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lunacurlypaws's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A beautiful book about family, love, loss, and hope. What secrets can do to a family and finding healing in spite of broken trust. Feeling lost between worlds and finding a home. Also a great mystery with beautiful magic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual assault, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Misogyny, and Abandonment
dsarbear's review
The Plot and Pacing: Felt very disjointed. There are two main storylines the book goes back and forth between. Just when one would get suspenseful or interesting the book would cut back to the other. The plot races by but also very little seems to actually happen. The magic isn't really explained, but also plays a very inconsistent role in the book. It comes and goes at seemingly random, chaotic intervals.
The Characters: Seemed interesting at first, but are kept at arms length and the plot moves so quickly that you never really get to know them. One strength of the book is that the familial bonds seem very established. They definitely feel like a real family, even if they aren't given enough time in the story to really react to the things that happen to them.
The Sex and Romance: There were also constant small graphically-described sex scenes tossed in that felt awkward and strangely clinical. Reading them reminded me of the discomfort of watching a sex scene with your parents. Even when they were short I was relieved when they were done, and I always felt like a little gross after reading one.
Body Horror: This is pretty minor and probably won't affect many people, but about halfway through the book 3 of the main characters end up with magical "gifts" that manifest physically on their bodies. They are described as basically becoming parts of their bodies and the characters react with pain when those parts are tugged/attached. There are also a couple of scenes where other characters attempting to touch the magical body parts is likened to sexual assault.
If you want to know what the body parts are they are roses which are growing from the characters hand, forehead, and clavicles, respectively. They often describe touching the petals or thorns of them, and reacting in pain when others try to tug on them or touch them.
The Characters: Seemed interesting at first, but are kept at arms length and the plot moves so quickly that you never really get to know them. One strength of the book is that the familial bonds seem very established. They definitely feel like a real family, even if they aren't given enough time in the story to really react to the things that happen to them.
The Sex and Romance: There were also constant small graphically-described sex scenes tossed in that felt awkward and strangely clinical. Reading them reminded me of the discomfort of watching a sex scene with your parents. Even when they were short I was relieved when they were done, and I always felt like a little gross after reading one.
Body Horror: This is pretty minor and probably won't affect many people, but about halfway through the book 3 of the main characters end up with magical "gifts" that manifest physically on their bodies. They are described as basically becoming parts of their bodies and the characters react with pain when those parts are tugged/attached. There are also a couple of scenes where other characters attempting to touch the magical body parts is likened to sexual assault.
If you want to know what the body parts are they are
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Sexual assault
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Body horror
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