The Buried Life
Jul. 4th, 2018 08:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearThe Buried Life, by Carrie Patel, is an interesting book on many levels. I'm impressed that it even got published because it's a post-apocalyptic, steampunk detective novel with a regency romance subplot, so I'd love to have been in that pitch meeting! It's also richly descriptive, which is unusual for a crime novel. So, from a conceptual point of view, I'm delighted it exists in the market, even if it didn't entirely work for me personally. Whilst every page was heavy with detailed visual descriptions, I found it difficult to get a handle on the world and society of Recoletta. The nuances of how and why the geography of the city exists as it does escaped me, and the hints of a past linked to our own world raised more questions than it answered.
Still, I liked the characters for the most part, even if some of them disappointed me with what seemed like out of character actions towards the end. The romance aspect was also problematical, with instances of abusive behaviour cloaked as protection, though the woman in question made good choices in the end. So, while I enjoyed the book to a certain extent, I don't think I'm going to continue with the series.
Still, I liked the characters for the most part, even if some of them disappointed me with what seemed like out of character actions towards the end. The romance aspect was also problematical, with instances of abusive behaviour cloaked as protection, though the woman in question made good choices in the end. So, while I enjoyed the book to a certain extent, I don't think I'm going to continue with the series.
