In the Hall with the Knife

Title:  In the Hall with the Knife

Author:  Diana Peterfreund

Series:  Clue Mystery #1

Publisher:  Harry N. Abrams

Date Published:  October 8, 2019

Genre:  Young Adult, Mystery

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐

My Thoughts:

-    I love the Clue game and movie, so when I saw there were books based on the classic board game, I knew I had to read them.

-    The story takes place in an elite school called Blackbrook Academy. The students include a bunch of names you'll recognize, but the characters do not resemble their board game counterparts. The book includes some of the newer characters a.k.a. Orchid and Rusty. There are a couple of other people thrown in for fun.

      A terrible storm hits the campus, and most of the student body has gone, but the remaining students must take shelter on higher ground in the old Tudor mansion that is being used as a girl's dorm. Dun dun duuuuun! I think you know what happens next. 

-    I liked the liberties the author took with the characters. They were new yet familiar. 

-    The setting was perfect! I love the old Tudor Mansion from Clue, and when you add a thunderstorm, it is magical.

-    Sadly, the title gives away the what and where, so the reader has to figure out who. I was able to figure it out, but it was still fun to find out why and how. 

-    The book is a little slow, and there isn't a lot that happens. You mostly spend time getting to know the characters. I wish there had been more action and deaths.

-    Overall, it was an okay read. It isn't super memorable, but I'm glad I read the book. There are two more in the series, and I want to at least give #2 a try. 

My Thoughts in a GIF:

For Darkness Shows the Stars

Goodreads Says:    In the dystopian future of For Darkness Shows the Stars, a genetic experiment has devastated humanity. In the aftermath, a new class system placed anti-technology Luddites in absolute power over vast estates—and any survivors living there.

Elliot North is a dutiful Luddite and a dutiful daughter who runs her father’s estate. When the boy she loved, Kai, a servant, asked her to run away with him four years ago, she refused, although it broke her heart.

Now Kai is back. And while Elliot longs for a second chance with her first love, she knows it could mean betraying everything she’s been raised to believe is right.

For Darkness Shows the Stars is a breathtaking YA romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it. 

My Thoughts:

-    I really enjoyed this book! I though it was a very clever twist on Persuasion.

-    It reminds a little bit of The Winner's Curse.

-    I loved all the tech stuff.

-    Kai was really cruel. Since he represents Captain Wentworth, I didn't like how mean he was to Elliot. It would have been better if Kai just ignored Elliot or was very formal with her.

-    I liked the letters between Kai and Elliot. It gives the reader glimpses of what kind of relationship they had before, and it helped me realize what Elliot had lost. It also helped me know that Kai wasn't always a jerk.

-    The ending wasn't as satisfying as I wanted. I loved the ending of Persuasion, and this one just didn't live up to that. Kai's letter wasn't as good Captain Wentworth's.

-    I'm excited to read the next book! It is supposed to be a twist on The Scarlet Pimpernel. I've had a horrible experience with The Scarlet Pimpernel movie, and I've never read the book because of it. I think I might put old grievances aside and try to read the original story before I read Across a Star-Swept Sea.