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kayelina's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Minor: Murder, Confinement, Blood, Medical content, Pregnancy, Violence, and Gaslighting
miak2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Perhaps just like Eloise and the Fox, we have feared the wrong thing, when we should have feared what's right here within our own borders. Within our own walls. The beast is already inside the castle, tearing people apart, yet we stare into the woods waiting for it to appear.
3.5 stars
I liked the premise of this a lot but thought the execution of it was just okay. The book hinged on a few twist reveals which, largely, I saw coming. But I still enjoyed getting the full picture uncovered - all the motives and the explanations. I especially appreciated the multiple narrators for the audiobook, it made listening such an immersive experience, and all the narrators did a great job.
I want to praise Ernshaw for really creating the perfect, mysterious vibe for Pastoral. I could really picture their community and the spaces they occupied. The narrators all had strong voices that conveyed their speculations and emotions well. I also liked how the book wrapped up. The big reveals, while not surprising, all did make sense with the story and were pretty interesting.
You know the 'big book small book' meme? Throughout reading, though, I kept thinking about how many things could have been solved if straight people could just communicate. Theo and Calla. Bee and Levi. Just...talk to each other. Work together! Express your emotions!
Some other things I didn't like. The use of blindness as a plot point. I won't say much more, as I don't want to spoil anything, but what I thought was great disability rep ended up being...not quite that. Travis is shown to have a neat almost supernatural power that doesn't really come into play much at all. And there's some late-book reveals, past the climax of the plot, that seemed both super relevant but also very much an afterthought.
Very excited that I read this for my book club, though, as I think there'll be a lot to dissect!
Graphic: Suicide, Gaslighting, and Murder
Moderate: Pregnancy
amplawrence's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Graphic: Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, and Gun violence
cursed_sapphire's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Gaslighting and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, and Grief
Minor: Gun violence and Suicidal thoughts
hillbilly_heroine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Murder, Pregnancy, and Death
Minor: Confinement, Gaslighting, and Alcoholism
toriwatson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, and Murder
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, and Suicide
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Alcohol, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Infidelity
billyjepma's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The writing is mostly fine, despite some stylistic choices I didn't vibe with (no one should ever use "flesh" as often as this book does). There's a decent sense of environment and tone, too. I just spent most of the book waiting for something to happen, and when nothing did, wishing that it had more momentum so I could get to the end and move on.
Moderate: Sexual content, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Blood, and Gaslighting
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
erinmjustice's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Gaslighting, and Death
Moderate: Pregnancy, Alcoholism, and Suicide
anarchist_al's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Torture