It’s been a few days since I finished this book and I’m still not sure how to rate it, but I guess this is where I’m at for now!

The Devil and the Dark Water was my very first buddy read and I had a truly fantastic time throughout, discussing all the details, coming up with theories, speculating about the supernatural part of it all … It was also a very welcome change from all the fantasy I usually read. I loved the Holmes & Watson vibes that I got right from the start, and couldn’t wait to learn more about everything & everyone, and see where the story goes. The characters were all very compelling, especially Pipps, Arent, and Sara, and I was rooting for them to uncover all the secrets on board. The mystery of it all really drew me in, it got even creepy at times, and I was sure this was gonna be a 5 star read!

But, oh well … here we are. I guess this book is a great example of how an ending can influence the overall reading experience and make you question everything. At least that’s how it was for me. The last few chapters and how everything was resolved felt so out of place and out of character, so very different from the rest of the book, I had a hard time comprehending it all—still do! To say I’m disappointed is putting it mildly. I just can’t get over it after all the anticipation and the expectations I had for the ending leading up to it. Rating the book lower than this wouldn’t be fair to the huge chunk of it that was fantastic & utterly enjoyable. But for the aforementioned reasons, I also can’t bring myself to go any higher.

I’m still very much interested in reading The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle which is also on my TBR and I’ve seen many people enjoy. Let’s hope the ending there is more to my taste ^^