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lana_taylor23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, and War
kiwij96's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The book was only okay in comparison, the majority of it was long drawn out internal conflicts and all the characters were unlikeable. I also do not love books where the FMC is described as beautiful by literally every male character (main or otherwise), nor do I love books where the two characters say they love each other after knowing each other for 2 weeks. And for a book following two scholars, neither of them seemingly did any work. Or rather Effy seemed to do all of Preston's work while he had nervous breakdowns.
Don't get me wrong though, the book raised some important points about women's stories being erased and their voices never being heard. And I really appreciated the way that it ended. However, for 280 pages of Effy's internal conflict and the characters barely attempting to put the pieces of their puzzle together, the last 90 pages felt like the story could have been so much shorter.
From a Welsh person's perspective, the fact the house was called Hiraeth was a nice touch. "Hiraeth" being the feeling of homesickness or longing for a homeland you can never return to (a word meant specifically for the people of Wales). That was a constant foreshadowing in the story and one which I enjoyed very much.
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexism, Drug use, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Bullying
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Addiction, Mental illness, Alcoholism, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Abandonment, Medical trauma, Child death, and Car accident
georgigirl13'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
4.0
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Abandonment
Minor: Abandonment
abbief's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really like Effy though I would understand why some people wouldn't. But to me she is really neurodivergent-coded. She struggled with understanding the social norms, the unwritten rules. She took everything very literally. She had sensory issues and would be easily overwhelmed. All this on top of being a woman made her feel like she was drowning all the time. As someone who also has quite a lot of neurodivergent traits, this felt very valid to my experience. As for the male main character, he is your textbook fictional boyfriend. He is cold and frigid on the outside, but he saw Effy as who she was, not her pretty appearence or not as "just a girl." He respected her when the whole university did not, and he stood by her side all the time. However the secondary characters were less memorable. Some of them only appeared once and never mentioned again. The villains were interesting though. They represented how certain men would exploit women, manipulate them, put them in a helpless position and have all the glory and wealth to themselves.
However, I wish there would be more to the fantasy element. It was largely explained by folklore and superstitions. Also, the Drowning was a big thing for people in that world, but except for knowing that it was a big flood, we knew almost nothing about it. Also the setting where two countries were at war didn't do much except to set up Effy and the MMC as somewhat enemies-to-lovers. But yeat this was just a few nitpicking of mine. I still very much enjoyed reading this book and if any of these things that I mentioned appealed to you, I am pretty confident that you won't be disappointed!
Graphic: Sexism, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Xenophobia
loveat1stwrite'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? No
3.0
Graphic: Sexism and Misogyny
Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Grief, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual assault
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, and Terminal illness
haileekaye's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Death of parent, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Mental illness
milcahh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Xenophobia, Death of parent, Car accident, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Abandonment
Minor: Grief, Vomit, Confinement, and War
allysaurus3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Sexism, Abandonment, Mental illness, Blood, and Misogyny
booklizard_'s review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Mental illness
campredwood's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Stalking, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Misogyny, and Abandonment
Minor: Emotional abuse and Drug use