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taural41's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Abandonment, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Sexual content
angeldevoursliterature's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Sexual content
billievee's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I'll get my one quibble out of the way: I could see the big reveal coming a mile away, and it started to get annoying when the main character couldn't put two and two together. That said, this is a very enjoyable read, and oh my gosh... I am in LOVE with Melissa Albert's writing style, especially when we get to the Hinterlands. She paints a vivid picture of a strange, dreamlike world, both awe-inspiring and terrifying at the same time. I only hope I can write half this well someday.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Murder, Blood, and Kidnapping
Minor: Racism
digerbop's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
A beautifully dark faerie tale. If you've ever wanted to fall into a faerie tale, discovering the lore of a new universe, this story is for you. Full of whimsically dark characters. The overarching larger story is about a girl discovering herself, her past, and choosing her future.
Starts out as less exciting than that. Classic new girl at a new school with teenage problems, which is less of a bother to the story as it sounds, because it's not a large focus, but is simply used as a vehicle to add some backstory and dress setting. It could have been executed better in the beginning, as it starts a bit slow and stilted, but eventually the story comes out and everything happens so fast and magical. Looking forward to more stories in this world.
Starts out as less exciting than that. Classic new girl at a new school with teenage problems, which is less of a bother to the story as it sounds, because it's not a large focus, but is simply used as a vehicle to add some backstory and dress setting. It could have been executed better in the beginning, as it starts a bit slow and stilted, but eventually the story comes out and everything happens so fast and magical. Looking forward to more stories in this world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
sunnydale's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
As someone who loves fairy tales and fairy tale scholarship, I felt so seen. Beneath the story, which was compelling on its own, was the author's clear understanding of why we tell fairy tales and why they hold power over us.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Blood, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Cursing, Classism, and Gun violence
The protagonist is kidnapped as a child, but is unharmed and not sexually abused in any way. The kidnapper's identity is later revealed, and he never intended to hurt her.krhea's review
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Kidnapping, and Cursing
Minor: Suicide
yodareads12's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
If you love dark fairytale stories then this is one for you! While the entire story itself is not set in a fairytale, it has that fairytale feeling throughout.
The story follows a girl and her mom who are constant running from their "bad luck." The grandmother wrote a book when the mother was a little girl called Tales From the Hinterlands and it seems as if the book has all but disappeared from the world.
The main girl struggles with fitting in because of the constant journeying so the story is focused mainly on her finding out exactly who she is while also trying to get past the bad luck.
I'd love to say more about the story, but I'm honestly worried I'd ruin some of the surprises! If you love Fantasy and fairytales, then definitely check this book out!
Genre is YA Fantasy and there are quite a few curse words (why I only gave it 4 stars).
The story follows a girl and her mom who are constant running from their "bad luck." The grandmother wrote a book when the mother was a little girl called Tales From the Hinterlands and it seems as if the book has all but disappeared from the world.
The main girl struggles with fitting in because of the constant journeying so the story is focused mainly on her finding out exactly who she is while also trying to get past the bad luck.
I'd love to say more about the story, but I'm honestly worried I'd ruin some of the surprises! If you love Fantasy and fairytales, then definitely check this book out!
Genre is YA Fantasy and there are quite a few curse words (why I only gave it 4 stars).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
sssssoup's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.75
This is one of my favorite books of all time. I read it for the first time a few years ago, and I’m so glad I decided the read it again for spooky season this year.
I’m a huge fan of the dark fairy tale aspect of the story. It’s very well developed and interesting, and I love how the author incorporated a story within a story; it’s not something you see very often.
The characters are what really sell it for me. Alice is a very well rounded and complex protagonist; she may not be the most likable character, but her story is engaging and I love how well developed her backstory is. Her memories from her childhood really help to develop her personality for the audience and a lot of depth to her. Finch is one of my favorite characters from recent YA because he’s entertaining and deep at the same time. Like Alice, his trauma and backstory are very well written and really help show his depth.
The writing style is fantastic as well and it’s beautiful to read. It feels very poetic and deep yet realistic at the same time.
I’m a huge fan of the dark fairy tale aspect of the story. It’s very well developed and interesting, and I love how the author incorporated a story within a story; it’s not something you see very often.
The characters are what really sell it for me. Alice is a very well rounded and complex protagonist; she may not be the most likable character, but her story is engaging and I love how well developed her backstory is. Her memories from her childhood really help to develop her personality for the audience and a lot of depth to her. Finch is one of my favorite characters from recent YA because he’s entertaining and deep at the same time. Like Alice, his trauma and backstory are very well written and really help show his depth.
The writing style is fantastic as well and it’s beautiful to read. It feels very poetic and deep yet realistic at the same time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, and Mental illness
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Violence
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Car accident, Child death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, and Stalking
eve_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.0
Overall Thoughts:
⁕ The mystery built around the “bad luck” that follows Alice was equal parts suspenseful and terrifying for the first half of the book. I was hooked on finding out who/what was the force behind it, but unfortunately the reveal was a bit lackluster for me.
⁕ The secondary characters were one-dimensional. I was also disappointed that the only development in the main character was explained away by magic.
⁕ The ending felt rushed and unearned.
To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online/
For regular book-related content, follow my Instagram account: @eve_reads
⁕ The mystery built around the “bad luck” that follows Alice was equal parts suspenseful and terrifying for the first half of the book. I was hooked on finding out who/what was the force behind it, but unfortunately the reveal was a bit lackluster for me.
⁕ The secondary characters were one-dimensional. I was also disappointed that the only development in the main character was explained away by magic.
⁕ The ending felt rushed and unearned.
To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online/
For regular book-related content, follow my Instagram account: @eve_reads
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Stalking, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Cursing, and Gore
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