Reviews with content warning for Incest - Under the Pendulum Sun

Reviews tagging 'Incest'

Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng

51 reviews

cherriholicxx's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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dannycrimes's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I read it in, technically, 26 hours - the descriptions were evocative, the mystery was many-layered yet never felt like it was purely twisting for shock value, and the spirit of the gothic was well and truly invoked. Loses half a star for a slightly wonky pacing in places.

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keithh's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

3.0

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wasabipopsicle's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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rachelrustemeyer's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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blissofalife's review

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I’m struggling to rate this one, the world building was incredible! It was full of new ideas well explaining and executed with interesting and bizarre concepts sprinkled throughout. I would love to read a whole series set in this world!…just not about these characters.

Interesting uses of Christianity throughout, lots of symbolism and Bible verses alluding to the ultimate reveal, really solid buildup.

I just didn’t like the reveal. Or the final chapters. Or the ambiguous ending.

I can’t believe the big reveal was “you’re not siblings! Oh wait, jkjk, you absolutely are. The truth will set you free you’re welcome” and then they just…agree with it all? Literally with the attitude of “well, at least they can’t hurt us more than they already have” feels icky icky.

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leannj's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is gothic horror masquerading as a historical fantasy with fae- and it definitely puts the "horror" in gothic horror. Definitely disturbing at certain points but also fascinating. I thought it was really interesting how the author interwove theology into the story and worldbuilding, and how it showcased the hypocrisy of the main characters. Recommend looking into the trigger warnings so your not caught off guard by certain ~reveals~ in the story.

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bookburningsheep's review

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

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kstav's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

If you put the word "fae" on the cover I'm going to be on my guard for half the book. Instead I was taken off guard by the most refreshingly original book I've read all year.

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funktious's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A really mixed read for me!

The good: an excellent, weird, eerie Faerie that never feels twee or predictable. Loved the moon fish and the sea whales and the Queen's court. And the gothic just drips off the page, with the fog on the moors and the mysterious, changeable house. I also really admired the theology - I didn't follow a lot of it and had to look up a lot in wikipedia, but you could see how cleverly Ng wound it into the world.

The meh: I just didn't like any of the characters really, which on reflection is probably because I don't like missionaries, and there wasn't enough about either Cathy or Laon beyond their mission to make me care about either of them. The pacing was also dreadfully slow in the first half which is probably fine if the Gothic build up works for you, but it didn't for me.

The Twist:

I really didn't enjoy the incest BUT at the end, I can see why Ng went there. It works in the context of the plot and the genre. However just because it's clever and makes sense, doesn't make it enjoyable to read.

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