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songwind'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
4.5
Set in a faux-Victorian secondary world, this book has a lot going on for such a face paced story. The POV character, Delly Wells, starts the story just scrambling to stay housed, and completely hopeless. Her life has become a mosaic of drunkenness, scams, and one night stands trying to keep her head above water and make life halfway tolerable while she does so.
One run in with the police and a bit of quick thinking later, and Delly's managed to con herself into a bodyguard job on the strength of her skills as a fire witch. Things quickly escalate and complicate from there. There is a murder plot, bounty hunting, a love con, undead mice, and more. By the end of book, a great many things (and people!) have changed, and more than a few did not go the way Delly Wells thought they would.
Highly recommended.
Graphic: Drug use
Moderate: Abandonment and Child abuse
rachtmh's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The characters are brilliant, the plot is explosive, the representation is great, and the ending is pleasing.
You do need to be able to pay attention whilst reading to make the most of the ‘accent’ and language used in the writing/conversation.
I was pleased how the book turned out for most of the characters and didn’t feel like there were any loop holes or obvious loose threads.
Overall very funny and enjoyable.
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Drug use, Addiction, Classism, Grief, Death, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Cursing, Gun violence, and Violence
Representation: Infertility, LGBTQIA+, mental and physical illness.bobin's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, Abandonment, and Addiction
Moderate: Suicide
the_lesbrarian's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, and Addiction
Moderate: Suicide, Death, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Grief
Minor: Classism and Animal death
willowd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Is this book amazing? No. But was it fun? Certainly.
A bit heavy on the accents, so if that bothers you, skip it. I recommend listening over reading this story, due to the accent & grammar. If you're a non-native speaker, some of Delly's made up words might be more challenging. I found the dialogue very enjoyable to listen to. Oh also - the chapter titles are delightful.
I found the second half a bit drawn out - but I truly warmed up to the old lady and her mouse. The pacing of the second half could have been tweaked, or used another twist.
Now, somehow my book club thought this was marketed as sapphic (Idk where, because I didn't see anything like that? I dunno, I didn't look super hard!) and I want to be clear that it's not. The main character is clearly bi/pan. The main couple is two ladies, but there is sexual content that is not sapphic, and there is no wlw sexual content. However, the sexual encounters the MC has before are fairly glossed over, and honestly, as someone who doesn't love romance novels, was fine by me. I've read too many books with sudden love nonsense! With everything else going on, it sounded too exhausting for a romp.
I think this author has promise, especially in the realm of audiobook. Maybe even a play? I look forward to her next work, and hope that it gets marketed accurately!
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Animal death, Murder, and Drug use
Moderate: Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, and Alcoholism
Minor: Sexual content
cozyscones'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
4.0
Graphic: Classism, Abandonment, Drug use, Child death, and Addiction
Moderate: Suicide, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, and Cursing
relin's review
Graphic: Medical content, Child death, Drug abuse, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Animal death, Blood, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Addiction, Abandonment, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
There is also attemptedrachellyeah's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Drug abuse, Death, Addiction, Blood, Gore, Drug use, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Suicide, Classism, Cursing, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Abandonment, and Alcoholism
Minor: Sexual content, Body horror, Child abuse, and Kidnapping
purrson's review
- 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
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Abandonment
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Animal death
quasinaut's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Overall, I feel like this story had its moments but could have benefited from more editing to tighten up the story and flesh out the characters. Sometimes the characters' actions felt too ill-conceived and/or conveniently timed to advance the plot. The accents and slang helped establish the world but at times veered into being heavy-handed and confusing. The intrigue wrapped up surprisingly quickly -- I kept expecting something to go wrong, or an earlier character to reappear, or someone to actually be working for the other side.
I look forward to seeing what C. M. Waggoner writes next. Even if this one had a few moments that missed the mark, I quite enjoyed getting more adventures in this world!
Graphic: Drug abuse, Classism, Drug use, Death, Alcohol, Animal death, and Body horror
Moderate: Sexual content and Abandonment
Minor: Suicide