Plain Bad Heroines
One of my favorite things to read (and watch) on the internet are book reviews. Whether it is on goodreads, an end of month wrap up video, or a blog post, I just truly enjoy them! I particularly love reading reviews from the voices of reviewers whose reading tastes align with mine. So hopefully my book reviews will help someone out there, though there is no guarantee.
This past year, inspired by Booksandlala, I wanted to read the past 2020 Goodreads nominees in the Best of Horror Category. In 2020 I was able to read: Mexican Gothic by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires By Grady Hendrix, and Ring Shout By P. Dejeli Clark. (I admittedly also bought The Year of the Witching By Alexis Henderson and The Only Good Indian By Stephen Graham Jones - however, I have yet to read them.) And in fairness, I do want to preface I will not be reading ALL of the 2020 nominees, some of the books just aren't my cup of tea.
So in effort to move forward with the list this year I picked up Plain Bad Heroines By Emily M Danforth (also referenced in my first post.) The book intrigued me long before it's nomination - the cover just screams me with the red and black color, the serifed font, and beautiful yet creepy illustrations. Thus, I requested a copy from my local library and received it in physical and audio format and began my journey. Part of the reason I picked up the audiobook, along with the physical book, is because these days reading the book, along with the audiobook, has been a HUGE help. I get so distracted and audiobooks help set a nice way to focus and read in comfortable chunks. Additionally, it is fun to hear someone else's voice these days while still spending most of my time at home.
Overall, I loved the book. I gave it four stars! If it were just the illustrations alone it would have easily been five stars (I am a big ol' sucker for illustrations.) However, this was a thick book and is over six hundred pages. In it we follow two different story lines. The first one is historic and is set at Brookhaunts School for Girls. The historic storyline is gothic and quite creepy. While the other story is set in the present day and could be argued it is two stories in one? The modern day storyline has us following our newest Plain Bad Heroines, or female leads, along with the films in production surrounding the story of Brookhaunts School. One of my favorite parts of this book was the dual timelines, specifically the historic story - it was so incredible and made me feel like I was truly in this world. Every historic chapter left me feeling a little creeped out and on edge. Yet, one of my complaints about the book is I felt the modern (and historic) storyline could have been their own books. At times I almost wished they were. However, I recognize why the author needed both stories together to help build the atmosphere around this haunted school for girls. Without the historic context, some of modern story plot points would not have hit has hard. Additionally, Danforth has incredible writing. It takes real skill to weave two entirely different stories and have them match up the way she wrote her story. As mentioned, I gave the book four stars and cannot recommend it enough. Though, in warning, I suspect some readers may not necessarily walk away satisfied because of the book's ending. I am not one of those readers though. (I have become a bit of a fan of these open ended horror novel endings.)
As seen above, another big thing I love on the internet is cover to closet photos. There is the covertocloset instagram account, but also a hashtag many instagram users use, myself included. Plain Bad Heroines had me feeling like I needed to wear my most gothic chic outfit to match the book and I could think of no better brand then La Femme en Noir to wear to match the moody story and cover. (I cannot recommend La Femme en Noir enough - for reference I am wearing a size Small dress I am a 34D - 26" waist but could have easily sized down to an Extra Small.) I felt it best visualized the cover, the story, and the historic characters in the book.
I hope you enjoyed this book review and outfit. I am excited to continue exploring my comfort levels by not only sharing myself but my thoughts (in book reviews) and outfits. It felt fun to combine the two!
Current Read: Ghost Squad By Claribel A. Ortega
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