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rheanna_reads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
sharppointysticks's review against another edition
3.5
This book is part magical realism and part murder mystery. It was a little slow to start but then zipped right along. I was invested in figuring out the murderer was but never felt fully connected to anyone other than the main character. I feel like it would make a good dark, spooky mini-series.
bri_burrito's review against another edition
I really tried to like this book. The summary made it sound really promising; however, the pacing is just not it. I was about halfway through the book when I had to put it down because it felt like every chapter was the same. The mystery is talked about at length but I could not, for the life of me, feel intrigued by it. It felt like the characters were flat with the same voice and no discernable personalities. Maybe one day I'll try again, but for now it's a dnf.
littlelizzieborden's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.5
danipayne's review against another edition
2.0
This book was a chore to finish. I only read it because it was listed as a fantasy novel. It's really more like "a light murder mystery in a rural setting.... oh and some of the women happen to be witches, but that's not super important." It just wasn't what I was looking for. I think compared to the other murder mysteries I've been reading lately, its story pales in comparison, especially when there's not enough fantasy to really make it worth reading while in a fantasy mood.
irelandmb7's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Death
danielcrogers's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
starsandvellum's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
Ugh. I’m so torn with this book. On one hand, I can literally see the love and creativity that was poured into each page by the author and how she wanted to branch out from YA, both of which I really appreciate and it makes it so difficult to be honest with what I actually thought - that I really didn’t like this book.
This is, at its core, a murder mystery book with background notes of magic, sounds great right? I was so excited for this book, I felt it had my name written all over it; but it was so. damn. boring. It felt like I was reading Scooby-Doo for adults.
The magic used in this book was not only super predictable (I figured it out after about 40% through the book) but also felt like it was being used as a crutch to mask the far-fetched story. There wasn’t enough magic to make it believable.
Secondly, the characters… Not one of them was likeable. August was probably the character I liked the most, but still not enough. Even though the characters are said to be 30+, they act and speak as though they’re half that age.
The constant POV changes made it incredibly difficult to follow the story because the narratives were all so similar. They all spoke in the exact same way, I constantly had to go back to the start of the chapter to check who was speaking.
I really, really wanted to like this book but it just fell so short. While atmospheric, it lacked a lot of substance and ended up being really predictable and 2D. As I said earlier, it actually pains me to be honest like this because I can see how much thought and care went into this book. For this reason alone I’m not going to discard any further books by this author, I hope this one was just a blip.
Ugh. I’m so torn with this book. On one hand, I can literally see the love and creativity that was poured into each page by the author and how she wanted to branch out from YA, both of which I really appreciate and it makes it so difficult to be honest with what I actually thought - that I really didn’t like this book.
This is, at its core, a murder mystery book with background notes of magic, sounds great right? I was so excited for this book, I felt it had my name written all over it; but it was so. damn. boring. It felt like I was reading Scooby-Doo for adults.
The magic used in this book was not only super predictable (I figured it out after about 40% through the book) but also felt like it was being used as a crutch to mask the far-fetched story. There wasn’t enough magic to make it believable.
Secondly, the characters… Not one of them was likeable. August was probably the character I liked the most, but still not enough. Even though the characters are said to be 30+, they act and speak as though they’re half that age.
The constant POV changes made it incredibly difficult to follow the story because the narratives were all so similar. They all spoke in the exact same way, I constantly had to go back to the start of the chapter to check who was speaking.
I really, really wanted to like this book but it just fell so short. While atmospheric, it lacked a lot of substance and ended up being really predictable and 2D. As I said earlier, it actually pains me to be honest like this because I can see how much thought and care went into this book. For this reason alone I’m not going to discard any further books by this author, I hope this one was just a blip.