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chasinggrace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I thought the setting was beautiful and the world building was not overwhelming at all. The themes of colonization, classism, & religious separations were touched on, but were not overbearing. The mystery & folklore kept me intrigued, and I thought the romance was sweet (even though Preston will not be a favorite book boyfriend of mine).
Unfortunately, I needed to dock .5 stars for the writing, especially in the first 100 pages of the book. While I think similes are helpful literary tools and can be beautiful, they are completely overdone in this text. The author cannot write one singular page of this book without comparing two things and using the word âlike.â Try it - flip to any page and you will find a sentence that uses this structure. While Iâm not a style critic, I could not ignore it and it tainted the opening of the story. I also found Effy to be quite insufferable, before I understood her trauma. Finally, while I know Preston is self-described as unromantic,
All together, I think this is a beautiful story that weaves dark themes with stunning comparisons to the relentlessness of water. It teaches you that you are the only one who constructs the house in which you live, if you can be strong enough to hammer the stakes yourself.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Confinement, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Classism
mshedd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Bullying, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
daydaybookbay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Ava Reid writes beautiful phrases and sprinkles them throughout the chapters. Her artistic metaphors rest on the boundry of remaining applicable. The wording captures the reader, but any further, the intention would be lost. She uses imagery to convey emotion and the characters' mindsets.
The characters fell a bit flat for me. Each character was one dimensional and served only one purpose throughout the book. Preston exists to be an on-paper protective love interest. Effy is constantly reminding you how misogyny, sexism, and her beauty overshadow her genius. Every other character means nothing to me.
Effy's low-key racist. Her xenophobia is front and center, but we are
overlooking that? Why?! Time and time again, she shows her
academic rivalry" is really just her prejudice against Argantians.
I wanted more from the fairy-tale.
Is Effy a reliable narrator? Honestly, I'm left thinking the fantasy aspect is really part of Effy's imagination. She experienced great trauma from her mother, and her obsession with Myrddin's novel plays a role in her coping. I'm left to feel she really has mental health issues, and maybe the pink pills are good for her.
I wish there had been more development in the setting and the characters. The countries, the North and South, the school, the house, the land... I could never picture them. The only thing I was able to imagine was the door to the basement. There is this whole world Reid introduced in this book, but we never get a clear picture of what it's like.
I really wanted to love this book. Part of me feels I would have enjoyed it more as a physical book because I would get bored listening to it. I never got the feeling of being immersed in the story.
I love the moody vibes Reid is able to create. The feel and the way she conveys emotion is beautiful. I wish the attention to the setting had matched. I want to visualize where the characters are and how the North/South/Bottom Hundred look and compare to each other. I wanted to pull more from the text.
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Child death, Death, Sexual assault, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
fkshg8465's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
rachelblair's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Bullying, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting
hann_smc'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
3.25
To start, I really did love the prose and the vibes. It was beautifully written, and the descriptions were poetic. It felt like the setting itself was another character.
It was pieces of the plot that I had more trouble with. Not even plot holes, just like "oh, that's it?" moments.
Reid really did a great job setting up for a fantastic story. I think the initial plot line of
But then, nothing else really happened. There were some super interesting side plot setups:
I did like that for awhile we're really not sure if Effy is crazy like everyone thinks or if the Fairy King is real, because even she isn't sure.
Some questions I do still have that people might be able to answer for me:
1.
2.
3.
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicide, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Classism
kagamiri's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Sexual harassment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
hello_kara's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
âMidnight was a fairytale thing. She didnât know if Preston had been thinking about that when he promised it. But Effy was remembering all of the curses that turned princesses back to peasant girls as soon as the bells struck twelve. Why was it always girls whose forms could not be trusted? Everything could be taken away from them in an instant.â
âI suppose thatâs partly why I donât have much faith in the notion of permanence. Anything can be taken from you, at any moment. Even the past isnât guaranteed. You can lose that too, slowly, like water eating away at stone.â
I liked those quotes, thatâs about it.
World building was a bit confusing, and it was difficult for me to pin down a time-setting. Advertised as âPart historical fantasy, part rivals-to-lovers romance, part Gothic mystery.â Itâs set in a fantasy UK inspired world, maybe from the 60s? đ¤ˇđźââď¸ Thereâs trains, cars, universities, tanks and guns, CT scanners, phones, but also folk magic and changelings. Their country in the South is at war with the one in the North, for unknown reasons. Universities admit women, but they really only go to get husbands and arenât allowed entry into the one discipline reversed above all others that Effy actually wants to study: Literature. Her scores were so good she should have gotten in, but because of misogyny she wasnât admitted. She goes and studies Architecture instead (apparently the second most prestigious discipline.) As it so happens she is the ONLY woman in that college.
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism
micaelamariem'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
jcoates's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Minor: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment