Like the two previous books, my review of this book is tricky since I've seen the movie so many times and it's been a long time since I first read this book.
One thing I know, however, is that I enjoyed it! I loved reading about the Baudelaires at Lake Lachrymose and their troubles with Captain Sham. What I liked most about this book, however, was how they worked together to work the sailboat across the lake in the middle of a hurricane to find their Aunt Josephine. This showed a great deal of bravery, which was definitely in contrast to Aunt Josephine.
I have to say my favourite part was when the children decoded Aunt Josephine's note. I love clever things like that, and how it spelled out Curdled Cave. I think this started to set the Baudelaires up for the VFD life nicely.
I wasn't surprised when Josephine was left to the leeches, as I expected it after Uncle Monty dying. It was still sad though and I think the Baudelaires dealt with it very maturely, realising that Josephine was not a good guardian but that did not make her a bad person.
My favourite quote is from Aunt Josephine: "It's a curious thing, the death of a loved one. It's like climbing the stairs to your room in the dark, thinking that there's one more step than there is. And your foot falls through the air, and there is a sickly feeling of dark surprise." I think this just speaks to people beautifully.
Overall, this book was easy to fly through due to it being very short. I would definitely recommend this and I gave it 4.5 stars.