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booksnooksandcrannies73's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kaleereads's review against another edition
4.0
my favorite genre will always be “good for her” and this book is in the upper echelon of that genre for me now. i will remember mary forever. what a twisted, nasty, hysterical story.
books_nooks_spooks's review against another edition
5.0
I get it Mary.
I get it. Weird group/cultish activity in a spooky forest? Hell yeah. I am all over that!! Although this book is classed as an eco horror and that is undeniably an element in this story, I would say this falls just as much if not more so under a religious horror tale. Admittedly I know very little about Judaism and the Jewish culture and am always open to being educated about any culture and faith but at times I found this quite overwhelming and the religious element became a little too much for me at points. That being said, I did walk away feeling like I had learned a few things so…
I enjoyed the authors writing style, it was an easy flowing, quick read but I did not like any of the characters - still undecided if this was intentional or not!! It also had a bit of a YA horror vibe about it too with a decent mix of physical and psychological horror.
So if you like religious/eco/YA horror I think this one might be worth picking up. It was something a little bit different.
et what it’s like to wrestle with your sense of self and having to find your place and purpose in the world all over again. It ain’t easy being a middle aged perimenopausal woman I tell you that! This book hit home in so many ways (the c word. Just DON’T) nailing what it’s like to be discarded by society and have everything brushed off and blamed on hormones. Not only was so much of it relatable, this was a huge tick list of Emma’s favourite tropes. We’ve got it all folks! I’m not listing them, you will need to read it to find out
I get it. Weird group/cultish activity in a spooky forest? Hell yeah. I am all over that!! Although this book is classed as an eco horror and that is undeniably an element in this story, I would say this falls just as much if not more so under a religious horror tale. Admittedly I know very little about Judaism and the Jewish culture and am always open to being educated about any culture and faith but at times I found this quite overwhelming and the religious element became a little too much for me at points. That being said, I did walk away feeling like I had learned a few things so…
I enjoyed the authors writing style, it was an easy flowing, quick read but I did not like any of the characters - still undecided if this was intentional or not!! It also had a bit of a YA horror vibe about it too with a decent mix of physical and psychological horror.
So if you like religious/eco/YA horror I think this one might be worth picking up. It was something a little bit different.
et what it’s like to wrestle with your sense of self and having to find your place and purpose in the world all over again. It ain’t easy being a middle aged perimenopausal woman I tell you that! This book hit home in so many ways (the c word. Just DON’T) nailing what it’s like to be discarded by society and have everything brushed off and blamed on hormones. Not only was so much of it relatable, this was a huge tick list of Emma’s favourite tropes. We’ve got it all folks! I’m not listing them, you will need to read it to find out
blackcatkai's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
CW: blood, animal death, murder, misogyny, sexual violence, ableism (casual and otherwise), demonization of mental illness, cults, gaslighting, bullying, abuse, ageism, gun violence, racism (don't get me started on the only latina character being blamed for things she didn't do), body shaming/fatphobia, fire, forced institutionalization
too long and drawn out.
I NEED people to get fucking abelistic words & such out of their vernacular. stop using words like schizophrenic to describe things. demonizing and minimizing mental illness & the like is gross & annoying af. the horror genre needs to let this shit go, especially from people who don't deal with or do actual research into the things they're writing about, ok? good talk.
feels like a swing and a miss in an attempt to write a novel about ageism & sexism against cis-women in particular. kudos for trying, I guess? could've used a lot of adjusting at least in length and making the story a bit more cohesive. lots of things seemd thrown at the wall in an attempt to make them stick but ultimately come across feeling muddled & incomplete, for me.
personally feel the afterword made it worse. nothing like a male author admitting to having thoughts like a violent misogynistic serial killer to make you go yikes, bro... imma need a bit more specifics there & less vagueness please, cuz that can NOT be what he meant, even if that's exactly what it sounds like.
idk, the more I think about it, the less I like it, and I kinda wish I could get my time back.... I have read worse books, the beginning of Mary & the parts between Mary & Eleanor while working in the hospital basement were decent. some of the cult portions were fun for me. but overall, I just didn't like this one.
too long and drawn out.
I NEED people to get fucking abelistic words & such out of their vernacular. stop using words like schizophrenic to describe things. demonizing and minimizing mental illness & the like is gross & annoying af. the horror genre needs to let this shit go, especially from people who don't deal with or do actual research into the things they're writing about, ok? good talk.
feels like a swing and a miss in an attempt to write a novel about ageism & sexism against cis-women in particular. kudos for trying, I guess? could've used a lot of adjusting at least in length and making the story a bit more cohesive. lots of things seemd thrown at the wall in an attempt to make them stick but ultimately come across feeling muddled & incomplete, for me.
personally feel the afterword made it worse. nothing like a male author admitting to having thoughts like a violent misogynistic serial killer to make you go yikes, bro... imma need a bit more specifics there & less vagueness please, cuz that can NOT be what he meant, even if that's exactly what it sounds like.
idk, the more I think about it, the less I like it, and I kinda wish I could get my time back.... I have read worse books, the beginning of Mary & the parts between Mary & Eleanor while working in the hospital basement were decent. some of the cult portions were fun for me. but overall, I just didn't like this one.
tiffanysdelivery's review
4.0
Surprisingly funny!? I appreciated the moments of humor between some gruesome scenes. I don't think I'll look at porcelain dolls the same again. Story took a bit for me to get into, but the slow unravelling up to the chaotic end was satisfying.
kelseekayjorg's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
audgpodg's review against another edition
4.0
"Goodbye, Mary. She was so invisible she was killed by ghosts"
holy shiza. I'm extremely impressed that this novel was written by a man. Mary is just so relatable, and at times annoying.. yet memorable, for a character. I don't think I'll ever forget about her... there's a lil bit of Mary in all of us
holy shiza. I'm extremely impressed that this novel was written by a man. Mary is just so relatable, and at times annoying.. yet memorable, for a character. I don't think I'll ever forget about her... there's a lil bit of Mary in all of us
jakkofclubs's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
katrinahanson's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0