I could not get into this book, sorry. Trying to clean up my netgalley. Didn’t realize that I was forgetting to leave reviews on netgalley itself, My apologies.

I was really intrigued by the premise of this book- Victorian female detective! Kidnapping! The supernatural!

The premise is truly unique and creative. I liked the eccentric cast of characters, especially Bridie, and the dark humour. But I really struggled with the pace and prose and had a hard time focusing my attention to the book.

This is the type of book that some people will LOVE and some won't connect with, which is something I love about reading. This was definitely outside my comfort zone!

I encourage readers to check out some of the rave reviews for a different perspective.

Thank you S&S Canada, Atria Books & Netgalley for the eARC to review.

2.5 rounded up.

Pub: February 2020

This story was very intriguing and I was enamored with Bridie and the secondary characters. Jess Kidd has a beautiful writing style that throws readers into her world.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I thought this book was just ok. I think I wasn't in the proper mindset to enjoy it properly. I would have to give it another try

Thank you so much first and foremost to Simon & Schusters Canada for providing me with a copy of this book!

I think it’s really important that stories about mental health are told and that suicide is talked about. It is of course a very touchy subject, but the only way to truly reduce the stigma is I think to become more open to discussing it. And so much of this story does exactly that – working through tough emotions and trying to come to terms with the loss of a loved one. Levine goes through the loss of both her sister and her best friend, and this book really shows how grief needs to be felt in whatever way works for you. It’s not a 5 step process, but rather one that we all need to figure out on our own. Levine does a really nice job of walking us through what she went through, how these deaths have changed her life in ways that you can’t even imagine, and how even the smallest things can really reawaken your grief.

I will admit though, I do have a few issues with the ways Levine talked about her sister. Undoubtedly there were disagreements and hurt feelings and pain I can’t even image between the two of them. But I also felt as though Tamara was often portrayed as the ‘crazy sister’ and that felt a little harsh to me. I know that everyone processes grief and experiences differently, but that aspect of the story kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Especially because putting people with mental illness into the box of being ‘crazy’ further divides people from the reality of mental illness, and makes it harder to get help.

Further more, I’m a little concerned with her description of her best friend, Judson’s, sexuality. She explicitly states that Judson is gay. Okay, I don’t know him, maybe he was. But she then goes on to talk about relationships that he had with women. And it unfortunately took on a bit of a bi-erasure tone. Sure, maybe he commonly used the phrase “God, I’m so gay”, which like I get it, I also use that phrase a lot of as a bisexual person. But to not clarify this just feels… a little icky to me. Don’t get me wrong, if he was gay then woohoo! But to be left feeling as though she just ignored that part of his identity, which could very easily be cleared up, just doesn’t sit well with me. And I know that I am not privy to a lot of their life. But as a bisexual woman, I’m tired of part of my identity being erased, and would just appreciate a little more respect for it.

Anyways, overall I did enjoy the book! I think that it provides a raw and real look into the impact that grief and loss can have on a person, and like I said, it’s really important to talk about this. Mental illness and grief need to be normalized so that people don’t feel afraid to reach out to others, and this book is making steps in the right direction.

Beautifully descriptive, if a little slow moving. Bridie, a no-nonsense investigator, takes on a paranormal whodunit in a Victorian, steampunky London that fans of Amazon Prime's "Carnival Row" will love.

What a splendidly gothic book. Things in jars is an imaginative and dark read. I loved the fairy tale like word building I enjoyed how the story captured the streets that was Victorian England even though its an alternative Universe. From the creatures to the streets our Birdie grew up on. Birdie our main character part sleuth, part doctor was phenomenal, I also really liked how the story alternated from the past to the present we got to see Birdie as a child and how she acquired her unique skills. The side characters were equally amazing. They complimented the story and each other beautifully.
Overall Things in Jars is an excellent gothic read with phenomenal characters great world building and a dash of magical realism that will grab and hold onto readers.

I really enjoyed this unique historical fantasy book. The writing is absolutely gorgeous and the author has an amazing vocabulary, often creating sentences that I stopped to re-read.

Bridie is a fantastic character. I love her no nonsense attitude. She's smart and unconventional and the kind of character I enjoy. She does things on her own terms. I also especially liked her housemaid. The supporting characters added so much to this book.

The author also does an interesting job in weaving in myth and the paranormal into Victorian life. She has clearly done her research on early medicine, which I found it fascinating.

The pacing of the book did suffer a little in the middle, but all of the wonderful characters amply made up for that.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a review copy.

DNF - 2.5 stars

I attempted to read this twice, but for some reason it just didn't grab my attention the way I thought it would.
The premise sounded promising and I'm sure others will enjoy it, but it just wasn't for me.

Sorry..

While I enjoyed the main characters in this book, the story didn't grab me fully. I don't know if it has to do with my expectations from the blurb being different than what I found, but it just wasn't as exciting as I had hoped it would be.

Things in Jars was a tough one for me, I started reading it as this whole COVID-19 stuff started going on. It ended up taking me a month to read the book, not because I didn’t enjoy Kidd’s writing, not because she didn’t take me away from the horrors of reality; I was distracted.

I think that my preoccupation took away from what would have otherwise been a fantastic story. I had problems getting into the book, I was tired and would only get a chapter or two in each night; this is not my normal reading habit. What I can say is that Kidd created a fantastical story, a one-of-a-kind that under normal circumstances would have / should have kept me glued to my Kindle.

The one thing that kept me from completely abandoning the book and spending the whole evening switching from news channel to news channel was the time I spent with Kidd’s characters. She is a master of character creation, these people held me tight and gave me brief escapes every evening from what was going on all around me. Each character was above and beyond a caricature, if you will. I couldn’t help but interrupt my wife’s reading to describe the newest addition to Kidd’s incredible cast.

My experience with Things in Jars was the definition of timing. I don’t think that there is any book that could have captivated me during this particular crisis. Under the circumstances, Kidd did an excellent job, her characters gave me some great laughs and temporarily took me away. What more could I have asked for.

*4 Stars

RATING: 3 STARS
2020; Simon & Schuster Canada/Atria

Things in Jars is my first novel by Jess Kidd, and I am glad I started with this one. Kidd's latest novel is set in London, during the Victorian era. While the novel is a historical mystery, it is also based in fantasy. I requested this novel based on the setting and the genre I assumed it was in. While the fantastical aspects of the case were interesting, it seemed like the novel was overly descriptive. I enjoy when an author takes the time to show the reader what the time and place was like. In this case, being a mystery, this description takes away from the suspense. I loved the way Kidd writes her characters. Each feels so realistic, "creatures" or humans, and endearing. The characters alone had me invested in the story. Kidd is a good writer, and I am looking forward to reading Himself and Mr. Flood's Last Resort.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

I was intrigued by Things In Jars' description as a fairy tale and supernatural mystery but it didn't do it for me once I started reading. The story line is interesting, however, I found the writing style difficult to get into as it was a bit overly descriptive and at times and I would lose focus and I would have to reread.

The language of the book is fitting for the time, but I had difficulties falling into the groove of it and found it distracting in the start. It took me a few chapters to get into this, but once I did, the realization hit me hard of how much I needed a sassy detective and her ever-haunting ghost sidekick.

I really liked Bridie; smart, strong, witty. It was easy to fall in with her and the unique company she kept. I did at times wonder whether this was a second book in a series, with some of the references she made in conversation, but then the story unraveled the past and filled in all those gaps almost perfectly. Her friendship with Ruby was super charming. I was a little hesitant at first about a haunting presence in this investigation, it could get silly quickly, but it was handled really well and I grew to really adore their partnership.

While the idea of things in jars probes the imagination, I was not exactly prepared for where this story took me. Diving deep into old folklore, Kidd brought these stories to life with vivid and gritty details. Part story about a missing child, though not necessarily a mystery since we know quite early who is involved, part ghost story, there was a pleasant mix of real and supernatural and I found that it all blended together quite perfectly once I found my footing.

This didn't so much keep me on the edge of my seat, because the trail of breadcrumbs was laid out fairly early and this was more about following them than discovering them, but it did keep my interest sharp through the whole book. It moved fairly quickly and didn't drag, even when you knew where you were heading.

This was an odd little story, but I really enjoyed it and I’m curious whether there will be more of this feisty detective, I would certainly love to read more of her adventures.

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada and Netgalley for a copy of Things In Jars by Jess Kidd.

Things In Jars is a very very unique read. It is Victorian historical fiction, a mystery, a PI story and some paranormal all mixed together.
I really loved everything except the paranormal, which is a very very small part of this whole story so I hope that does not stop you from picking this one up.
Things In Jars follows Birdie, a PI who is hired to find an unusual child who was kidnapped. The story has a lot of twist and turns and some very unusual characters. It has taken me a while to write the review because it’s a tough time period for me to read through sometimes and there just was a lot going on in this one book.
I have been trying to find unusual and unique reads this year and this definitely fits the bill.

I’ve seen this book on a lot of reads list for the beginning of the year and I was intrigued by the cover so I decided I’d also dive in (pun partially intended).

Ultimately, I enjoyed this read. I liked getting to know the characters. I felt respect for and enjoyed Bridie, her strength and ingenuity. I loved Cora and was fond of Ruby. I loved the connections and relationships between them and really felt for Bridie and Ruby by the end. And the story itself was satisfying in its adventure and conclusion.

At parts I had a hard time following along though. The language wasn’t always clear, possibly to reflect the time period, and I felt there were some times I felt dragged on or the descriptive text was unnecessary.

Overall it was a 3.5-3.75 star read for me. If this genre is up your alley and you like fantastical mysteries lead by strong female characters. Pick this one up!

This book sounded right up my alley! It takes place in Victorian London, is about a strong female investigator who does her own thing and rocks at being an investigator! There’s also some supernatural aspects to the book as well, such as seeing ghosts, and supernatural beings! The main character, Bridie, is investigating the kidnapping of the daughter of a noble man, and the case turns out to be a lot more complicated than she thought and involves a lot of interesting characters!
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I think the best part of the book was Bridie herself as she was a strong character who wants to do right by this child. She has led a tough life and wants to make it on her own! She also loves to save others, which I think ties into her tough childhood and how she wants to prevent others from having a hard life! So that was great, but I think I wasn’t expecting this book to be so dark with the supernatural elements, so personally I didn’t love those aspects of the book! But that is just my own personal opinion and I think this book could totally work for some people! I encourage you to check this out if it sounds interesting to you!

My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unconventional and highly intelligent Bridie Devine is often called in to assist Scotland Yard in their efforts to solve crimes. In <u>Things in Jars</u>, Bridie uses every means at her disposal to try to locate a young girl who may have been abducted by unscrupulous members of Victorian London's underworld, who cater to the demands of certain collectors of "curiosities".

This very dark and disturbing story is very well written. The author's choice of words often had me stopping and rereading various passages. Indeed, her writing style mirrors the fantastical story line: magical powers, ghosts, and a very strange cast of characters.

This is a new novel by the British author of 'Himself" and 'The Hoarder'. This author has a weird and interesting imagination and her books are entertaining. This one is set in the 1800's in Victorian London we follow the life of Bridie Devine, who works as a female private detective and police consultant. She is asked to help locate the kidnapped daughter of a wealthy man and learns that the daughter's existence has been kept secret as she is claimed to have supernatural powers as well as being in part a creature of the sea. It is believed she has been taken to be displayed in a circus like setting. Bridie is helped by her 7 foot tall housekeeper Cora (herself having been on display in a freak show at one point) and Ruby, the ghost of a dead boxer. This is part mystery, part adult fairy tale. It is a good recommendation for fans of her previous work or Diane Setterfield (who wrote 'The Thirteenth Tale' and 'Once Upon a River'.

Jess Kidd changes gears a little with Things in Jars, but her writing is still absolutely delightful. Set in London in Victorian times, the city is dirty and our characters are a little rough. The story follows Bridie Devine and a ragtag group of friends as she works to solve a mystery. She is accompanied by the ghost of a tattooed boxer, her giantess housemaid, and helped by others as she tries to find a kidnapped child. As is typical with Kidd, there is a magical element here, as this is no normal child and Bridie needs to find her soon, or she may be sold to the circus or become a specimen in a collector's display case. Kidd has become one of my favourite authors and I already cannot wait to see what she writes next.

Thanks to the author, NetGalley, and Simon & Schuster Canada for the opportunity to read an advance copy.