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votesforwomen's review against another edition
2.0
It started out so promising *sobs*
Things this book promised me:
-HORROR. Chilling, genuinely creepy horror that would shiver on my spine and keep me up at night.
-Strong sister relationships
-A salt and ocean aesthetic
-Gothic type settings
-Overall creepy gorgeousness
What it delivered:
-The occasional creep, but mostly just some very gross gore that made me curl my lip. I don't like horror that relies only on gore, people. My imagination will do more than your words can to make me imagine things. Toward the very end, it got a little bit better--but then things just got WEIRD and I was choking.
-The characters just were not interesting *sobs*
-The romance? I mean, Cassius is great, but also...why is he great?HUH????
-The twist at the end with a Certain Character...I MEAN, COME ONNNNN. That made me straight-up angry. I suspected something was off from the beginning, but like. Plz.
-Aesthetic? What aesthetic? It jolted me every time I got a reminder they were by the ocean. At the beginning, on the pier, there was some good stuff. Honestly, the first 100 pages or so gave me so much hope. But then it just spiraled.
-And also...let's talk content. Like the part where a girl Ew? Between that, the gore, the suggestive romance, the not-so-suggestive romance, and the straight-up rape, I couldn't find enough in here to justify the story.
Unnecessary deaths, gore, and sexual content? NAH. Peace, folks. Faith out. 2 stars.
Things this book promised me:
-HORROR. Chilling, genuinely creepy horror that would shiver on my spine and keep me up at night.
-Strong sister relationships
-A salt and ocean aesthetic
-Gothic type settings
-Overall creepy gorgeousness
What it delivered:
-The occasional creep, but mostly just some very gross gore that made me curl my lip. I don't like horror that relies only on gore, people. My imagination will do more than your words can to make me imagine things. Toward the very end, it got a little bit better--but then things just got WEIRD and I was choking.
-The characters just were not interesting *sobs*
-The romance? I mean, Cassius is great, but also...why is he great?HUH????
-The twist at the end with a Certain Character...I MEAN, COME ONNNNN. That made me straight-up angry. I suspected something was off from the beginning, but like. Plz.
-Aesthetic? What aesthetic? It jolted me every time I got a reminder they were by the ocean. At the beginning, on the pier, there was some good stuff. Honestly, the first 100 pages or so gave me so much hope. But then it just spiraled.
-And also...let's talk content. Like the part where a girl
Spoiler
walks in on her dad and stepmom Doing the Things.Unnecessary deaths, gore, and sexual content? NAH. Peace, folks. Faith out. 2 stars.
jlamb44's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition
5.0
I'm still catching my breath. There are tears rolling down my cheeks and my heart is hammering in my chest like it's attempting to break out, or at the very least shatter my ribs. But, before we get to all those feels I have now, a few minutes after closing the book, let's start at the very beginning.
This year has been the year of fairytale retellings. I'm reading a lot of them and when I saw the blurb for this one, I just knew I had to have it. Right now. Especially because the twelve dancing princes is very rarely done. And it takes some time before the story truly picks up speed. The author takes the time to introduce her characters, her world, the castle and the key players in this story. We learn a lot about their lives, about their routines and about their festivities and history.
This helps to connect with the characters, with some more than others, and that eventually helps when the story really reaches its finale. As the pages pass by more and more mystery seeps in and more and more questions arise and then, when answers start coming, the book becomes a rollercoaster that just goes faster and faster and faster.
It's clever, it's spooky, it's haunting and nasty and scary. The more answers we get, the scarier everything becomes (and that means something!) and it's not just the mystery that reaches an epic height, the emotional arc, both for the characters and the readers, reaches that same epic height too. Until you forget to breath. Until your heart hammers in your chest as a deafening drum. Until tears stream down your face.
It's a masterpiece of a book and I love love love it!
This year has been the year of fairytale retellings. I'm reading a lot of them and when I saw the blurb for this one, I just knew I had to have it. Right now. Especially because the twelve dancing princes is very rarely done. And it takes some time before the story truly picks up speed. The author takes the time to introduce her characters, her world, the castle and the key players in this story. We learn a lot about their lives, about their routines and about their festivities and history.
This helps to connect with the characters, with some more than others, and that eventually helps when the story really reaches its finale. As the pages pass by more and more mystery seeps in and more and more questions arise and then, when answers start coming, the book becomes a rollercoaster that just goes faster and faster and faster.
It's clever, it's spooky, it's haunting and nasty and scary. The more answers we get, the scarier everything becomes (and that means something!) and it's not just the mystery that reaches an epic height, the emotional arc, both for the characters and the readers, reaches that same epic height too. Until you forget to breath. Until your heart hammers in your chest as a deafening drum. Until tears stream down your face.
It's a masterpiece of a book and I love love love it!
nojadednt's review against another edition
3.75
Hated the book for the first 70% then it was so good.
The audiobook narrator sucked too. Will definitely read the second one.
I need to know the future of the family.
The audiobook narrator sucked too. Will definitely read the second one.
I need to know the future of the family.
rhianncull's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
swampbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Literally at a loss for words, this book was so much better than I anticipated. Started off my read with low expectations because of some negative reviews, but it ended up being AMAZING. Was it perfect? Nah. More like a 4.5 for me because of some weird aspect of the romance.
The setting was absolutely gorgeous, starting off with an 1800s gothic vibe and then diving into straight up horror. I did not anticipate this being a spooky read but it definitely got gruesome and just plain devastating. Right when you thing everything it going okay, BAM. You get slapped in the face with handful of heartbreak.
There were so many twists and turns and tricks that even I ended up second-guessing my predictions. At some points I wasn’t even sure what to believe, it kept me on my toes and was driving me to read more and more until the mystery was solved. The pacing could feel a bit slow at first, but it did a great job setting the scene and preparing you for the big crash-and-burn mind-bend that that book ends with.
Like I said, the romance was off for me, but honestly what else is new. Don’t care for insta-love so that was automatically bleh, but I also didn’t care for the He started off as a cool character, who went from mysterious to goofy to just.... weird. It was too much and a bit unnecessary. The ending made it ok for me though.
The setting was absolutely gorgeous, starting off with an 1800s gothic vibe and then diving into straight up horror. I did not anticipate this being a spooky read but it definitely got gruesome and just plain devastating. Right when you thing everything it going okay, BAM. You get slapped in the face with handful of heartbreak.
There were so many twists and turns and tricks that even I ended up second-guessing my predictions. At some points I wasn’t even sure what to believe, it kept me on my toes and was driving me to read more and more until the mystery was solved. The pacing could feel a bit slow at first, but it did a great job setting the scene and preparing you for the big crash-and-burn mind-bend that that book ends with.
Like I said, the romance was off for me, but honestly what else is new. Don’t care for insta-love so that was automatically bleh, but I also didn’t care for the
Spoiler
teleporting son-of-a-goddess love interest plot.hayzel_13's review against another edition
4.0
This book started off incredibly beautifully, the world building was amazing, and you could just imagine the ocean, the house, the islands in this book. You could also really feel the emotions coming from the characters incredibly well. The romance was extremely undeveloped though, the first love that Annaleigh has makes sense, as he is a childhood friend, but the second romance that she has is just confusing, they start to love one another as Annaleigh is still talking to the first one, and they just neglect him. Also the mystery element is so underdeveloped as well, the twist is such a full 180 flip, it is utterly confusing and hard to understand what happened with all of the sisters and the deaths of them. Although it was a bit hard to read at times, I thoroughly recommend this book, and I will definitely reread this myself in the future.
chuskeyreads's review against another edition
4.0
If Edgar Allan Poe were to rewrite my favorite fairy tale the "Twelve Dancing Princesses," this book would be the result. A dark, gothic seaside setting with lots of death, mystery, and twisty madness thrown in make for a great story.
Don't get me wrong. This is NOT a sweet fairy tale. In fact, the author takes the premise of 12 sisters, and a little dancing and creates a completely different story.
The book begins with Annaleigh (MC) attending the funeral of her sister, Eulalie - the fourth to die. Now, Annaleigh has only seven sisters left: Camille, the now oldest and most concerned with finding a husband; the triplets, Rosalie, Ligeia, and Lenore; and the Graces: Honor, Mercy & little Verity the youngest of the sisters. Of all the sisters, Annaleigh is the most introspective. She feels more deeply and questions the death of Eulalie, whereas the others believe they're cursed.
There is mystery, intrigue, danger, a love interest, and some supernatural witchy weirdness that make this book so different from others I've read. I was captivated immediately by the creepiness. Keep in mind, there are some scenes that are really gory and shocking (yet another reason I enjoyed it). I figured out part of the ending, but I didn't see the twist coming.
This book could definitely survive as a stand-alone, but not for long. Book #2 is on its way...
Don't get me wrong. This is NOT a sweet fairy tale. In fact, the author takes the premise of 12 sisters, and a little dancing and creates a completely different story.
The book begins with Annaleigh (MC) attending the funeral of her sister, Eulalie - the fourth to die. Now, Annaleigh has only seven sisters left: Camille, the now oldest and most concerned with finding a husband; the triplets, Rosalie, Ligeia, and Lenore; and the Graces: Honor, Mercy & little Verity the youngest of the sisters. Of all the sisters, Annaleigh is the most introspective. She feels more deeply and questions the death of Eulalie, whereas the others believe they're cursed.
There is mystery, intrigue, danger, a love interest, and some supernatural witchy weirdness that make this book so different from others I've read. I was captivated immediately by the creepiness. Keep in mind, there are some scenes that are really gory and shocking (yet another reason I enjoyed it). I figured out part of the ending, but I didn't see the twist coming.
This book could definitely survive as a stand-alone, but not for long. Book #2 is on its way...
rileypaigesbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0