Scan barcode
amris's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Sexual assault, Gore, Violence, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Sexual content, Torture, Body horror, Death of parent, Grief, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence
Minor: War
aseel_reads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
2.5
Kind of odd to mix a super patriarchal society/witches with a dystopian type of world. Not really sure how I feel about that. I liked the witchy and queer elements of it but the overall plot wasn't as smooth as It could have been.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Lesbophobia, Blood, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual harassment, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Torture, Sexual content, Violence, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, and Religious bigotry
sav_22's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I very much enjoyed this book. I would describe it as Fear Street 1666 meets handmaid’s tale meets Ethel Cain’s Preachers Daughter. This is very much a deep dive into processing systemically rooted oppression of women, and explores the craving for justice to the extreme. I think if you like June (Handmaids tale) as a protagonist, you’d enjoy many of these characters. My main gripe is the underland plot twist. Unless there is a sequel she meant to set up to justify that plot point and further explore, then imo it just as easily could have been removed and replaced with them finding out that the devil is just a symbol of people that assert misery and domination over others or something. the pacing was also a weakness but overall it’s an interesting concept and a compelling read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Sexism, Child abuse, Grief, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death of parent, War, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Death, Child death, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Confinement, Abandonment, and Adult/minor relationship
jokehelldo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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? Yes
2.75
Ending fucked everything up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Sexual violence, Murder, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Body horror, and Torture
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent
Minor: Lesbophobia and Homophobia
annamorgan27's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, Physical abuse, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Torture
storykeeper_saga's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Child death, Child abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Gun violence, Misogyny, Body horror, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Blood
ghostlyprince's review
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Animal death, Cannibalism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Torture, Body horror, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Confinement, and Self harm
Minor: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
Honestly there is so much heavy stuff in this book it'd be impossible to list it all, this book is not for the feint of heart and if any of the tw's contain a trigger of yours I'd advise to steer clear from the book, it's a good book but it's extremely heavy and disturbingsarah984's review
dark
mysterious
slow-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
1.0
I was so excited to read this because I loved Sawkill Girls but this book did not work for me.
First of all I think it's kind of cowardly to set this book in the context it winds up being set in and not explicitly make the cult religion Christianity. The society isn't described particularly well; the book is so long and drags on but so many things are glossed over so there's not much of an idea what their everyday life is like. I kind of wish that Amity had had a few "normal" visitations and other duties as a saint before it all hit the fan.
The characters are all cardboard cutouts (the only one I found mildly interesting was thesecond POV character and she's only in a couple of chapters near the end), the witches feel pointless (their entire role could easily have been fulfilled by other characters who were already present) and the romance is very silly.
The magic system isn't well set up and basically just works however the plot needs it to. The plot itself just does whatever to get to the next point - I never understood why Amity was so set on meeting the devil in the first place.
Also it's annoying going into a book that says it's about revenge and righteous anger and then having the message be that we need to be nice to bigots because maybe they don't know that racism and misogyny are bad. I almost wish racism hadn't come up at all because it's handled so clumsily- there are like 3 (marginally) important Black characters because the founders of Amity's cult were white supremacists, but of those characters 1 dies and 1 is a villain, and since Amity only even found out Black people existed like last week the cult's racism isn't super plot relevant. Two different revolutions happen basically off page so the author doesn't have to try and explain how they did that without hurting anyone's feelings.
Also the sequel hook was stupid.
First of all I think it's kind of cowardly to set this book in the context it winds up being set in and not explicitly make the cult religion Christianity. The society isn't described particularly well; the book is so long and drags on but so many things are glossed over so there's not much of an idea what their everyday life is like. I kind of wish that Amity had had a few "normal" visitations and other duties as a saint before it all hit the fan.
The characters are all cardboard cutouts (the only one I found mildly interesting was the
The magic system isn't well set up and basically just works however the plot needs it to. The plot itself just does whatever to get to the next point - I never understood why Amity was so set on meeting the devil in the first place.
Also it's annoying going into a book that says it's about revenge and righteous anger and then having the message be that we need to be nice to bigots because maybe they don't know that racism and misogyny are bad. I almost wish racism hadn't come up at all because it's handled so clumsily
Also the sequel hook was stupid.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, and Child death
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Bullying, Cannibalism, Confinement, Grief, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Racism, and Self harm
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Vomit, and War
archaicrobin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.0
I was a little weary after hearing this was YA because every YA I read usually ends up being some cliche love triangle filled with tropes, so I was happily surprised when Extasia was so visceral and original.
Set in a misogynistic utopia of the future called Haven, Amity is a devout follower of God, even allowing herself to be beaten weakly to atone for her womanly sins. However, once she stumbles upon a coven in the woods and her own powers, Amity starts to realize that everything she once believed is a lie.
Extasia does not shy away from the horror in Haven, and at times I had to remind myself that yes even though I just read about someone’s bones being snapped in half this is a YA book! It was genuinely eerie and disturbing, and the characters were not only lovable but diverse! So much representation in this book, and it’s done so well.
I highly recommend this one! Only reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars, is because towards the end the story tends to drag on and I feel like it could have ended much
Set in a misogynistic utopia of the future called Haven, Amity is a devout follower of God, even allowing herself to be beaten weakly to atone for her womanly sins. However, once she stumbles upon a coven in the woods and her own powers, Amity starts to realize that everything she once believed is a lie.
Extasia does not shy away from the horror in Haven, and at times I had to remind myself that yes even though I just read about someone’s bones being snapped in half this is a YA book! It was genuinely eerie and disturbing, and the characters were not only lovable but diverse! So much representation in this book, and it’s done so well.
I highly recommend this one! Only reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars, is because towards the end the story tends to drag on and I feel like it could have ended much
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Sexism, Death, Domestic abuse, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Body horror, Sexual violence, Violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse
kingrosereads's review against another edition
challenging
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? It's complicated
4.25
CHECK YOUR TRIGGER WARNINGS
The big ones: misogyny and religious trauma
This is a YA horror sci-fi fantasy that’s witchy and sapphic, and extremely traumatizing and it’s got ghosts!
TLDR: Bunch of white guys are murdered in this very Salem circa 1600s village where women are treated like trash and a young girl finds out she’s a witch. She thinks she can fight the Devil but eventually she wants to join him, because men have taken the sins of the world out on women for far too long. Give it a read. It’s got some Handmaid’s Tale and The Giver vibes to it.
Extasia follows 16-year-old Amity (we don’t know her given name from birth) who lives in a walled community, Haven, in a time period after a Great War caused by devious women has destroyed the world centuries before. Haven is God’s chosen people. Amity has completed a serious of traumatizing and torturous trials to become a saint of Haven. There are 4 saints and they’re all teenaged girls who haven’t started their menstrual cycles yet (because now women have them much later due to poison in the air from the war). Her father is an Elder and her mother was killed for adultery when she was 11.
When she is anointed, she is given the name Amity. Alongside saints Mercy, Silence, and Temperance, the girls take on the sins of the women of the past and the sins of their fellow citizens in the form of beatings (people literally line up and beat the crap out of these girls to get “out their sins”) so that they will not hit each other or their spouses (though plenty of men beat their wives and children in this town). Amity’s adornment is supposed to stop the disturbing and mysterious murders of the town’s men (I think it’s 10 have been murdered at this point).
Everything is going as expected until a boy is killed on the day she’s anointed. Hours before, Amity catches Temperance and Mercy in the woods, kissing and speaking of dark things and a woman named Malice. As the killings continue, Amity decides she must collect relics to summon the Devil and either sell her soul to save Haven or defeat the Devil to do it. Later, Amity demands Temperance and Mercy take her to meet Malice. They take her to a magical forest called Avazel where Amity learns of witches and a power called extasia. Temperance and Mercy introduce Amity to their coven leader, Malice, who says that extasia has been calling for Amity and she promises to help her learn to wield the power. Amity also learns that Haven is not the only human settlement. The other witches are from other towns and cities.
Spoilers ahead at this point on. I’d say read it if you love a good feminine rage book.
It isn’t long before Amity discovers that the coven is responsible for the murders as they’re ritualistic killings to summon the Devil. They kill men who have harmed them. Amity bargains with the coven, asking to give her time to look for the relics so she can summon the Devil without anymore men dying. She’s given a week to complete her mission or they will continue the killings. At this point, Temperance has been burned by the people of Haven, and she’s enlisted her sister, Blessing, and Silence into the coven. The four change their names, Amity becomes Rage, Mercy becomes Vengeance, Blessing becomes Hunger, and Silence becomes Sorrow.
Rage has also enlisted the help of her best friend and betrothed, Samuel, to help in her quest to defeat the Devil. He also has to come to terms with how wrong things are in Haven. Women are subservient and taught to be meek, and they’re not taught to read or wield a weapon. They’re meant to only be wives and mothers. Rage’s father imprisons her after another Elder is killed and the townspeople blame her yet again for the evil in their town. Vengeance and Sorrow eventually rescue her, and just in time, as her father has Hunger tied to an altar, naked, and ready to sacrifice her in front of the other Elders (some are looking too happy). The girls save Hunger with Samuel’s help and they escape to Avazel.
When Rage’s time is up and the coven’s ritual is complete, the Devil still hasn’t come. Malice asks Rage to use her relics which leads them to the dark mountain where Haven believes is the home of the Devil. Only Rage, Vengeance , Sorrow, and Hunger are given passage into the mountain. The rest of the coven and Samuel hang back to fight the Haven men coming to kill the women. The girls learn there’s no Devil under the mountain, there’s a whole city of people. A girl Rage’s age, Jaime, tells her that 150 years ago, when the war destroyed much of the earth, their ancestors built this place. But Rage’s ancestors didn’t want to live under the mountain, so they broke off to “live out their lily-white, neo-Puritan, misogynistic fantasies” (p. 406), and her father was the only one left who knew the truth. The people under the mountain, other than those in charge, are unaware there are people living on the surface. Jaime’s mother, a governor, attempts to kill the girls to keep this secret but they escape.
Rage confronts her father, and kills him when he attempts to kill her and Hunger. She tells the Elders and the townspeople the truth and that things will be different. They work to heal and rebuild. Rage learns that extasia comes from the pain and deaths of the women before her, especially the women killed in Haven. Jaime and her friends are also able to seize control of their city.
The magic system/origins was a little weak, but I appreciated the symbolism. The irony of calling Haven “haven” and Azavel being created to actually be a safe haven for women through the deaths of women. It is a super white book, which is explained in one sentence towards the end (the ancestors of Haven were racist as well as misogynistic). Every other chapter was just trauma. Child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault of a minor, and just watching the women cast their gazes downwards, take their beatings, and Rage struggling to read was all really painful. Not to mention, it’s pretty gruesome and gory.
The fact that Hunger was 14 and Adam was 18 was driving me up the wall. And I know everything in this is supposed to be upsetting and 14 year olds are naïve and sexually curious, but I could’ve just gone without the pedophilia considering everything else going on the book. But I get the need for a righteous kill without feeling bad the guy was a child so we barely made him into an adult. Trust, there’s plenty of evil hearted 15 year olds in the world, I’d have been fine if they killed a minor aged Adam.
In my opinion, Rage seems to switch to the witches’ side a little quickly, not in their vendetta and mission to kill 16 men from Haven, but accepting she’s a witch and she will be this dark being forever. Also, her relationship with Sorrow kind of came out of nowhere. I mean there were subtle moments when she wanted to touch Sorrow’s cheek or her hair, but other than that they didn’t really talk or have more obvious signs of attraction towards her. It felt forced, no chemistry, and like there was no build up considering Rage hadn’t felt desire before or given into desire like Hunger had before. And what was wrong with her being bisexual and just not loving Samuel anymore after all that had happened?
I did very much like this book. It’s really dark for a YA but so is The Hunger Games, The Giver, and Night. In a lot of ways it’s a cautionary tale for where we’re heading if we keep up our crap, which is like “great, don’t remind me” and no one who needs to actually learn this will pick up with book. I’ll say it was very much giving The Village vibes right from the start for me, and I was expecting a reveal of other people with technology, and despite this expectation, it’s very difficult to reveal this in a way that doesn’t have you rolling your eyes. I think the reveal was fine but it still felt cringe. I like the righteous rage and the line between vengeance and becoming a monster yourself. When people are oppressed and backed up in such a tight corner, they lash out in whatever way they can and that can be difficult to reel it in.
Just overall a good book that was entertaining and interesting. I liked that the monster wasn’t like in The Village where it was to further suppress and control the townspeople but rather killing men that had harmed women.
The big ones: misogyny and religious trauma
This is a YA horror sci-fi fantasy that’s witchy and sapphic, and extremely traumatizing and it’s got ghosts!
TLDR: Bunch of white guys are murdered in this very Salem circa 1600s village where women are treated like trash and a young girl finds out she’s a witch. She thinks she can fight the Devil but eventually she wants to join him, because men have taken the sins of the world out on women for far too long. Give it a read. It’s got some Handmaid’s Tale and The Giver vibes to it.
Extasia follows 16-year-old Amity (we don’t know her given name from birth) who lives in a walled community, Haven, in a time period after a Great War caused by devious women has destroyed the world centuries before. Haven is God’s chosen people. Amity has completed a serious of traumatizing and torturous trials to become a saint of Haven. There are 4 saints and they’re all teenaged girls who haven’t started their menstrual cycles yet (because now women have them much later due to poison in the air from the war). Her father is an Elder and her mother was killed for adultery when she was 11.
When she is anointed, she is given the name Amity. Alongside saints Mercy, Silence, and Temperance, the girls take on the sins of the women of the past and the sins of their fellow citizens in the form of beatings (people literally line up and beat the crap out of these girls to get “out their sins”) so that they will not hit each other or their spouses (though plenty of men beat their wives and children in this town). Amity’s adornment is supposed to stop the disturbing and mysterious murders of the town’s men (I think it’s 10 have been murdered at this point).
Everything is going as expected until a boy is killed on the day she’s anointed. Hours before, Amity catches Temperance and Mercy in the woods, kissing and speaking of dark things and a woman named Malice. As the killings continue, Amity decides she must collect relics to summon the Devil and either sell her soul to save Haven or defeat the Devil to do it. Later, Amity demands Temperance and Mercy take her to meet Malice. They take her to a magical forest called Avazel where Amity learns of witches and a power called extasia. Temperance and Mercy introduce Amity to their coven leader, Malice, who says that extasia has been calling for Amity and she promises to help her learn to wield the power. Amity also learns that Haven is not the only human settlement. The other witches are from other towns and cities.
Spoilers ahead at this point on. I’d say read it if you love a good feminine rage book.
It isn’t long before Amity discovers that the coven is responsible for the murders as they’re ritualistic killings to summon the Devil. They kill men who have harmed them. Amity bargains with the coven, asking to give her time to look for the relics so she can summon the Devil without anymore men dying. She’s given a week to complete her mission or they will continue the killings. At this point, Temperance has been burned by the people of Haven, and she’s enlisted her sister, Blessing, and Silence into the coven. The four change their names, Amity becomes Rage, Mercy becomes Vengeance, Blessing becomes Hunger, and Silence becomes Sorrow.
Rage has also enlisted the help of her best friend and betrothed, Samuel, to help in her quest to defeat the Devil. He also has to come to terms with how wrong things are in Haven. Women are subservient and taught to be meek, and they’re not taught to read or wield a weapon. They’re meant to only be wives and mothers. Rage’s father imprisons her after another Elder is killed and the townspeople blame her yet again for the evil in their town. Vengeance and Sorrow eventually rescue her, and just in time, as her father has Hunger tied to an altar, naked, and ready to sacrifice her in front of the other Elders (some are looking too happy). The girls save Hunger with Samuel’s help and they escape to Avazel.
When Rage’s time is up and the coven’s ritual is complete, the Devil still hasn’t come. Malice asks Rage to use her relics which leads them to the dark mountain where Haven believes is the home of the Devil. Only Rage, Vengeance , Sorrow, and Hunger are given passage into the mountain. The rest of the coven and Samuel hang back to fight the Haven men coming to kill the women. The girls learn there’s no Devil under the mountain, there’s a whole city of people. A girl Rage’s age, Jaime, tells her that 150 years ago, when the war destroyed much of the earth, their ancestors built this place. But Rage’s ancestors didn’t want to live under the mountain, so they broke off to “live out their lily-white, neo-Puritan, misogynistic fantasies” (p. 406), and her father was the only one left who knew the truth. The people under the mountain, other than those in charge, are unaware there are people living on the surface. Jaime’s mother, a governor, attempts to kill the girls to keep this secret but they escape.
Rage confronts her father, and kills him when he attempts to kill her and Hunger. She tells the Elders and the townspeople the truth and that things will be different. They work to heal and rebuild. Rage learns that extasia comes from the pain and deaths of the women before her, especially the women killed in Haven. Jaime and her friends are also able to seize control of their city.
The magic system/origins was a little weak, but I appreciated the symbolism. The irony of calling Haven “haven” and Azavel being created to actually be a safe haven for women through the deaths of women. It is a super white book, which is explained in one sentence towards the end (the ancestors of Haven were racist as well as misogynistic). Every other chapter was just trauma. Child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault of a minor, and just watching the women cast their gazes downwards, take their beatings, and Rage struggling to read was all really painful. Not to mention, it’s pretty gruesome and gory.
The fact that Hunger was 14 and Adam was 18 was driving me up the wall. And I know everything in this is supposed to be upsetting and 14 year olds are naïve and sexually curious, but I could’ve just gone without the pedophilia considering everything else going on the book. But I get the need for a righteous kill without feeling bad the guy was a child so we barely made him into an adult. Trust, there’s plenty of evil hearted 15 year olds in the world, I’d have been fine if they killed a minor aged Adam.
In my opinion, Rage seems to switch to the witches’ side a little quickly, not in their vendetta and mission to kill 16 men from Haven, but accepting she’s a witch and she will be this dark being forever. Also, her relationship with Sorrow kind of came out of nowhere. I mean there were subtle moments when she wanted to touch Sorrow’s cheek or her hair, but other than that they didn’t really talk or have more obvious signs of attraction towards her. It felt forced, no chemistry, and like there was no build up considering Rage hadn’t felt desire before or given into desire like Hunger had before. And what was wrong with her being bisexual and just not loving Samuel anymore after all that had happened?
I did very much like this book. It’s really dark for a YA but so is The Hunger Games, The Giver, and Night. In a lot of ways it’s a cautionary tale for where we’re heading if we keep up our crap, which is like “great, don’t remind me” and no one who needs to actually learn this will pick up with book. I’ll say it was very much giving The Village vibes right from the start for me, and I was expecting a reveal of other people with technology, and despite this expectation, it’s very difficult to reveal this in a way that doesn’t have you rolling your eyes. I think the reveal was fine but it still felt cringe. I like the righteous rage and the line between vengeance and becoming a monster yourself. When people are oppressed and backed up in such a tight corner, they lash out in whatever way they can and that can be difficult to reel it in.
Just overall a good book that was entertaining and interesting. I liked that the monster wasn’t like in The Village where it was to further suppress and control the townspeople but rather killing men that had harmed women.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Gore, Religious bigotry, Torture, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting
Minor: Mental illness, Suicide, and Racism