, starts expanding her network of who to ask for help, and starts collecting more and more evidence about the murders.

It's a bit of a character-driven book in some ways, too, not a plot-driven one. Nathalie wrestling with the consequences and origins of her power to see visions of recently committed murders takes up a good chunk of the book, and to be fair? If I was sixteen and discovered I could see how someone died violently, that'd mess me up and leave me in a panicked, second-guessing limbo, too. Especially when the people around me are being evasive or insensitive to things. That doesn't help either.

And yet I wouldn't call this a character-driven book, because Nathalie is the only character who felt like anything more than shallow. Simone and Agnés MAYBE feel like they've got some life to them, but Christophe, Nathalie's parents, and even the antagonist feel extremely flat. In a murder mystery, I should either suspect someone or fear for them as the next victim, and more often than not, it was a little hard to care.

And the antagonist should definitely scare me. I should worry for the main character, be concerned about their connection to the killer especially once the killer starts clearly targeting them, and...I wasn't? I just didn't get a strong sense of menace. Just gruesomeness and a dash of greed.

On the other hand, I am extremely interested in Nathalie's powers, because the ending implies there will be another book, and one that likely focuses on those powers, which are fascinating. I won't get too into it, just to avoid spoilers, but I will say that Nathalie has something unusual up her sleeve, something that's barely understood and has the potential to be both useful and dangerous. It's intriguing enough that I'm likely to read the next book, just to see where it goes and what becomes of Nathalie and the people around her. I have some hope that it'll be stronger on the character depth front, especially if it moves away from the murder mystery angle, and that it would reach outward from just Paris of 1887. We'll have to wait and see, but still: I'll keep some hope on hand.

Anyways, if murder mysteries are your kind of thing, mixed in with historical Paris, journalism, and a touch of fantasy that's laced with science, Spectacle might be the book for you! It's out tomorrow, February 12th, so hurry and get your last-second pre-orders in now if you're looking to buy it!

And once you've done that, you should totally tell me what you think.

[This review will go live on The Words Gremlin around 10am EST, February 11th.]

I enjoyed this novel. It was well written and entertaining. The plot and characters were both interesting and entertaining. I look forward to reading more from this author.

This book was not what I thought it was about. I thought it would be about a girl who discovers and uses her powers to find a killer. Most of her detective work is discovering where these powers came from. Clues about the killer just fall in her lap. At the end, the biggest discovery that happens is discovered by someone else.

The best thing about this book is that the powers have a price to it. This makes the character not feel that special. It adds weight to her decision to use her powers.

Spectacle is a young adult murder mystery that takes place in 1800's Paris. Beautiful young women are being brutally murdered by a serial killer who believes the way he mutilates the bodies are a work of art. Nathalie writes a morgue column for a newspaper and when the first victim is brought to the morgue and displayed, Nathalie accidentally touches the pane of the viewing area and receives a vision of how the victim was murdered. She thinks it must have been a hallucination or some type of fluke. However, when the next victim is brought in, she touches the glass again and once again receives a vision of the woman being murdered from the murderers perspective. Why is she receiving these visions and how did she receive these powers? Do other have powers or is she just an anomaly? Could these visions help solve the mystery of who is murdering these young women?
The writing in this novel is fast paced and beautiful. It left me wanting more. The world building and character development was done well. The visions were really unique to this novel, which made me love it anymore. Now, what I really want to know is if there will be a sequel due to how Spectacle ended.

A murder mystery in which a teenage girl discovers she has the paranormal ability to witness a serial killer's murders backwards after she sees the bodies in the morgue. It takes place in 1800s Paris.

Such an interesting context, the setting is so richly described, the plot gets a little convoluted and I could not connect with the main character, though.

Unique writing and story that kept me interested. A story that had me wanting to read more. Relatable characters and a good flow. Would recommend!

It kept my interest, but seemed to drag in spots. Nathalie is a 16 year old morgue reporter, who takes the job only after her Maman suffers injuries to her hands in a fire. Almost immediately, Nathalie has visions of young murder victims while she is at the morgue viewing each body and then writing about them. Her father and Tante have unusual powers, and Nathalie thinks she does as well. There is a pretty big cast of characters in this novel, and I kept thinking one of them was thrown in as a red herring. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to be an early reader.

I received this book for review through NetGalley and I was so excited to read it. I loved a lot about this book: the history, the location, and the mystery of it and I was not disappointed. As a fan of historical fiction and fantasy, this book satisfied all of my cravings regarding both genres. My favorite part about this book was the realistic way that Nathalie's powers could have arrived, it made it that much more easy to comprehend and digest with the relatively realistic setting. The one thing I did have a problem with this book were patches of disconnect. Moving from the middle to the end was a bit of a struggle and I found myself unsure of the reasoning. The ending seemed kind of unnecessary to me, but that could be from that disconnect. I will not forget that ending though - it makes me want to read the sequel immediately! Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I loved reading Nathalie's story. I can't wait for book 2!

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Spectacle is about 16-year-old Nathalie Baudin, who writes the daily morgue column for Le Petit Journal. Nathalie is at the morgue gathering information in order to write her column when she has a vision from the newest body in the morgue from the perspective of her killer. Nathalie finds herself searching for answers as more bodies are discovered and the visions keep occurring.

I loved the basis for this book. It starts out with a girl fascinated by her job and trying to solve a murder, and ends up having a fantasy twist that I was both disappointed by and annoyed with. If this just stuck with the murder mystery vibe, it would’ve turned out to be a better book for me. The fantastical aspects of it detracted the big reveal of who the killer was, and lessened the impact with the motive for the murders.

Overall, this book has a great beginning and core storyline, but it’s mudded up with powers and fantasy.

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

Spectacle is Jodie Lynn Zdrok’s debut and is a chilling mystery set in 1887 where there’s a long string of murders happening over the course of days. Sound familiar? The story has a very Jack the Ripper atmosphere to it and I kept thinking it has to be his story before he moved onto London, though as the pages continued, I found out that there was a much larger story happening.

Nathalie is a reporter who reports on the murderers and deaths that happen around town. It’s almost the obituaries, but not quite since a few of the victims that turn up are unidentified and yet she still reports on how things happened. It’s when she gazes upon the body of the first murdered young woman she sees something very terrifying. She witnesses how the girl was murdered as if she were the murderer herself, watching the scene in reverse. It’s very puzzling and troubling as she has no clue what this strange new ability is.

I am sad to say that this book wasn’t quite for me. 2019 is not my year apparently as 4/5 books haven’t been at all what I had hoped for. One was even a DNF. What didn’t work for me here was some of the pacing. I was anticipating the mystery to be drawn out and that was the problem, the problem was more how long it took to get from Point A to Point B. Nathalie has a lot of sidetrack memories to get through as they relate to whatever is happening. Sometimes I could see the odd connection, other times, I didn’t and the memories dragged on for a good long time. That sadly was the downfall for me in this one. There was too much wordiness almost throughout the storytelling part.

I still thought this was an interesting story though. Murder mysteries usually are for me. And then Nathalie’s gift also takes on a story of its own and that’s where a large portion of the story focuses on as well. But the pacing, the pacing killed me. It wasn’t until the halfway point that she finally “clicks” with the inspector, Christophe, who she exchanged one or two minor conversations with regarding the bodies. There was just too much downtime between Nathalie having her vision and then wanting to step away from the whole murder scene. I can understand that feeling in reality, but for a story, I had hoped that she would eventually overcome her fears faster than she did.

The mystery of the story was by far its strongest part! I was really getting into it and was surprised by the turn of events about 2/3 of the way through. I admit that I did a lot of skim reading because the pacing just wasn’t doing it for me and I wanted to find out what happened and all the whodunits. The outcomes were puzzling and that’s not due to my skimming. But at the same time it was a believable answer and all. We’re left with just a bit of a cliffhanger, but one that was being hinted at throughout the story.

As far as romance goes, this story was lacking. Yes there was the possible connection between Nathalie and Christophe, but just as soon as you think it, a roadblock comes between them, naturally. I suspect further encounters with one another will be happening in future books. But sadly this was a book without all the feels in that area and I am shocked that I missed those feels. 10 years ago I probably wouldn’t have cared. What has happened to me?! Lol.

All in all, this was an okay read. I was really intrigued by its premise and super excited to read it, but sadly, I found myself not immersed within the world. The pacing is what did me in yet again. While strong characters and enticing plot are very important for me with a story, the pacing is just as important and must be executed in a matter that works. Sadly, for me, it didn’t work. This won’t be a series I will be continuing, cliffhanger or not.


Overall rating 2/5 stars—friendly reminder that this just means an OKAY READ! ;)


Spectacle releases February 12, 2019

Spectacle is one of those historical fantasy books that is able to serve up the right story with all the flairs of the past. If you've been searching for a book that is full of mystery, mysterious powers, and power that can be both a blessing and curse. I knew I was going to really enjoy Spectacle from the beginning. What I wasn't counting on, is how obsessed I would be. Whether you're in the mood for a story about a girl discovering her powers (and struggling with the question of using them), or a good murder mystery, you're in for a treat.

Whenever you have books where the characters have dangerous powers, the question always comes up - should we use our powers? And what is the cost? Magic without a price has never made sense to me. And that's part of what I love about Zdrok's book - is that not only does everyone's magic speak to a very intimate piece of themselves, but it also exacts a hefty toll. Without going into a lot of detail about the magic in this book, in Spectacle we witness characters using their powers for good, for an advantage, for cons, and for something entirely more sinister.

This book is a perfect intersection of the morbid fascination we have with true crime and the intrigue of a twisty, supernaturally-tinged mystery. The main character had a strong voice made even more compelling by the question of whether she—and the reader—could trust her own telling of her story. I especially enjoyed the dynamics the main character had with other women, from her mother to her friends, to her aunt, and more. Despite the decades of separation in our worlds, I found the characters extremely relatable. They could have been any teens, any family, any true crime fanatic of today!

This was much different than what I imagined. I love murder mystery books but I find they can get repetitive with the same kinds of storylines repeated over and over again. This book was not that. I love how it was set so far back in the past - a time when computer and smartphones didn’t exist. It added an extra layer of mystery because it had to be solved the good old way, without technology being there to help it along.

The characters were well developed and they had many realistic aspects which I loved. Although I found the middle of the book a bit slower than the beginning and end, I still really enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

SPECTACLE turned out to be a lot more than I’d expected. I was intrigued by the idea of a murder mystery coupled with a historical fantasy, but I had no idea how well Zdrok had pulled off the immersive world building, and intricate plot line until, of course, reading.

Overall, this book was a solid four stars for me. I thoroughly enjoyed it for the reasons I’ll outline below. My main reason for docking a star was I didn’t fall head over heals in love with the story as I have my most favorite books, the climax came off as a bit underwhelming, and full cliff hanger endings are a turn off for me. I also would’ve loved Zdrok to push that creep factor just a tad more, as she already went for it, I wanted it turned up just a notch.

But other than that, I truly did enjoy this story, and after struggling to connect to a lot of YA fantasy as of late, it truly was a breath of fresh air.

The main reason a story holds my attention is through its characters. They don’t have to be my favorite characters, they don’t even have to be likable, but their presence in the story has to be very strong. I was to fee what they feel. Understand their thoughts, their actions and the reasons behind them. I had a clear understanding of who Nathalie was throughout the entire story. Not only that, but she was a character with agency who demanded answers, but it was also clear that everything that was happening to her terrified her.

This is in part to Zdrok’s writing style as a whole. I’m typically drawn to a bit more lyrical of prose than SPECTACLE provided, but nonetheless, the writing was extremely vivid, and emotion was very well evoked through sentence structure alone. I always felt the mood through the careful choice of words, and I found my heart beating a little faster at many points in the story, which does not happen often.

The way Zdrok portrayed Nathalie’s world was subtle enough to not be obvious but obvious enough that I felt immersed in it. Everything I pictured as I read took place in an 1800s France even though I’ve neber been there before. (This might be why I found it so effective, but regardless? I found it well done.)

I often worry when I start a novel written in third person that I’m nt going to connect with the main character or truly get inside their head, because more often than not, I don’t find the voice to be strong enough in that point of view to bring me close enough to the characters. That was not the case for Nathalie (or Simone, her mother, or the other side characters for that matter.) Nathalie’s voice was very strong and very distinct. I understood her, as I said, throughout the entire story, and felt as if it were being told truly from her perspective with her voice despite being written in third person. I find that this is so often not the case, and I truly applaud Zdrok for pulling it off so well.

In general this was a great read, and I am so appreciative for the early chance to experience this story. I’ve shared this thought with my 2000+ Twitter followers and will be posting a review to Goodreads and to my blog, which I am in the early stages of growing, but on which my previous and first book review received 18 views and 13 likes, two weeks before SPECTACLE’s release. Thank you again, and I wish Jodie the best of luck and success.

I absolutely loved this book! Spectacle was a thrilling journey through 19th century France that I didn't want to put down.

The main character, Nathalie, just got a job reporting on the daily goings-on at the public morgue (people used to visit a public morgue for entertainment? Gruesome!). When Paris is struck with a series of murders, she discovers that she has a gift that allows her to see the murders through the eyes of the murderer.

She discovers that this gift doesn't come without consequences. She also learns that other people in the city are gifted in different ways too, and maybe these gifts are connected to the murders. As the deaths continue, they start to hit closer to home. Will they catch the killer, or will the killer catch her first? You'll want to read this book to find out, but don't worry, you won't want to put it down.

I loved the setting, the characters were believable, and the magic in this book was interesting. This story was marvelously told. Spectacle is going to be one of those books that I'll be telling my friends about for months. It was incredible.

This book was different from what I was expecting! I admit I only added this to my TBR after seeing the similarity of the cover and the summary to Kerri Maniscalco’s Stalking Jack the Ripper series, but despite my issues with Spectacle, it was nonetheless a quick and enjoyable read.

Personally, I believe this book deserved a higher rating. I would have given it a solid four stars had the murder-mystery plot actually stayed a plot, and not end up becoming a secondary one to Nathalie trying to understand her ability. That storyline just made the remainder of the book a constant cycle of her telling one of her acquaintances about her visions, and then the same unrealistic response from them. Why isn’t she embracing her gift instead of questioning it?

I also believe the story could have ended about a hundred pages early. Once The Dark Artist was revealed, the author could’ve added a few more scenes with him that would have brought closure to the novel instead of introducing another murderer that was ultimately resolved really quickly and in a very underwhelming way.

Spectacle itself has a lot of potential as a book, but at certain points, it really fell short. Had there been more moments where she would go out and attempt to solve the case with Christophe, Simone, or whoever, instead of moping about her abilities…it would’ve been a lot better. I also didn’t think the romance subplot was also needed since the outcome and the build-up wasn’t very emotionally investing anyway.