Intention: modern, mythical Atlantis meets Chicago? (The city, not the musical.) Execution: Shark Tale but with less depth.
I get what this book wantedIntention: modern, mythical Atlantis meets Chicago? (The city, not the musical.) Execution: Shark Tale but with less depth.
I get what this book wanted to be. There were moments when I felt like I could see the structure of what it could have been. But, unfortunately, none of those intentions ever felt realized for me.
Part of the issue may have been because the author simply wanted to do too many things. There were too many characters and creatures, the world-building needed to be scaled back a bit so that the reader could find their footing in the story. And instead, it just felt like a constant stream of random information that was expected to make you emotional.
On top of that, as the first line of this review indicates, the vibes were just not there for me. This is going to be super niche and an example of my Christian homeschooled upbringing, but if you've ever seen the Christian show Kingdom Under the Sea from 2003 - that's the energy I was getting. If that show had a baby with Shark Tale and Barbie in A Mermaid Tale, while somehow being incredibly boring and empty.
Overall, this wasn't a terrible book. I see the good in it. I just... think it could have been so much better....more
TW: alcohol, blood, cancer, car accident, cursing, death, death of a loved one, grief, infertility, infidelity, injury/injury detail, medical content,TW: alcohol, blood, cancer, car accident, cursing, death, death of a loved one, grief, infertility, infidelity, injury/injury detail, medical content, medical trauma, miscarriage, panic attacks/disorders, pregnancy, vomit.
I'm tired and don't really feel like writing a review for this one, so to put it bluntly: this book lost an entire star after the 75% mark. I won't expand on what exactly caused this, but I will say that I'm not usually the type to lower my rating because I disagree with the author's creative choice.
That being said, the point of this event was to show we can choose happiness even amidst tragedy. However, since the entire point of the story and literally every other experience made this point, that event felt traumatic simply for the sake of being shocking. Maybe it was more realistic, but I think a magical Christmas story can handle a little unrealistic happiness?
I liked how this book handled grief and Eva finding her way back to herself. Even the way she handled the body-swapping was more reasonable than most stories with that plot and I appreciated it.
This still (even for a book about healing from grief) felt incredibly bleak.
I kind of regret reading this and I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone. (This isn't against Rachel Greenlaw as an author. I loved "The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells" and enjoy her writing even if I disliked this one.)...more
“I have learned there is one thing a person never tires of, no matter how long they live. And that is being in love. All else is ash and ember.�
I'm pr“I have learned there is one thing a person never tires of, no matter how long they live. And that is being in love. All else is ash and ember.�
I'm pretending this trilogy isn't completed until further notice ...more
"In the dreaming twilight, he knew nothing but her."
TW: alcohol, animal cruelty, death, death of a loved one, gun violence, kidnapping, misogyny, sexu"In the dreaming twilight, he knew nothing but her."
TW: alcohol, animal cruelty, death, death of a loved one, gun violence, kidnapping, misogyny, sexual content, violence.
Easily one of my favorite covers of the year.
Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the interior.
If I was basing this entirely off of preference, this would be rated much lower. But I went into it without the knowledge that this was meant to be more... light-hearted and quirky (almost to the point of being satirical) and I won't lower the rating just because I had different expectations.
So for what it was trying to be, I don't think this was a bad book. There's a lot of humor and magical birds and hijinks that may appeal to the target audience - one I'm not a part of.
However, even once I removed my expectations and accepted that this wasn't meant for me, I believe this book fell short in quite a few ways. It is repeated a million times how intelligent our two main characters are, but to prove this, every other character is the biggest idiot you've ever seen in your entire life. It wasn't funny how stupid they were, it was irritating.
The closest comparison I can think of is that this read like an adult, steamy version of a middle grade fantasy novel - complete with over the top humor, ridiculous situations, and garishly stupid bad guys.
Overall, I really disliked this but I don't think it was terrible and I do think it (mostly) succeeded at being what it intended to be. If this sounds interesting to you and you're someone that doesn't mind your books being heavy on the silliness, with hints of the most cardboard feminism you've ever seen in your life - I think you could really enjoy this.
“Anyone can be capable of something impossible� as a witch, she must believe that.�
� 1.5
TW: abortion, alcohol, animal death, blood, body horror, death“Anyone can be capable of something impossible� as a witch, she must believe that.�
� 1.5
TW: abortion, alcohol, animal death, blood, body horror, death, death of a loved one, fire/fire injury, gore, grief, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, miscarriage, misogyny, medical content, murder, panic attacks/disorders, pregnancy, self harm, sexual content, torture, violence, vomit.
You know the part of The Princess Diaries films where "only Paolo can take this and this and give you: ✨a princess�"? Okay, so imagine that but the "this" and "this" are witches and sapphics and the end result is a very poorly crafted Bridgerton fanfic.
Impressive, I know.
I love books about witches. They usually get slightly higher ratings from me, simply because I love reading about nature witches and the overall atmosphere. To some degree, this book did deliver on atmosphere (at least for the beginning of the novel). My favorite parts had to do with the honeybees and the nature spirits.
Adding witches to a sapphic plot about a woman that has sworn off love because the only love she's aware of feels like sacrificing her autonomy? Does that not sound fantastic? It almost sounds like a flawless premise for a book.
But alas... this was not the case.
The book itself is structurally and technically a mess. The plot is an incredibly basic one, with scenes that were used in nearly every fantasy book of the 2010s. The plot-twists are painfully predictable if you've ever consumed any media. And the stakes are never talked about with the appropriate severity.
I want to be clear: I don't mind when a book is predictable and messy, so long as it's enjoyable. If I care about the characters enough, I don't mind if the plot-twists feel like they were lifted directly from the pages of "Tropes: A Beginner's Handguide" by Plagiarism Phil. I'll just be happy to be there. Unfortunately though, this was one of those books where the characters were insufferable.
Practically everything was insufferable. The exposition is handled terribly (the first 35% percent of this book kind of feels like being forced to watch a instructional cutscene for a game you've been playing for thirty years). The pacing is somehow rushed and too slow at once (i.e. the book takes place over about a year and a half, but the characters act like it takes place over a decade.) The characters are childish and irritating. The dialogue is atrocious. The writing style is both melodramatic and stilted.
I think there's a reason for all of this and I think Bridgerton is to blame.
This reads like AI generated sapphic Bridgerton fanfiction. With over-the-top dialogue lacking the actor's human emotions to somehow level it out and bring the silliness back down to earth. And even Bridgerton takes itself far more seriously than this book ever did. I mean, the fmc literally growls "She's mine!" about her love interest at her old suitor, in the middle of a ballroom, causing lightning to strike in the distance.
This kind of leads to my final point: I don't think most people write grumpy x sunshine well. Or! Perhaps, I just don't like grumpy x sunshine, which may very well be the case.
However, more often than not, it feels like either one character is an abusive asshole and the other is just a nice person or! One feels like an angry asshole and the other feels like an inconsiderate, toxically optimistic asshole. Which could work, if it didn't feel like we suddenly switch from them hating each other (and just being generally unnecessarily rude) to dramatic expressions of love.
This was no exception. The two characters barely speak to each for the first 45% of the book and then when they do talk, one of the characters is incredibly rude. This kind of gets explained, but the switch from belittling and obnoxious to lovingly devoted felt insincere.
I don't know, I tend to love softer love interests so maybe that's why I didn't connect with this, but alas.
I'm afraid if I don't stop myself now I will continue to complain (particularly about a death scene involving someone's gore being trapped in their suspenders like a spider web? or the cartoonish villain dialogue) and that isn't my intention. This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and I'm devastated that I didn't love it.
There are good aspects to this book (the bees) and I do think people should pick it up if it sounds interesting to them, because some of my issues truly are personal. If you love witchy books and don't mind it when they're a bit messy, I encourage you to give this a try. You might love it.
“This is the story of the witch who refused to burn. Some people said that there was power in her blood, a gift from her ancestors that she could endu“This is the story of the witch who refused to burn. Some people said that there was power in her blood, a gift from her ancestors that she could endure.�
� 3.5
TW: abandonment, abortion, abuse, alcohol, animal cruelty, animal death, biphobia, blood, body horror, body-shaming, bullying, confinement, cursing, death, death of a loved one, drug use, emotional abuse, fatphobia, fire/fire injury, forced institutionalization, gore, grief, hate crime, homophobia, infidelity, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, lesbophobia, medical content, medical trauma, mental illness, misogyny, murder, panic attacks/disorders, physical abuse, police brutality, racial slurs, racism, religious bigotry, sexism, sexual assault, sexual content, suicidal ideation, suicidal thoughts, torture, transphobia, violence, vomit.
An ambitious, meaningful novel that lacks a certain depth or subtly that would have made it more impactful.
Despite the short page count, there are so many layers/levels to this book that I'm unsure how to review it properly. On the one hand, there was a lot I liked about this. I love witchy books, anyway; and I particularly appreciate when witchcraft is intertwined with intersectional feminism and humanity's relationship with nature.
I enjoyed the simplicity of the writing style, as it made me feel the main character is speaking directly to the reader without feeling cheesy. I liked a lot of the discussions on the intriciies of freedom and if one can truly feel a certain way if they were never given the choice to be anything else. I appreciated the discussion of mental health.
I did - however - struggle with the execution of some of the ideas. For example, despite this being a 'dystopian' it takes place in our modern world? (as evidenced by the modern pop-culture references, which really pulled me out of the story.) The world-building was a bit on the convenient side, alternating between being super detailed and then leaving the reader confused on how we got there.
As I mentioned higher in this review, this book lacked any subtlety - which is fine, but may be a deterrent to some readers. All of the discussions or societal issues are repeated blatantly again and again throughout the length of the novel. There's some moments of meaningful imagery, but they're a minor part of the story. I don't mind this, but I did feel like the meaning was dumbed down and kind of felt like I was being talked down to as a reader.
Overall, even though it wasn't perfect, I'd say this is definitely still worth the read. ...more
TW: alcohol, animal cruelty, animal death, blood, body horror, death, death of a loved one, fire/fire injury, gore, “We are all stardust and stories.�
TW: alcohol, animal cruelty, animal death, blood, body horror, death, death of a loved one, fire/fire injury, gore, grief, gun violence, homophobia, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, mental illness, murder, panic attacks/disorders, pregnancy, religious bigotry, sexual content, stalking, violence.
No book has ever been recommended to me as much as this one, which made me excited and hesitant in equal measure. Considering the three star rating, I guess that was fair.
Like with The Night Circus, I completely see why everyone loves this one as much as they do. The writing was mystical and lovely, the book as a whole was a love-letter to the magic of stories and possibility. Time and Fate are central themes of this book and both are utilized in random and inexplicable ways, tugging the story along even when it doesn't make sense. Zachary is a lovely, relatable protagonist for most readers - kind, with a quiet sort of bravery.
However. It's also a bit of a mess.
I know - to some extent - this is purposeful. It's the point, the central heart of the story but I still wish things had been at least slightly coherent. It's a hard line to walk, creating a story with so many elements and wishing to leave it open-ended in such a magical way. I respect and understand that. But by the end, I kind of felt like the entire book had been pointless. Instead of not getting all the answers, there are no answers.
There's also the thing with the dialogue and relationships feeling incredibly awkward and forced to me. The insane amount of Harry Potter references aside, I found almost all of the relationships in this book really uncomfortable? I haven't seen anyone else say that, so maybe it's just me, but the point still stands.
With all that, it bears saying that there were parts of this book that made me feel like it could be a five star read. There were also parts that were very much one star material. So as I critique it, I also want to say that there were parts of this book I found spectacular. The author was capable of capturing a kind of magic with her words that few authors can and I recognized how special that was.
Overall, I can see why so many people recommended this to me and they were right; I did enjoy it. Just not as much as I was hoping to. I wholeheartedly understand why this is as beloved as it is. I recognize that the praise is deserved, even if it isn't my favorite. ...more
"There is an old tale woven through the mountain town of Woodsmoke about a stranger who appears as the first snow falls in winter, who will disappear "There is an old tale woven through the mountain town of Woodsmoke about a stranger who appears as the first snow falls in winter, who will disappear without a trace as the frost thaws in spring, leaving a broken heart behind."
ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
TW: abandonment, blood, death, death of a loved one, grief, infertility, injury/injury detail, medical content, pregnancy.
Perfect for fans of Rachel Griffin and Practical Magic, The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells was one of the most heartwarming books I've read in awhile.
This book delivered everything I wanted it to. Cozy, small-town, magical vibes with the kind of witchy atmosphere that feels like a Pinterest aesthetic board - complete with dried herbs and old, worn books. From the very first chapter, I was immediately captured by the setting and the characters - a feeling that didn't let go for the entirety of the novel.
Along with all of the cozy, higher budget Hallmark vibes there was also an undercurrent of heavier themes which is something I really appreciate. Amidst the little book clubs and tall trees, there are also discussions of grief and sacrifice and identity and beginnings/endings and what it means to call a place home. It was the kind of book that finds beauty even in tragic circumstances.
The only... criticism (if you could even call it that) I would give is that this book is very simple. I really enjoyed this and it's what I was looking for, but I could see some readers expecting more from this book. If you love Rachel Griffin's short, cozy take on witchy fantasy, I really think you'll enjoy this. But if you're wanting them to do a deeper look at the other townspeople and their lives and the implications of the magic, you won't get much more than a topical but still meaningful read.
Overall, I really enjoyed this and I will in fact be recommending it to everyone - especially those looking for a cozy read for the colder months (or any time of the year, really.)...more
“A beginning often signals an end. That's the thing with dawn... you must first get through the night.�
� 3.5
TW: abandonment, ableism, abortion, abuse,“A beginning often signals an end. That's the thing with dawn... you must first get through the night.�
� 3.5
TW: abandonment, ableism, abortion, abuse, alcohol, animal cruelty, animal death, biphobia, blood, body horror, body-shaming, bullying, car accident, child abuse, child death, classism, confinement, cursing, deadnaming, death, death of a loved one, domestic abuse, dysphoria, emotional abuse, fatphobia, fire/fire injury, forced institutionalization, gore, grief, hate crime, homophobia, infidelity, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, lesbophobia, medical content, medical trauma, mental illness, misogyny, murder, outing, panic attacks/disorders, physical abuse, police brutality, possession, racism, sexism, sexual assault, sexual content, sexual harassment, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, torture, toxic relationship, transphobia (graphic), violence, xenophobia, war.
Such an awesome book in so many ways, bit of a mess in quite a few others.
I truly enjoyed so many parts of this book, at times leaning closer to a 4.5 rating until some of my issues kicked in. Some technical, some possibly subjective, and some... just things that I felt uncomfortable with (such as the bipoc rep and some of the words used/comments made, particularly when portraying communities that the author is not a part of.)
I do wish the characterization would have been more consistent throughout, as it sometimes felt like changes were made to the characters to either generate shock or cover up a plot-hole. There was also the issue with a large cast of characters, giving some more time than others and letting others fall completely to the sidelines - leaving the reader with minimal information.
For example, the character of Theo is talking about like they are both 5 and 15 throughout the book. I spent the majority trying to figure out their age, feeling like every time I was sure I got confirmation, I had been wrong. This leads to a fifteen year old character being infantilized. If there had been a plot that the character was disabled, I might have understood where this was coming from. As it is, the character simply is treated like a toddler and an adult at the same time.
Also... I included a trigger warning for transphobia but I wanted to add a paragraph within the review to say that for some of this, we are in the head of the transphobic character as they are thinking and saying these things. This could be extremely triggering for some people, so I hope that you go in feeling empowered and aware.
Overall, this was such a fun read! I had a great time with it, except for in the moments when I didn't. I will be carrying on with the series, even if just for the cliffhanger. I knew that was where we were going and I'm curious to see how it will be handled. ...more
TW: animal cruelty, animal death (view spoiler)[an animal is sacrificed in exchange for communication with a godde"Lord, what fools these mortals be!"
TW: animal cruelty, animal death (view spoiler)[an animal is sacrificed in exchange for communication with a goddess and it is described more graphically than some (hide spoiler)], blood, chronic illness, cursing, death, death of a loved one, emotional abuse, fire/fire injury, grief, gun violence, homophobia, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, lesbophobia, medical content, medical trauma, misogyny, murder, physical abuse, racism, rape, religious bigotry, sexual assault, sexual content, sexual harassment, stalking, toxic relationship, violence.
There are so many words that could describe this book (tedious, intolerable, enamored by its own perceived cleverness, etc.) but none fit quite as well as bad. This book was bad.
I'm going to return to my old review style for a moment, list several of the reasons I disliked this book, and then go on my merry way.
- The Main Couple The main couple's age difference is 19 and 24-25. (I feel I should mention that the older of the two never has her age officially confirmed, with some people thinking she's 20, but her love interest makes a comment ((to her)) about her being mid-twenties and it is not refuted.) That isn't illegal, I get it. However, it's still uncomfortable and only gets made worse by it being consistently repeated that the older of the two is far more advanced and mature due to life experience, even going so far as to call the younger love interest "child". (Not to mention all of the times that she asks her why she must be such a girl or when the older of the two speaks of wishing to have sex with her just so she (the younger love interest) thinks about her when her future husband is taking advantage of her.) This is a problem that is not resolved simply because the younger love interest begins to demand things.
Their entire relationship was not only extremely toxic but so boring. They had absolutely no chemistry, even without all of the aspects that would have made their relationship problematic. I think part of this is due to the fact that they felt more like shadows of a character rather than actually living beings. Neither of them have any personality (aside from cursed, innocent, and horny and also cursed, mysterious, asshole, and also horny). They had the same conversation no less than fifty times.
I kept finding myself secretly hoping the antagonist would win just so the book could be over.
- The Narrator I hated the narration style. It's clear the author wanted to capture the nearly omnipresent yet gossipy spirit of Lady Whistledown in Bridgerton with a magical twist but failed to account for the ramifications of this. For one, the narrator is incredibly annoying. But on a more objective level, we view every event in the book through the eyes of Robin which not only makes the reader feel incredibly detached from all events taking place but also makes us feel like we're stalking the characters. Despite the fact Robin claims to only watch their faces during sex (which is still weird), we're still a third party observing them.
- The Writing The writing style tried so hard to be flowery and clever that it forgot to be enjoyable. I realize this is kind of second part of the previous point but it still deserves mention. I know that the author was attempting a very specific kind of writing style, but it unfortunately fell flat for me. Instead of feeling enchanted and whimsical, it just felt excruciating.
- The Pacing The mystery (if one can even call it that) is solved at the 50% mark. Halfway. Through. The. Book. That means that for the next fifty percent, a dozen things happen for the sake of extending the book and creating conflict. I understand that the plot of the curse had been building, but it almost felt like the book had been split in two - rather than creating a cohesive narrative.
I could keep going. I feel like some of this review is too harsh and I do usually try to stay more neutral in my reviews, but it's been awhile since I was this uncomfortable about a book. Sapphic relationships deserve better than cardboard characters who think vulgarity is the only way to show maturity.
I know nothing of the author, but I can't imagine they meant for the relationships to read this way, but unfortunately that doesn't change the fact they do.
Overall, I went into this book expecting to love it and I'm absolutely bummed that I didn't. I don't know how a book with fae, witches, gods, two curses, and regency lesbians managed to be this boring, but it succeeded... which I suppose is a triumph in and of itself.
While I wouldn't recommend this book, I had only heard positive things before reading it so it clearly has a lot of people that love it and I'm glad. I wish I had loved it. ...more
"At this precise moment, I can genuinely say that my only wish is to remain here with you."
TW: alcohol, animal cruelty, animal death, bigotry, body ho"At this precise moment, I can genuinely say that my only wish is to remain here with you."
TW: alcohol, animal cruelty, animal death, bigotry, body horror, confinement, death, death of a loved one, fire/fire injury, gore, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, medical content, medical trauma, mental illness/disorder, misogyny, murder, sexual content (alluded to only), stalking, torture (mentions), trafficking, violence, vomit, war.
I'm incredibly pleased to say that I found this a drastic improvement on book 1.
To be clear, I didn't dislike book 1. I actually enjoyed quite a bit of it, but my feelings were also conflicted due to some personal and technical complaints (particularly in the treatment/abuse of the changling fae child and the ableist narrative it perpetuated) but also... I didn't really care for the romance.
This book was practically a 180. It maintained everything I appreciated about the first book, while improving on every single aspect that I had struggled with. The romance? Spectacular. The pacing? I couldn't put it down. This was magical and dark and romantic, without any of the aspects that made me question if I even enjoyed the first book.
That isn't to say this book was perfect, more just that it was perfect for what I needed right now. It still has some rocky moments in terms of plotting, but I had such a great time reading that they were easy to overlook.
I won't say that it was entirely unproblematic as I'm sure there could be something I missed/overlooked, but from my perspective, I didn't notice anything that was nearly as devastating or offensive as some of the plot-points in its predecessor.
Overall, I really enjoyed this. Whether you loved book 1 or felt neutral about it, I'm here to join with the majority in saying that this is much better....more
"Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again." - C.S. Lewis
ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opi"Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again." - C.S. Lewis
ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
TW: abandonment, abuse, child abuse, child death, death, death of a loved one, domestic abuse, drug abuse, emotional abuse, grief, homophobia, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, medical content, mental illness, panic attacks/disorders, physical abuse, sexual content, terminal illness, torture, violence.
There are no words for how sad I am that I didn't love this book. Everything about it seemed like it was created for me, but unfortunately the brilliant concept and the execution of said concept are two very different things.
The Lost Story was an overly ambitious novel, that attempted to fit an expansive story into 330 pages, whilst also struggling to ride the line between mature and whimsical. There were moments when this was successful, when the intention of the story was so clearly felt and realized that I knew I could have adored this novel if things had been different.
Unfortunately, they were not.
I struggled with the characters. I struggled with the dialogue. I struggled with the pacing. I struggled with the world-building or lack thereof (which gets explained at the very end, but by that point, it felt like it was being thrown in there so we didn't question the lack of world-building.) I struggled with the timeline (acting like the characters were there for years when it was only 6 months, felt weird). I struggled with the relationships between each of the characters. I hated the interjections from the Storyteller.
I say I struggled with many of these aspects because - for most of them - I could see what the author's intention had been, I could see that I would have liked them if they had been executed differently. As it was, attempting to create a contrast between the maturity of the characters and the magic of the enchanted world by having the characters say things like "Magical horses are whores for berries." did not work for me. It made the story feel strangely like it was written by a homeschooled child trying to create an edgy story with how they think adults speak. (I can say that, I was homeschooled.)
This might be considered a spoiler so if you consider romantic relationships a spoiler, I wouldn't read this next paragraph.
Rafe and Jeremy's relationship was another one of those things that I could have loved if it was done differently. I appreciated the queer rep and how meaningful it was that the enchanted world was a safe haven for them to finally be their true selves. However. When the entirety of their relationship is built off of a year they spent together when they were fourteen (half of which one of them can't remember), and the reader is consistently reminded that they're a.) both nearly 30 and b.) how physical their relationship was at 14, on top of them being called brothers within the narrative... it made it really hard for me to feel much more than a topical concern for them.
This review is getting too long and at the risk of just becoming me ranting, which isn't what I want to do at all. Despite all of my criticism, this was an easy read and there were things I really liked about it. I appreciate what Meg Shaffer was attempting to do with this book and I'm grateful for the ARC, but unfortunately, The Lost Story missed the mark for me. ...more
“The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.�
� 3.5�
TW: abuse, alcoholism, animal c“The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.�
� 3.5�
TW: abuse, alcoholism, animal cruelty, animal death, blood, body horror, child abuse, confinement, death, death of a loved one, domestic abuse, emotional abuse, fire/fire injury, grief, gun violence, injury/injury detail, mental illness, physical abuse, self harm, sexual content, suicidal thoughts, suicide, torture, violence.
I think my hopes were a bit too high for this one.
So many people absolutely love this book and even the negative reviews made me more sure that this book was perfect for me. To an extent, I was correct. But I also... didn't really care for it?
Don't get me wrong: I completely see why everyone loves this and I did enjoy it. The writing was beautiful, the imagery spectacular, and the ambience unmatched. However, I didn't connect with it any further than that. I actually found most elements strangely rushed despite the slow pace and decent page count, particular the relationship between Marco and Celia.
Again! I did enjoy this, just not as much as I had hoped. ...more
“One doesn’t need magic if one knows enough stories.�
� 3.5
TW: abandonment, ableism (view spoiler)[includes an extremely problematic changeling plot, o“One doesn’t need magic if one knows enough stories.�
� 3.5
TW: abandonment, ableism (view spoiler)[includes an extremely problematic changeling plot, one that includes both abuse and harmful stereotypes for autism. There are also mentions of someone being "hideously deformed". (hide spoiler)], alcohol, animal cruelty, animal death, blood, body horror, child abuse, child death, confinement, emotional abuse, fire/fire injury, gore, grief, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, medical content, medical trauma, mental illness, murder, physical abuse, self-harm, sexual harassment, slavery, violence.
After intending to pick up this book for over a year now, I finally read it and I'm... conflicted.
It was charming and cozy and all of the lovely things everyone said it was; but it was also jarringly dark at times, slightly disjointed in both tone and plot, and extremely ableist (view spoiler)[(even if the ableism hadn't been a factor it still would have been the unrepentant and physical abuse of the changeling child, whom we establish ((multiple times)) that he has the mentality of a child that simply misses his home - sadistic fae or not) (hide spoiler)]
I don't mind when books are dark, particularly when dealing with faeries. If anything, I appreciate that the faeries weren't sanitized for the sake of not touching on dark topics. It was simply the way they were handled that I wasn't fond of.
Again with the conflicted feelings, I loved the banter between Wendell and Emily - but I didn't care for the development of their romance(?). Some part of me wishes they could have just remained acerbic yet secretly caring friends. If they were meant to be romantic, we could have... built up to it differently than what actually happened.
If you're one of the few people left that hasn't read this yet, I would recommend it if you're a fan of A Natural History of Dragons and The Spiderwick Chronicles but not if you're easily bored by slow-paced, meandering plots. (Something I tend to love!)
Overall, I can completely see why this book is as beloved as it is; it truly is a delightful, almost cinematic read. Despite my criticisms, I also really enjoyed it and I'm hopeful that book 2 will be even better as well as improving upon the problematic aspects. ...more
“Our illusions weave roses around us, and when we try to escape, we are met with thorns.�
TW: abandonment, abuse, alcohol, animal death, blood, body ho“Our illusions weave roses around us, and when we try to escape, we are met with thorns.�
TW: abandonment, abuse, alcohol, animal death, blood, body horror, bullying, child abuse, child death, death, death of a loved one, domestic abuse, emotional abuse, gaslighting, gore, grief, injury/injury detail, medical content, mental illness, murder, pedophilia, physical abuse, self harm, sexual assault, sexual content, sexual harassment, suicide, terminal illness, toxic relationship, violence.
I would like it to be said that I called every single plot-twist from the beginning of the book. Literally every single one. Does that mean it was super predictable? Or does it mean that I am a genius? Who can say?
Anyway, as for the actual review, I'm super conflicted about this one.
The first thing I'll say is that I didn't have enough information before going into this book. Every review I heard included, "Read this knowing as little as possible!" which was a horrible idea for me, personally, due to the nature of the story.
See, what I though this book was and it what it actually was were entirely different. (I didn't allow my expectations to determine how I felt/rated the novel, but it's a valid point.) I thought this was going to be a whimsical, slightly dark fantasy. Instead, it was a fairytale-esque, horror/mystery that takes place in (I'm assuming?) the 90s. Which was just... very different lol.
It also ended up leaning more into the "terrible rich people do terrible things but because they're so mysterious and enigmatic and beautiful, everyone would do anything for them" which is a particular type of story I don't connect well with.
The first half of this book was excruciating. Not because it was confusing, I actually found the plot pretty easy to follow as soon as I could look past the over-abundance of purple prose (you can not "smell someone's bones lengthening" and it's a horrific description lol) The writing style was over-indulgent. The characters were unlikable to the point that there was nothing to like about them. At all. And because I could tell where the story was heading, I probably would have dnf'd if the book hadn't been so short.
However! The second half of the book - while still not my favorite - was a massive improvement. The plot and pacing seemed to find a better rhythm, and even though I knew where the story was going, I was more interested in following the path of how we were going to get there. By the ending, I actually felt pretty satisfied.
This was one of my most anticipated releases for the year and I'm disappointed that I didn't like it more, but I can see why so many people have connected with it. The atmosphere and the examination of the darkness in fairytales definitely set it apart from other stories I've read recently.
Unfortunately, that simply wasn't enough to make this book anything more than just okay for me. I'd still recommend giving it a shot, especially if you're someone that's interested in a horror-fairytale-mystery cross-over. (And you're aware of the TW before going in, because for such a short book, it touches on a lot of dark topics quite heavily.) ...more
“There are spells for breaking and spells for mending. But there are no spells for forgetting.�
TW: abduction, abuse, addiction, alcohol, animal death,“There are spells for breaking and spells for mending. But there are no spells for forgetting.�
Beautifully atmospheric, but lacking in nearly every other way.
After struggling to get into the story (I think the beginning was reminding me too much of A River Enchanted), I wasn't expecting to read this book so fast - despite it being relatively short. However, I flew through it. A witchy mystery on an island off the coast of Washington was almost right up my alley, if the execution had been different.
I liked the book, but it was... just okay, which bums me out. The characters were aggravating (they're all supposed to be flawed, I didn't mind that, I just wish they hadn't felt so bland and childish) and the mystery was less of a mystery and more of a "follow us for 360+ pages as we try to figure out what you've known since the beginning".
With that being said, I still had a fun time with this. If you're looking for an atmospheric, quick read with ancestral magic and won't mind a heavily flawed plot, you might have fun with it as well! But I wouldn't expect much more than that. ...more
“Dreaming is as intrinsic part human nature, on par with love and hate and hope.�
TW: blood, classism, confinement, death, death of a loved one, domest“Dreaming is as intrinsic part human nature, on par with love and hate and hope.�
TW: blood, classism, confinement, death, death of a loved one, domestic abuse, emotional abuse, homophobia, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, misogyny, murder, physical abuse, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, slavery, stalking, torture, violence, war.
This was a triple layer decadent fluffy poofy crumbly cake, filled with gooey hazelnut chestnut butterscotch chocolate ganache filling, topped with vanilla sugar syrup spice marzipan meringue icing, served on a gossamer feathery icy glittery dancing tutu.
If that review made no sense to you, you now know what it feels like to read this book. ...more
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