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readingwithmeredith's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Torture, Miscarriage, Death, Child death, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual violence, and Sexual content
scatteringashes's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
I honestly thought I was losing my mind in the climax of this book, entirely unsure what was real. Fantastically crafted.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death of parent
eviemayhem's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This was a book I started unsure if I would like it or not. The premise is interesting: a different world, with different gods (some of which still interact with mortals), where 12 sisters are slowly dying one by one. By the time the book starts, the sisters are somewhat shellshocked and are just accepting that they're going to die one-by-one. Only Annaleigh seems to notice that something is just not right with the deaths.
The world-building is fantastic, and the author really drags you in to the torture the sisters are going through as they await to see who will be the next to die. There are so many twists and turns that at a certain point even the reader is unsure of what is real and what is not.
The world-building is fantastic, and the author really drags you in to the torture the sisters are going through as they await to see who will be the next to die. There are so many twists and turns that at a certain point even the reader is unsure of what is real and what is not.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Self harm, and Suicide
Moderate: Suicide, Gaslighting, and Mental illness
latelygrace's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Gore
braveprincess11's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
It’s a solid horror retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses. There was a lot going on, and a lot to keep track of, but it did its job well enough. It really picked up around the halfway point with the death of Edgar. That was exactly what I needed to get me hooked back into the plot, and from that point forward, it was really well paced.
I was able to guess a couple of the twists as information was revealed (though I never got anything exactly correct), and the romance seemed unnecessary, but overall a fun time.
I was able to guess a couple of the twists as information was revealed (though I never got anything exactly correct), and the romance seemed unnecessary, but overall a fun time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Child death, Pregnancy, Blood, Miscarriage, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Murder and Infidelity
Minor: Death of parent and Vomit
sarahweyand's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
It's been about a month since I've read this so my memory is fading slightly, but I really enjoyed this read! I really liked the atmosphere, felt very reminiscent o f The Wicked Deep. I've never read the original Twelve Dancing Princesses, so I didn't know what parts of this were original to this author and what was adapted, but I thought the plot and twists were very compelling!
Some of the characters felt a little flat and underdeveloped, and I wish there had been some more worldbuilding when it came to explaining the religion and beliefs of the island. I felt a little confused at the end of the book because I felt some tings could have been explained better about the world beforehand.
Overall, I enjoyed this read and I'm excited to read the sequel next month!
Some of the characters felt a little flat and underdeveloped, and I wish there had been some more worldbuilding when it came to explaining the religion and beliefs of the island. I felt a little confused at the end of the book because I felt some tings could have been explained better about the world beforehand.
Overall, I enjoyed this read and I'm excited to read the sequel next month!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Child death
Moderate: Death of parent
chezler24's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This book opens with a funeral and hints at ghosts setting me up for a book similar to gothic horror novels like Haunting of Hill House. I was ready to find myself lost in a new fantasy realm exploring the customs of the people of the Salt veiled with this overarching aspect of doom and gloom. The writing kind of lost me for a bit as it seemed to abandon the gothic horror elements in favor of random fantasy and love triangle plot lines. These aspects later came back around as the source of these elements was revealed but I did have to push through certain chapters to get to the big reveal. Ultimately, I feel like it would fall into the category of fantasy/gothic romance rather than gothic horror. The ending was enjoyable enough; however, the overarching plotlines were a bit weak at points and left me wanting certain aspects to be explored a bit more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Body horror, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Violence, and Death
nevaraven's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
There's nothing quite insane as this book. I thought it was just an ordinary fantasy, fairytale retelling but then things got WILD. It's so crazy and random that it makes sense.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Gore, Body horror, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Sexual content and Rape
This is not a book to read if you suffer from paranoia or derealization. The mc is made to doubt reality and overall being driven to madness is a major theme in the book.mariners_maniac11's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death
citrus_seasalt's review against another edition
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Miscarriage
Moderate: Body horror and Animal death
Minor: Self harm and Suicide