Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough

4.23 AVERAGE

julshakespeare's profile picture

julshakespeare's review

4.0
4.4/5 stars, full review to come! This novel in verse about Artemisia Gentileschi really just hit the spot for me. To be fair, I don't often read novels in verse because poetry (especially modern poetry) is NOT My Thing. Other than a few formatting choices, I don't really think the poetry served this story any better than prose would have- there were occasional prose chapters that tonally were the same to me, and I think the whole book could have just been a novella if she had wanted it to be. There were a few times that the themes were REALLY heavy handed for me as an older reader (yes, the patriarchy is bad, I got it) but at other times they were displayed so eloquently that it made up for it. tw: rape, sexual assault, murder, grief, death of an infant, death of a parent, torture... a lot of dark stuff in this one and it's pretty unavoidable.

Plot: 4/5 stars
Characters: 5/5 stars
Pacing: 4/5 stars
Writing: 4/5 stars
Enjoyment: 5/5 stars

lmtobias522's review against another edition

4.0
dark emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

morganza's review against another edition

3.75
dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced
flanflanshazam's profile picture

flanflanshazam's review

5.0
This book was stunning in every way. It was so beautiful I don't even have words for it.

r_happe's review against another edition

4.0
Wow, such a stunning and heartbreaking book. I tend to steer clear of books told in verse but this is such a powerful story I just couldn't pass it up.
jwkingsley's profile picture

jwkingsley's review

3.5
challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix

jennyjanuary's review

5.0
A stunning, lyrical book that I absolutely devoured.

jfranco020's review against another edition

4.0
Powerful with a unique format. It left me wanting to research more about her and the stories presented.

emmaashley's review

4.5
challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

simoneyreads's review

5.0
Absolutely beautiful. I’m so in love with every word of this story. It’s a masterpiece of the art of language. Powerful and pure. Rich and resplendent.