[Review: Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender]

"Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer"
Author: Katie Alender
Series: None
Pages: 304
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Paranormal, Horror
Date Published: September 24th, 2013
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Format Read: eARC provided by publisher (via NetGalley) for honest review

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Summary:

Colette Iselin is excited to go to Paris on a class trip. She’ll get to soak up the beauty and culture, and maybe even learn something about her family’s French roots.

But a series of gruesome murders are taking place across the city, putting everyone on edge. And as she tours museums and palaces, Colette keeps seeing a strange vision: a pale woman in a ball gown and powdered wig, who looks suspiciously like Marie Antoinette.

Colette knows her popular, status-obsessed friends won’t believe her, so she seeks out the help of a charming French boy. Together, they uncover a shocking secret involving a dark, hidden history. When Colette realizes she herself may hold the key to the mystery, her own life is suddenly in danger . . .

Acclaimed author Katie Alender brings heart-stopping suspense to this story of revenge, betrayal, intrigue — and one killer queen.

-Goodreads

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My Thoughts:

Just look at that title and that cover.  If you're expecting a book that is going to make you sleep with the lights on for a week or a book that has extreme depth, you should look somewhere else.  However if you're looking for a book that will make you feel like you've just watched a Disney horror flick mixed with Final Destination, then this is the book for you!  Honestly, Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer was just what I wanted it to be.  Wonderful, corny, fluff!  It has it merits, that's for sure, but there also isn't a lot to it.

Alender chooses to incorporate the murders into the story, giving us a little bit of background into the people who get beheaded by the dead French queen that we all know about.  It was a fun tactic and gave us a glimpse at some of the most unrealistic deaths you've ever read.  Once again Final Destination comes to mind.  That being said, it was a smart move on the authors part.

The characters weren't something to rave about, though Colette does do some growing up on her trip to Paris.  She starts out scared to loose the bit of social status that she's managed to gain and over the time of the trip learns to stand on her own two feet, while also being chased around by a dead queen.  Her best friends made me wanna pull my hair out, but the girls who ended up as her pals seemed like they were really nice, we just didn't get to know them very well.  And Jules, the romantic French boy was actually dreamy.  He was the perfect male lead for this type of book and he totally took a little bit of my French loving heart.

Paris is still fresh on my mind from the trip I took there earlier this year and I have to say that Alender paints the city in the perfect light.  This to me was her strong point.  The city itself glowed on the page and I could see each of the places that Alender chose to use in her book.  As a travel log, it really worked for me.  I felt like she nailed the feel of the city and the places inside of the pages.

The mystery or horror plot (if you choose to call it a horror plot) had some holes and I found it really predictable, but it also had some really cool points to it as well.  The fictional history that Alender created was interesting and kept me wanting to know what was going on, even if the end rushed things and got really weird.  

So, while this book isn't going to go down as a classic, it was just the corny book that I wanted to read.  If you're looking for something light with some really cool descriptions of Paris, look no farther.  Oh and while we're at it, can I just say what a cool tag line "heads will roll" is?  It's a total Yeah Yeah Yeah's moment!

Rating:

 3 Unicorns = I liked it but it had it's issues!