Review of ‘Plain Bad Heroines’ by Emily M. Danforth
This is such an oddball LGBT horror book. I think enjoyment wise I’m around a 3.50-star rating, but the imagination Danforth has to even come up with this story is so impressive that I have to give it the full 4 stars. This book is weird but it is also completely different and unlike anything else I have read before which I always appreciate it. The book is also super gay which really helps.
First of all, I was surprised that this book was not what I thought it would be about. I thought this was going to be YA gothic horror that takes place at an all-girls boarding school. Nope, I was wrong about that. This is Danforth’s first adult novel and it is actually a celebrity triangle romance, mixed with horror. Yes, there are scenes that go to the early 1900s about adults working at the school, but these adults hardly even enter said school.
I need to talk about the writing style first since it is different. It is written with an omniscient narrator. I can’t remember the last time I read a book like that, it has been a while. Danforth is descriptive and honestly a bit wordy at times. This book is big at 650 pages supposedly, although my Kindle was acting like it’s closer to 800.
Surprisingly, there were actual footnotes that made the book even longer. Some notes seemed really unnecessary and a waste of time -especially since my Kindle kept trying to turn the page instead of opening the note- but others were pretty interesting so in the end I kind of liked them. What I will say is that all of these stylistic choices combined, made it so that it took me a while to get into this book. I did not like the beginning of the book and I was worried for a while. It took until about the 25% mark that I really found myself comfortable and connected to the story. But, I do have to say that the book did feel too long and dragged a bit at times. I would have chopped some parts for sure and funny enough I would have actually extended a few scenes like the ending.
I mentioned already that this book was wonderfully gay and it really was. There are two bisexual and one lesbian main character. Then there is a lesbian and bisexual (?) main-secondary characters, and plenty of other lesbian and gay secondary characters. However, I was very surprised to find that I didn’t care for a lot of the characters. I didn’t dislike or hate them but I was having trouble finding characters that I really liked and cared about. In fact, I never really connected to the two women who lived in the early 1900s. When it comes to the three modern mains, one comes off very plastic, one sweet, and the other just mean. The mean one actually won me over which I think was a testament to Danforth’s writing.
Celebrity romances are a trope favorite of mine so I loved the potential here. It ended up being a bit of an f-f-f triangle and while I won’t tell you how the romance finishes, it was one of my favorite story choices Danforth made. But you do need to remember that this horror so there is not a ton of time for romance, but what is there I enjoyed.
Speaking of horror, I do have to admit that I was disappointed that I didn’t get as scared as I was hoping for. There are plenty of creepy and gross scenes, and even depressing horror scenes -I mean like bad things happening to people- but I don’t think I was ever “oh crap” kind of scared.
This is a book that I would recommend to some people. You have to be open to a different writing style and okay with a big book that takes time to get into. If you like celebrity romances that will help, but you also have to be prepared for a horror book were messed up things happen and happen pretty often. Like I mentioned before, I appreciate this book a bit more than my overall enjoyment, but there were parts I really enjoyed and this is a book I won’t soon forget.
An ARC was given to me for an honest review.
Plain Bad Heroines
This is such an oddball LGBT horror book. I think enjoyment wise I’m around a 3.50-star rating, but the imagination Danforth has to even come up with this story is so impressive that I have to give it the full 4 stars. This book is weird but it is also completely different and unlike anything else I have read before which I always appreciate it. The book is also super gay which really helps.
URL: 4 stars, Bisexuality, Celebrity - Famous character, Horror
Author: Emily M. Danforth
4
