Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.51 AVERAGE
4.51 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
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
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Well, that was a lot! I can't beleive this is young adult?! There was such a lot of TW Content: mentioned sexual assault, child SA, a lot of medical content and body horror, self-mutilation, self harm, murder, torture, and animal death. And not that young adults aren't affected by or shouldn't read these issues, but damn, it was graphic at times! This was great. I loved the character of Silas so much. He was so well-rounded, complex, and his voice was so clear. The rabbit was an excellent device, and that dark inner critical voice was so brutal to read. The plot was so well delivered I honestly had no idea what was happening until the end, I had vague thoughts, but to discover THAT was happening.. phew. Mary also gets honourable mention for being the most viscious and violent lesbian in this world. This whole book is a good, 'good for her' moment of the wrongs women, female presenting people, and AFAB people have dealt with through time - with a magical realism twist that brought horror and fear into this book. I couldn't put it down. I wonder if there will be a sequel. I hope so.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was definitely graphic in the way it described Gore and there was a lot of threat of (and actual) violence and sexual harm. That being said, I definitely found myself smiling, kicking my feet, and saying "holy shit" at some of the more graphic scenes at the end. I truly loved this, the MMC was so loveable, and the relationship was adorable. I loved the complexity written about as well. I would recomd this book with my whole chest.
dark
emotional
tense
Just ok. I was hoping for more supernatural elements with the veil/ghosts, but I understand gender identity is the driving force of this story. I feel like that was well done, but as someone who has always felt secure in my gender, I couldn't really relate. (And that's ok! Not all books are for all people, but I'm still glad I read it!)
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
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
Devoured this book while on a trip. Absolutely fantastic, I love his writing, it makes you feel things.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
This book is a bloodcurdling scream, raw meat gnawed from a snapped bone.
It's AJW, you know EXACTLY what you're gonna get.
It's AJW, you know EXACTLY what you're gonna get.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
"When the dead men come, we are waiting. We have been waiting so long.
They must have convinced themselves they would never rot in the same dirt we do."
سیلاس همزمان قلبم رو شکوند و من رو پر از امید کرد.
Mors vincit omnia.
They must have convinced themselves they would never rot in the same dirt we do."
سیلاس همزمان قلبم رو شکوند و من رو پر از امید کرد.
Mors vincit omnia.
London, 1883. The Veil between the living and dead has thinned. Violet-eyed mediums commune with spirits under the watchful eye of the Royal Speaker Society, and sixteen-year-old Silas Bell would rather rip out his violet eyes than become an obedient Speaker wife. According to Mother, he’ll be married by the end of the year. It doesn’t matter that he’s needed a decade of tutors to hide his autism; that he practices surgery on slaughtered pigs; that he is a boy, not the girl the world insists on seeing.
After a failed attempt to escape an arranged marriage, Silas is diagnosed with Veil sickness—a mysterious disease sending violet-eyed women into madness—and shipped away to Braxton’s Sanitorium and Finishing School. The facility is cold, the instructors merciless, and the students either bloom into eligible wives or disappear. So when the ghosts of missing students start begging Silas for help, he decides to reach into Braxton’s innards and expose its rotten guts to the world—as long as the school doesn’t break him first.
After a failed attempt to escape an arranged marriage, Silas is diagnosed with Veil sickness—a mysterious disease sending violet-eyed women into madness—and shipped away to Braxton’s Sanitorium and Finishing School. The facility is cold, the instructors merciless, and the students either bloom into eligible wives or disappear. So when the ghosts of missing students start begging Silas for help, he decides to reach into Braxton’s innards and expose its rotten guts to the world—as long as the school doesn’t break him first.