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literarymary95's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I really wanted to enjoy this book and it had a lot of potential, but for me it just fell flat. I tried really hard to get into it but I just really couldn't.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Mental illness, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Sexual content, Abandonment, and War
amber_rose_reads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Grief, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
Minor: War
narschlob's review against another edition
I wanted to like this the way I did the wolf and the woodsman but the protagonist is so racist in the first few chapters that I am having a hard time relating to her or her plight.
Her flaws are too forward with too few redeeming qualities to encourage further reading. The world building is flat and feels too direct to even be allegorical. It's just not whimsical. It's not driven.
Her flaws are too forward with too few redeeming qualities to encourage further reading. The world building is flat and feels too direct to even be allegorical. It's just not whimsical. It's not driven.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, and War
And all of those triggers and slapped on you within the first three chapters.talasterism's review
dark
emotional
inspiring
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? Yes
4.75
wowwwwwwwwww what an amazingly written book! first the things i didnt like -- i agree with many that the beginning is a bit slow, i was certainly also rolling my eyes at the meek excuses to dislike P. as an academic rival and barely any of them making sense. and GOD the fact that she can recite not only an entire!! book!! line by line but also other niche poems of everyone??? this feels so absurd.
but man, the themes!!! and how lovely they are interwoven throughout the book, and how grippingly real Effy feels with all her doubts and struggles and illusions (or not?), i had shivers several times. i also reallly enjoyed the short lines from Angaharad sprinkled throughtout, the image of the sea haunting the pages, ("Before the ocean is friend or foe, it simply is. And so are you."), i liked the actual darkness of the academia (even if all of this is giving white femi)
i enjoyed how the same metaphor of the sea slowly eating away can make as much sense for a death and for sexual assault (and how easily a parallel can be drawn between a SA and death on its own), the eyes and the mirrors, the fairy king taking over as the way sexualised violence often progresses in intimate relationships, first it's rare, then becoming the norm until the person you once loved is gone entirely , and the sea!!! the horrible realisation of Ianto going "what i see before me is a drowning foundation and two fatherless children" or the end parallel of effy being talked over by three men about her work!!
it was really scary at time too, at time when you don't know if effy is imagining things, if she will be okay, if those things she is seeing are real or not - and it's hard to tell which one would be wworse
"tears, blood, and seawater -- all of it tasted the same. Salt and salt and salt."
"i refuse mirrors. i refuse them for you, and i refuse them for me, if you want to see what you are, look into the tide pools at dusk. look into the sea."
"you can die as esily of thirst as you can of drowning"
but man, the themes!!! and how lovely they are interwoven throughout the book, and how grippingly real Effy feels with all her doubts and struggles and illusions (or not?), i had shivers several times. i also reallly enjoyed the short lines from Angaharad sprinkled throughtout, the image of the sea haunting the pages, ("Before the ocean is friend or foe, it simply is. And so are you."), i liked the actual darkness of the academia (even if all of this is giving white femi)
i enjoyed how the same metaphor of the sea slowly eating away can make as much sense for a death and for sexual assault (and how easily a parallel can be drawn between a SA and death on its own), the eyes and the mirrors,
it was really scary at time too, at time when you don't know if effy is imagining things, if she will be okay, if those things she is seeing are real or not - and it's hard to tell which one would be wworse
"tears, blood, and seawater -- all of it tasted the same. Salt and salt and salt."
"i refuse mirrors. i refuse them for you, and i refuse them for me, if you want to see what you are, look into the tide pools at dusk. look into the sea."
"you can die as esily of thirst as you can of drowning"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Xenophobia, Stalking, and War
leafilys's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.5
I loved the world-building in this book, the lore is quite unique and left me thinking about it even after I finished the book. It earned the book an extra .5 stars for me.
Effy and Preston are interesting and developed characters, and the romance was well paced with lots of chemistry. This book has lots of detailed descriptions and prose, which can be hit or miss with a lot of people, but I loved it. It was so atmospheric and immersive.
Unfortunately the last quarter of the book let me down a bit. The pacing felt too fast then too slow, and the mysteries were wrapped up a bit clumsily in my opinion.
Effy and Preston are interesting and developed characters, and the romance was well paced with lots of chemistry. This book has lots of detailed descriptions and prose, which can be hit or miss with a lot of people, but I loved it. It was so atmospheric and immersive.
Unfortunately the last quarter of the book let me down a bit. The pacing felt too fast then too slow, and the mysteries were wrapped up a bit clumsily in my opinion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War
snikhtha's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I don't know if it's because this is the first time listening to an audiobook, but boy oh boy, was this just... not my thing.
The atmosphere and setting felt eery and I kind of liked the weird time period. The little starts to the chapter with in-world text excerpts was fun. The mythology also seems pretty fun. Misogyny, the central theme of the novel, had some good portrayals - the parts on power dynamics and age gaps were very interesting and timely.
Unfortunately, the theme was just so overt that it made the central mystery of the novel sooo boring. The theme is misogyny, the central mystery is an author who might not have written his own work... hmmmm, I wonder who it could be! I don't have a problem guessing plot twists, but when you have to slog through an entire book just for the characters to uncover what you've known all along... that's just boring.
The extent of the misogyny was also just kind of annoying to read? A lot of it just felt like very easy "girl power" type messaging and a lot of it was also very blatant, straight up "Women can't read! Women aren't allowed to study literature!" Okay, this is set in some kind of historic time, but if a book published in 2023 is going to make misogyny and women's empowerment it's central theme to the point that it can't go 2 pages without reminding you, I think it should have something more substantial to say to it's readers about the state of women in present time. There's a lot of women reading this book, there's no need to affirm to them that yes, women can read and write. It seems like a cheap way to signal which of the male characters are good and which ones are bad - the bad one's prey on young women and think they can't write because they're women. The good one's don't do that. There's like 1 substantial female character besides Effy though so we don't need to worry about that!
It seems like an issue with trying to do too much - if it had focussed on just one or two aspects, like on Effy's experience at the college and the central mystery, it might've worked better for me. The same could be said for a lot of the book - I don't care for the war. I don't understand why it's there or why it matters and it had way too much screentime. There were like three different plots going on and none of them were all that intriguing. I don't care for the romance or the main characters either.
So I guess this entire rating is because those last few lines managed to grab me by the neck.
The atmosphere and setting felt eery and I kind of liked the weird time period. The little starts to the chapter with in-world text excerpts was fun. The mythology also seems pretty fun. Misogyny, the central theme of the novel, had some good portrayals - the parts on power dynamics and age gaps were very interesting and timely.
Unfortunately, the theme was just so overt that it made the central mystery of the novel sooo boring. The theme is misogyny, the central mystery is an author who might not have written his own work... hmmmm, I wonder who it could be! I don't have a problem guessing plot twists, but when you have to slog through an entire book just for the characters to uncover what you've known all along... that's just boring.
The extent of the misogyny was also just kind of annoying to read? A lot of it just felt like very easy "girl power" type messaging and a lot of it was also very blatant, straight up "Women can't read! Women aren't allowed to study literature!" Okay, this is set in some kind of historic time, but if a book published in 2023 is going to make misogyny and women's empowerment it's central theme to the point that it can't go 2 pages without reminding you, I think it should have something more substantial to say to it's readers about the state of women in present time. There's a lot of women reading this book, there's no need to affirm to them that yes, women can read and write. It seems like a cheap way to signal which of the male characters are good and which ones are bad - the bad one's prey on young women and think they can't write because they're women. The good one's don't do that. There's like 1 substantial female character besides Effy though so we don't need to worry about that!
It seems like an issue with trying to do too much - if it had focussed on just one or two aspects, like on Effy's experience at the college and the central mystery, it might've worked better for me. The same could be said for a lot of the book - I don't care for the war. I don't understand why it's there or why it matters and it had way too much screentime. There were like three different plots going on and none of them were all that intriguing. I don't care for the romance or the main characters either.
So I guess this entire rating is because those last few lines managed to grab me by the neck.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Xenophobia and War
faellibl's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.5
Atmospheric, gothic, and immersive. I loved the folkloric aspects of the story and the intriguing, though underexplored, history between the two nations (thankfully, it’s not a standalone!). While some twists caught me off guard, I predicted quite a few, which was still fun. The extreme sexism Effy faces was infuriating and thought-provoking, reflecting real societal issues. On a lighter note, the romance subplot was tasty—though the sudden <i>scene</i> left me scratching my head. The sea metaphors? Absolutely perfect. A few minor moments felt off to me, but that’s likely just a personal thing. Overall, an intriguing and reflective read. 3.5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: War
justdandy_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this read! I devoured it in one day, completely hooked by the atmosphere. I went into the story knowing almost nothing about it, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much it pulled me in. As someone who’s a sucker for anything Fae, I was instantly intrigued, easy points for that alone.
Effy was a bit standoffish at first. She had an issue with Preston for what seemed like no reason, and honestly, she came off with some mean girl vibes. But as the story progressed, I started to understand her more, and by the end, I was rooting for her (and Preston). One of my favorite quotes was from Preston: “Challenging me isn’t pestering. I’m not always right. Sometimes I deserve to be challenged. And changing your mind isn’t foolish. It just means you’ve learned something new. Everyone changes their mind sometimes, as they should, or else they’re just, I don’t know, stubborn and ignorant. Moving water is healthy; stagnant water is sickly. Tainted.” That really helped me forgive Effy’s early prejudices. She is proven wrong, learns and grows from it, proving that people can change, and I like that development.
That said, while I loved the book, it didn’t quite hit 5 stars for me. There were some plot elements that felt a little off or predictable.
Despite the little hiccups, I had a fantastic time being immersed in this world. The writing is gorgeous, and I loved the atmosphere set up. It’s a story I’ll remember, and I’d still recommend it for anyone looking for a captivating read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, and Medical trauma
Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, and War
mothie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Confinement, Racism, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Car accident, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Colonisation
arialuna's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.0
I found myself enjoying this look into the power of folklore, and how even if some aspects of the story are unbelievable, there is always that underlying current of truth.
Effy, as a character, isn't usually my usual heroine — she's a lot more withdrawn and resigned to begin with. But as the story progresses, it becomes more apparent it is in response to a heavy amount of trauma she's gone through. Only thing I would've liked to see was her fighting back against her mother, because damn that woman deserved to be stood up to and told off.
Despite figuring out the plot twist early due to context clues, I had fun seeing what else could be thrown at me. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I hadn't figured out everything, and I still have more to explore!
Effy, as a character, isn't usually my usual heroine — she's a lot more withdrawn and resigned to begin with. But as the story progresses, it becomes more apparent it is in response to a heavy amount of trauma she's gone through. Only thing I would've liked to see was her fighting back against her mother, because damn that woman deserved to be stood up to and told off.
Despite figuring out the plot twist early due to context clues, I had fun seeing what else could be thrown at me. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I hadn't figured out everything, and I still have more to explore!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse and Car accident