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steffi_23's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, and Animal death
Minor: Sexual assault
bigkidbookworm's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
4.75
HANDMAID’S TALE meets THE CRUCIBLE in this dark and twisted story of witchy, feminist rage. I couldn’t put it down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Animal death
apersonfromflorida's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Misogyny, and Abandonment
Moderate: Sexual content, Blood, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Gore
Minor: War and Homophobia
camillessi's review
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
2.5
*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher. (Thank you!)*
Firstly, I wanted to express how surprised and disappointed I am that there is no official trigger warning list for this book. I searched the author's website and the publisher's site and did not find any. With the amount of disturbing and potentially triggering content that is in this novel, I think that would warrant at least a warning, especially as this is a book written for teenagers. That said:
CONTENT WARNINGS: Gore, body horror, sexual assault, abuse (domestic abuse, child abuse, religious abuse), animal death, cannibalism, misogyny, minor character death
Claire Legrand's books tend to be hit-or-miss for me, but with how much I loved Sawkill Girls, I was excited for another horror novel from her. This did not, however, live up to my expectations. As always, the prose was generally beautiful and mostly flowed well, and the way the plot fit together was clever. The atmosphere throughout was dark and heavy, well-fitting for a horror novel.
But the downfalls (to me) were too many for me to say I really enjoyed it (and certainly not to the extent that I enjoyed Sawkill Girls). I felt that this book relied too heavily on the violence and the shock value of it in efforts to get its point across. It becomes clear rather early on that the men of Haven are the villains in this story. But the constant gruesome deaths and murders of these men seemed gratuitous and made it feel like I was getting hit over the head repeatedly with the "ALL MEN ARE HORRIBLE" message. I can understand the message fine without men getting mangled until they are unrecognizable every other chapter. It wasn't even just the men's deaths either—everyone who dies in this novel reaches a gruesome end that is described in painstaking detail. This could be attributed to Legrand's excellent imagery in her prose, but I also felt that after a while, it became tedious. I found myself skipping past paragraphs and pages describing torture and mutilation, and really didn't feel like I missed out on anything in my reading experience by doing so.
The catalyst for the protagonist Amity's quest I also found rather confusing. I reread the passage several times trying to figure out why it made sense for her to make the decision she did just based on a vague fable from her town. The quest itself was interesting and brought plenty of tension that eventually I was able to ignore that it didn't make sense. But it certainly pulled me out of the story for a while.
Furthermore, the big reveal near the end felt anticlimactic and reminded me too much of other post-apocalyptic novels.
Overall, this book might be great for people who don't mind the unsettling content and enjoy straightforward messages. The female friendship was strong here, despite it feeling slightly underdeveloped. I also liked how a supporting character was given a (rushed) redemption arc—I think they deserved one.
I think this book was not to my personal tastes, which is fine. I wanted to put it down many times, but felt I needed to finish it in order to write an honest review. I can't really say I enjoyed reading it, but it did hold my attention after about the halfway mark. Additionally, I haven't read YA novels in a few years now, and so found some moments in here cheesier than I might have previously. But those who are used to reading in that category may not be bothered by it at all!
Like I said at the beginning, this author is always a hit-or-miss for me, so even though I didn't enjoy this book, I will still be on the lookout for more releases from her.
Firstly, I wanted to express how surprised and disappointed I am that there is no official trigger warning list for this book. I searched the author's website and the publisher's site and did not find any. With the amount of disturbing and potentially triggering content that is in this novel, I think that would warrant at least a warning, especially as this is a book written for teenagers. That said:
CONTENT WARNINGS: Gore, body horror, sexual assault, abuse (domestic abuse, child abuse, religious abuse), animal death, cannibalism, misogyny, minor character death
Claire Legrand's books tend to be hit-or-miss for me, but with how much I loved Sawkill Girls, I was excited for another horror novel from her. This did not, however, live up to my expectations. As always, the prose was generally beautiful and mostly flowed well, and the way the plot fit together was clever. The atmosphere throughout was dark and heavy, well-fitting for a horror novel.
But the downfalls (to me) were too many for me to say I really enjoyed it (and certainly not to the extent that I enjoyed Sawkill Girls). I felt that this book relied too heavily on the violence and the shock value of it in efforts to get its point across. It becomes clear rather early on that the men of Haven are the villains in this story. But the constant gruesome deaths and murders of these men seemed gratuitous and made it feel like I was getting hit over the head repeatedly with the "ALL MEN ARE HORRIBLE" message. I can understand the message fine without men getting mangled until they are unrecognizable every other chapter. It wasn't even just the men's deaths either—everyone who dies in this novel reaches a gruesome end that is described in painstaking detail. This could be attributed to Legrand's excellent imagery in her prose, but I also felt that after a while, it became tedious. I found myself skipping past paragraphs and pages describing torture and mutilation, and really didn't feel like I missed out on anything in my reading experience by doing so.
The catalyst for the protagonist Amity's quest I also found rather confusing. I reread the passage several times trying to figure out why it made sense for her to make the decision she did just based on a vague fable from her town. The quest itself was interesting and brought plenty of tension that eventually I was able to ignore that it didn't make sense. But it certainly pulled me out of the story for a while.
Furthermore, the big reveal near the end felt anticlimactic and reminded me too much of other post-apocalyptic novels.
Overall, this book might be great for people who don't mind the unsettling content and enjoy straightforward messages. The female friendship was strong here, despite it feeling slightly underdeveloped. I also liked how a supporting character was given a (rushed) redemption arc—I think they deserved one.
I think this book was not to my personal tastes, which is fine. I wanted to put it down many times, but felt I needed to finish it in order to write an honest review. I can't really say I enjoyed reading it, but it did hold my attention after about the halfway mark. Additionally, I haven't read YA novels in a few years now, and so found some moments in here cheesier than I might have previously. But those who are used to reading in that category may not be bothered by it at all!
Like I said at the beginning, this author is always a hit-or-miss for me, so even though I didn't enjoy this book, I will still be on the lookout for more releases from her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Cannibalism, Body horror, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Animal death, Death, Gore, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault
dernhelms_bag's review
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
GUTTING-I can't wait for the finished version but loved the ARC! Zero regrets about placing a pre order every time Legrand announces a new book coming out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Body horror, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Cannibalism, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Torture, Violence, and War
Minor: Animal death, Vomit, Sexual assault, Self harm, and Racism
RELIGIOUS TRAUMAleahjanespeare's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Saint Amity has been taught little about the war that destroyed the world but spared her small village of Haven. Good thing the witches arrive to dissolve her of those illusions and join her in a quest to appeal to the Devil. As the story closely examines indoctrination, belief-systems, and violence, there will be no settling answers within these pages, only a genre-defying dish of Palahniuk-esque disturbing content with a side of chilled blood. Mind. Blown.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Torture, Religious bigotry, Blood, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Sexual assault, Animal death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, and Physical abuse
Minor: Cannibalism and Infidelity
sarahneil's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
4.5/5 stars. To be released February 2022. Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read this book.
My first thoughts while reading this was 'this book is wild'. And it kept getting wilder. It is dark, it is cruel, and it is violent. It was an intoxicating read that I could not put down. An extremely religious society juxtaposed with a coven of witches give you exactly what you expect. This is not like the other books about witches you have read. They are vicious and violent. But so are the people who live in Haven, the last remaining settlement of people after a world-ending war.
There's a lot in this book that will bother people. Physical abuse, mental abuse, gore, and some slight animal cruelty (no live animals are directly hurt, but it may still bother some). I was completely enraptured by the first three parts of the book and then utterly disappointed by the start of the fourth. The end of the book helped recover some of my disappointment, but, without spoiling anything, I felt it was a major let down. Regardless, this was still one of the better books I have read this year.
My first thoughts while reading this was 'this book is wild'. And it kept getting wilder. It is dark, it is cruel, and it is violent. It was an intoxicating read that I could not put down. An extremely religious society juxtaposed with a coven of witches give you exactly what you expect. This is not like the other books about witches you have read. They are vicious and violent. But so are the people who live in Haven, the last remaining settlement of people after a world-ending war.
There's a lot in this book that will bother people. Physical abuse, mental abuse, gore, and some slight animal cruelty (no live animals are directly hurt, but it may still bother some). I was completely enraptured by the first three parts of the book and then utterly disappointed by the start of the fourth. The end of the book helped recover some of my disappointment, but, without spoiling anything, I felt it was a major let down. Regardless, this was still one of the better books I have read this year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Gore
Minor: Animal death
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