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crystalisreading's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Blood, Violence, War, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Grief, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Medical trauma, and Medical content
Minor: Bullying, Animal cruelty, and Suicide
charloforce's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Medical content, Mental illness, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Abandonment, Death, Violence, Bullying, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Murder and Torture
Minor: War
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I like the banter between Artemisia and the revenant. This is one place where the audiobook narrator's performance really shines, as it enhanced an already excellent story by making the revenant's voice pitch perfect for its characterization. Their conversations sometimes feel like banter while staying generally appropriate to the seriousness of each new situation. I was worried that Trouble (the bird) would be a gimmicky animal sidekick, but his appearances are brief and important. He has enough of a presence to keep his few contributions from coming out of nowhere, and his relatively few appearances keep the narrative from feeling like a comedic trio of possessed, possessor, and animal friend.
The worldbuilding is filled in gradually, starting with Artemisia’s incomplete understanding of the history of her home and the forces at play, then gradually filling in as she learns from the revenant and tries to stay alive.
The way this handles trauma, mental illness, and disability in the narrative is pretty great. It's a world where magic is real and very present, but while magic completely dispels some ailments it's not treated as a cure-all. Artemisia has burn scars on her hands which affect her daily existence. The way her hands healed affects her motor skills and ability to sense things like temperature. She still has panic attacks and various levels of mental distress when triggering events occur. There's a minor character who is deeply traumatized by an unrelated experience with possession, and even the revenant has a phobia borne of trauma. It's a world filled with undead, death, and violence, and the way that all the characters are either explicitly or implicitly traumatized accordingly helps it feel cohesive in a way I hadn't expected but very much appreciate.
The plot builds slowly, focusing more on Artemisia's efforts not to get caught once she has the revenant, then gradually she ends up in a position to do more with the information which became available to her. It has great "accidental hero (saint)" vibes with a plot that backs that up.
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Death, Violence, Self harm, and Vomit
Moderate: Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Ableism, Excrement, Kidnapping, and Slavery
Minor: Child abuse and Suicide
headinthepages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Medical content, Murder, Torture, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Confinement, Death, Medical trauma, Self harm, Mental illness, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Vomit
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Blood, Child abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Torture, Religious bigotry, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: War, Self harm, Ableism, and Vomit
Minor: Bullying and Suicide
siannas_second_library's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Violence, and Self harm
Moderate: Blood, War, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit and Eating disorder
yvonne_cl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Violence
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Abandonment, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Grief
foreverinastory's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Rep: White aroace (author confirmed) female MC with scarred hands, anxiety and possibly neurodivergent, BIPOC male side character.
CWs: Abandonment, body horror (possession by spirits), past mentions of child abuse, confinement, death, fire and fire injury, injury/injury detail, mental illness (anxiety), murder, panic attacks, violence.
Graphic: Abandonment, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence