Scan barcode
emimli's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
2.0
I wanted to love this, but ultimately it fell flat for me.
My biggest gripe with this book is that the ending seemed very rushed and didn’t fit with the overall atmosphere of the story. It also felt very unearned. I’m not a fan of deus-ex-machina style endings where the central conflict is solved using a completely new, previously unmentioned plot/world/character element, which is unfortunately exactly what happens here.
Additionally, from a technical standpoint, Khaw’s writing style is pretty unbearable. Her prose reads like she just discovered the synonym tool in Microsoft Word. It’s overwrought to the point of being nonsensical at times.
The love story at the centre of this book was my favourite part, but even that needed to be built up much more.The two MCs go from being vaguely horny for each other to expressing their undying love within mere hours. Nevermind that, as far as the reader knows, the MCs barely ever interacted prior to the events of the story, and now they’re too busy fighting for their lives against immortal sadists to have any real meaningful conversations. Am I supposed to believe these people are desperately in love when they barely even know each other? We needed a slower burn.
Overall, there are some cool ideas in here, but the execution was sorely lacking.
My biggest gripe with this book is that the ending seemed very rushed and didn’t fit with the overall atmosphere of the story. It also felt very unearned. I’m not a fan of deus-ex-machina style endings where the central conflict is solved using a completely new, previously unmentioned plot/world/character element, which is unfortunately exactly what happens here.
Additionally, from a technical standpoint, Khaw’s writing style is pretty unbearable. Her prose reads like she just discovered the synonym tool in Microsoft Word. It’s overwrought to the point of being nonsensical at times.
The love story at the centre of this book was my favourite part, but even that needed to be built up much more.
Overall, there are some cool ideas in here, but the execution was sorely lacking.
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Medical content, Child abuse, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Animal death, Confinement, Kidnapping, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Torture
maryellen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
5.0
Graphic: Pregnancy, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Cannibalism, Grief, Torture, Blood, Child death, Gore, and Death
More...