You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Scan barcode
hue's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
1.0
The book is overwritten to the point it disturbs the story. Example; Maggie is treated with ill in Wickdon because she is Yu'adir. This is already mentioned in the first chapter, if I'm not mistaken, and since then repeated endlessly over and over again. By page 150 I'm bored of it. Tell me something else about her.
Another example; the narration, whether Maggie's or Wes's, somehow constantly repeats what has been told mere moments ago, just worded differently, though often not. It's exhausting, and it diminishes the earthly feel to these people that they might be real somewhere. They become paper at once, two-dimensional, plain characters. As mentioned before, I'm bored!
The dialogue is, for the lack of a better word, cringe at times. probably falls into the overwritten category but I found myself rolling my eyes or feeling secondhand embarrassment a bit too often for enjoyment. Bantering is fun to read, but constantly? No. They did not talk like two people would actually talk with each other, and definitely not the two people they were. Maggie would've shot him down quicker, if the writing was accurate, and Wes would fluster with her because she was the "sole" girl that did not immediately swoon at his words. Make it make sense.
The chemistry between them—the romance so to say—is not there. Wes just suddenly decided he doesn't find Maggie all that repulsive anymore? And Maggie, though initially despising everything about Wes and what he stood for, finds herself jealous over his charming behaviour towards others. Though it is stated she is jealous of how others see him opposed to her, but it doesn't explain all those instances where she reacts poorly when he's being flirty to another girl/lady that isn't her. It feels a lot like "they fall in love because one is a boy and the other is a girl, and because they've spent five seconds looking at each other". No? That's now how it works? They've just met, Maggie is a rough gal and Wes is a damn flirty squid, he'd probably ask a phone book on a date if it were female! Point being, it just isn't there, the romance.
Out of Wes's four sisters, only one has a personality; Mad. The other three are like caricatures with no soul. It's depressing. Why is there's four of them if only one is truly alive? Every now and then one of them says something different or does something that is slightly personal, but it isn't enough. They're easily forgettable. At least his Mum was well written, and well, Mad.
The sudden change in Maggie's personality (around page 270 maybe?) just ticks me off. She starts sounding like Wes which doesn't make sense at all. Her harshness isn't harsh anymore, and all she seems to think of is Wes, and not the fact that the Hunt holds literally everything of what she loves in a chokehold. For a story about the Hunt, there's very little of the Hunt. It's mostly them getting fluffy with each other, which is kinda meh even for a romance book. The setting was wonderful; why didn't the author take use of it?
So, despite the harshness of my words, I still enjoyed some of it. I loved the grey scenery, I loved Mr Halanan and his big, lovely heart as well as his protectiveness of Maggie. I loved Trouble, and I loved how he and Wes became quick buddies. I loved Maggie for being a strong girl who despite desperately wishing for her Mother's love stood strong by herself, with her hound and her duties, and shot like a queen. I adored her roughness, her quick annoyance, her solitude, and the grief that came with it. I loved the dinner scene at the Winters' house where Maggie was uncomfortably joined. I loved how she survived despite being an outcast. If the writing would've been consistent, I would've loved her to bits.
However, the Author does get a point for writing queer people that exist the way "everyone else" does. They're there but it isn't such a big deal. They aren't stereotypes. They're people. I loved that.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Death of parent
maresuju's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment
Moderate: Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
samflowerv6's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
The was uniquely beautiful and mysterious. If you like A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid, I am certain this will hit in a similar way. I love grumpy sunshine when the boy is sunshine. They are just perfect to me. Creatures with glowing eyes in the dark, alchemy, trauma, lonely seaside manor and prejudice are some main points in the story. An overall beautiful tale of finding the people who love you as you truly are and believe in your future.
“When she looks like this, flushed and hazy and haloed by the moon, he truly can believe God exists, and her name is Margaret Welty.” '
“In the dim porchlight, she looks like something out of a poem he read in school before he dropped out.”
“How many times will she watch someone leave this place and never look back, while she is left here like a ghost to haunt it?”
“Weston, with his foppish hair and calculating smile
“If he can’t grieve his father or his impossible dreams without hurting his family or himself, what other choice does he have but to keep things light? To dazzle people so they can’t look for the cracks? He’s survived this long by letting everyone believe he’s selfish and shallow. It’s better that way. No one knows how to hurt you if you always play the fool.”
“Love is not the sharp-edged thing she's always believed it to be. It's not like the sea, liable to slip through her fingers if she holds on too tight. It's not a currency, something to be earned or denied or bartered for. Love can be steadfast. It can be certain and safe, or as wild as an open flame.”
“But if lust is so perverse, why would God make girls”
“There are punishments far worse than being struck. To be forsaken and unloved - that is the worst fate of all.”
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Blood, and Abandonment
Minor: Death, Sexual content, and Alcohol
purnuhja's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, and Religious bigotry
theangrystackrat'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? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry
_teoeo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Death of parent
recklessric'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? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content and Xenophobia
larosamorada's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Grief
Has excellent PTSD, Dyslexia & ADHD rep.bookishmillennial'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? Yes
Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment
Minor: Child death, Sexual content, and Death of parent
johnstonsami's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism