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gracescanlon'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
Graphic: Violence, Sexual harassment, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Domestic abuse, Death, Bullying, Alcohol, Child abuse, Abandonment, Infidelity, Grief, Physical abuse, Body horror, and Sexual content
Minor: Incest and Violence
karapillar's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Violence, Abandonment, Grief, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Death
Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Murder
Minor: Incest, Gun violence, Drug use, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Alcohol, and Vomit
volanscore's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Abandonment and Animal death
Minor: Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Child death, and Child abuse
liv_easton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
Onto the good things!
For a book about magic, illusions, and belief, Chokshi has perfect writing. Her characters are successful storytellers because she works so deftly, and she really does make an enchanting world throughout the novel. I also wouldn't just call this purple prose, because I think she maneuvers the reader through the story so well—to choose the ending she did and have me satisfied with our main characters is no easy feat, but it really did have the fairy tale *and all ends as it was meant to* feeling about it. I think she could've gone for a more horror-focused character arc if she wanted, but if there's one thing to take away from this it's that Chokshi loves fairy tales, and I think she told the tale she wanted to beautifully. In conclusion: I recommend if you're in the mood for a dreamy, mildly horrific, over-written story.
Graphic: Toxic friendship and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault, Abandonment, Death, and Pedophilia
Minor: Child abuse, Self harm, and Child death
sunnydale's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
i enjoyed the fairy tale references, the haunted house, the theme of self-deception through personal narrative, and the girls' desperation to believe in magic. i still found the bridegroom's chapters uninteresting except as a framing device for azure's narrative, and i didn't enjoy the feeling of dread built around jupiter's predatory behavior. i ultimately found this to be a really satisfying story, but i'd be hesitant to recommend to readers i don't know well.
Graphic: Sexual content, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Toxic friendship, Incest, and Animal death
Moderate: Medical content, Child death, Chronic illness, and Child abuse
Minor: Blood, Alcohol, Body shaming, and Eating disorder
Pedophilia/incest/sexual harassment details:meganpbell'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Blood, Toxic relationship, Child death, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Bullying, Death, Child abuse, Alcohol, Body horror, and Abandonment
Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Eating disorder
tired_cicada's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Gothic horror at its finest, with twists and turns that had me at the edge of my seat!
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Murder, Confinement, Abandonment, and Body horror
Moderate: Death, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Pedophilia, Death of parent, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt
moonchild_cos's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Animal death
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Child death, Pedophilia, and Terminal illness
Minor: Death of parent, Medical content, and Sexual content
dropshift5568's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Stalking, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Confinement, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Death, and Abandonment
prairieraven's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body horror, Sexual content, Bullying, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Pedophilia, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, and Rape