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irisgreen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
lindsspaige's review against another edition
Not plot driven enough and I don’t like any of the characters - I’m not barracking for anyone.
marjeannguyen's review against another edition
1.0
DNF
The cover art is misleading and makes the book seem like it will have dark humor or some kind of levity. There is not (or at least up to the point I read). This book left me feeling suffocated by how depressed and annoying everyone is. Even the setting helps create that heaviness and irritation. You’ll know what I’m talking about if you’ve spent time in the muggy heat of Florida: you just want to escape. The author is great at portraying miserable unlikeable characters and dysfunction- she’s very talented. I didn’t want to read this though.
The cover art is misleading and makes the book seem like it will have dark humor or some kind of levity. There is not (or at least up to the point I read). This book left me feeling suffocated by how depressed and annoying everyone is. Even the setting helps create that heaviness and irritation. You’ll know what I’m talking about if you’ve spent time in the muggy heat of Florida: you just want to escape. The author is great at portraying miserable unlikeable characters and dysfunction- she’s very talented. I didn’t want to read this though.
elatedbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“To need meant to be vulnerable. It was one of the scariest things I could imagine. Needing anything meant you were open to invasion. It meant you had no control of yourself.”
This had a really cracking start & it’s interesting that she has a short story collection because to me the prologue very much reads like a short story. After that though I kinda lost interest a bit which can maybe be attributed to the fact I often get that way with literary books like really interesting set up but then that’s kinda the peak moment & nothing else gets more exciting.
So I would be intrigued to read her short story collection because I think she writes very well it’s just that over the span of a novel her momentum falls a bit & a couple of plot points aren’t executed as well as they could be.
Brynn is so central to the book (with the flashbacks etc) that I kept expecting something more to come of her as it made the book feel quite unresolved at the end. I know the MC & Milo kinda talk about it & she starts moving on in her love life but i feel like it needed more resolution even just in her internal monologue.
Plus Bastien is just a super confusing character ??? Like what is going on with him ?? He made me super confused about the messaging of this book & I feel like he’s another loose end that needed a bit more tying up.
Finally a fun point - Milo reminded me of Kurtan from this country so he was all I was picturing whenever Milo said anything.
“Better to need nothing; nothing never hurt you when it left.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
skittyrreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I liked this a lot, like a whole lot. Jesa is really refreshing as a protagonist, found myself relating to her and her repression a lot. The family is so intricately written and I love how it's juxtaposed with taxidermy. Brynn however is my enemy, the loss she dealt to Jesa and Milo is so uniquely awful and they didn't deserve that at all. Wonderful book imo.
murderousscottishgremlin's review against another edition
funny
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A family portrait dipping between absurdity and realism. Contains some really potent prose/language.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Cancer, Suicide, Death of parent, and Abandonment
swalters34's review against another edition
4.0
This book was so good and so weird. The title should have warned me how deeply it would look into grief, but I was still unprepared. Kristen Stewart would make a killer Jessa-Lynn
ephe16's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75