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immovabletype'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
3.25
this book is perfectly paced and builds tension and fear very well. i admit i'm an easy mark when it comes to haunted houses but fwiw this definitely gave me some real chills. i flew through the last third of the book. unfortunately it fell short of its potential for me. in particular this is a historical, victorian novel steeped in the expectations on women from outside of their control and within themselves - a lot of themes of what it means for a woman to be mad, and it blurs the line a bit. i was into it, and then some reveals happened that seemed to undercut that commentary. by the time it got to its ambiguous ending (ugh) it didn't even have the power to annoy me as much as it usually does because i was already disappointed.
i can't really say much further without spoilering since my gripes hinge on a big twist, but i am going to include them (under spoilers) in my content warnings below.
i can't really say much further without spoilering since my gripes hinge on a big twist, but i am going to include them (under spoilers) in my content warnings below.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Ableism, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Classism, Grief, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Gore, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Alcohol, Animal death, Confinement, Infertility, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual assault, Vomit, Child abuse, and Drug use
expanding on infertility triggers, as well as additional ableism/disfigurement prejudice: there is a disfigured child who is mute due to a birth defect. it's believed she was born without a tongue because her mother used witchcraft to conceive her when she was unable to conceive. big, plot important spoilers:readwithbells's review against another edition
fast-paced
4.0
Quick, creepy with a fabulous gothic ending. Just a truly solid book. Purcell has a fabulous way of setting atmosphere with a remarkable amount of brevity. I would have liked a bit more of an oppressive spook factor (just for my personal taste) but I think she did exactly what she was trying to and it absolutely worked.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Sexual assault
emlo's review
dark
mysterious
sad
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
4.0
This is a solid gothic horror. I thought the three time lines were woven well together and kept me guessing what was going on. The atmosphere was well crafted and very creepy. I thought the book was beautifully written and left a lot to the imagination rather than spelling the plot out. I found it scary in places but overall very sad; there is such a lot of loss in the book and it highlights how women were often accused of being witches or being insane when dealing with genuine trauma. You could interpret the ending in several different ways which I thought was clever.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Animal death
Moderate: Miscarriage and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Sexual assault, Child death, and Child abuse
savitamrk's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism and Sexual assault
arareads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Pregnancy, Abortion, and Violence
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
phoenix_heart's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I was really taken with this book - I had to keep reading and figure out the mystery! Being set in three different times wasn't too tricky to follow because the characters were different enough. The ending left me feeling a bit hopeless, and there's still a bit of mystery to solve... I'm wondering if she'll write a sequel?
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault, Suicide, and Murder
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