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korikam's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Alcohol, Grief, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Death, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Alcoholism
jessicadoom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
(Can you tell I'm a chronic people pleaser?)
But, we're moving soon and I'm trying to work on my physical TBR. With that, I'm trying books that I'm not sure I'll love enough to keep. This fit the bill, and the audiobook was available on Hoopla. So, I dove in.
For the first, oh, three-quarters or so of the book, I was in love. I couldn't wait to see where the narrators took us. How would their stories end? And, with this, I begun writing my own ending to their stories in my hopeful little head. (Writers....)
This is not the ending we received, however. I hit part six and all of a sudden my mood towards this book shifted a bit. Yes, the writing was still beautiful. No one can say that the style of this novel isn't lyrical, poetic, artistic, etc. However, the plot (or lack thereof) took me to a place I wasn't ready to go. So, we ended at a solid four out of five instead of that glorious five stars I planned to issue.
The highlights for me were the blatant queerness of both narrators, the history we were able to witness through Addie's eyes, and the small reveals that really did help to drive the book forward. Would I read it again? Probably not. But I'm certainly not upset that I did give this one a try. It just might not be something I take with me to my next home library.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Sexual content, War, and Stalking
questionable ability to consent, plot? what plot?eedle_cacleberry'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
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, and Death
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Drug use and War
juan_adhd_reading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I have nothing else to say for now, as I just have finished the story. Will probably come back soon to write a full review, but for now I feel completely satisfied and very hopeful about the ending. Highly recommend!
Graphic: Sexual assault, War, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Grief, and Abandonment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
claire_leibovitz'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
3.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Alcoholism
Minor: War and Biphobia
kathrynok's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Drug abuse, Sexism, Alcohol, Death, Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
nineinchnails'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
4.0
it definitely could have been condensed just a little because "no plot just vibes" isn't much of an exaggeration and i'm not sure how it managed to be 500+ pages long but i can enjoy a slow book when i like the writing. the ending did feel slightly anticlimactic but it was more bittersweet than anything else to me. not sure if i would recommend this because the it really is slow but i definitely enjoyed this!!
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Violence, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Minor: Alcoholism, War, Biphobia, and Child death
Maternal mortality/Death during childbirthaskmeifikayl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: War
i always say i want to be loved and i want to be happy. i look at henry’s character and see my desires through a lense i hadn’t considered before. wanting to be loved is not a flaw, but it’s by loving yourself that you can be on the path to true happiness. emotionally compelling and an inner look at the human experience.hazelbcap'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
Moderate: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Drug abuse
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Death, and War
mrsdragon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
The author uses flashbacks and dual story lines to slowly dole out information and uses that mechanic well to up the intrigue and the mystery of the book. Unfortunately, sometimes she got so wrapped up in the details that even I started to wish she would move it along already. There were also "mysteries" that were so obvious it was painful how long it took for the truth to be recognized/explained.
I was here for the "dark mysterious god of the woods, maybe devil, kinda conjured from your drawing" trope, but aspects of Addie's relationship with the dark seemed forced, illogical, or contradictory. Despite the prose, there was a heavy-handed bit of "telling instead of showing".
And then there's the fact that while the main story follows Addie, a large chunk of the story follows another main character who is never mentioned in the jacket descriptions which...isn't really *wrong* but did seem weird.
The author also sets up a narrative device within the story that mimics the structure of the book (clever!) but which makes the first couple of chapters in the last section seem weirdly navel-gazey and self-referential. And the final chapter left me...sad.
I also just, generally had a lot of questions about
That said, the conceit was a fun one, the "holes" the author found in the curse, she did a fabulous job with how the dark both granted and twisted wishes in a way that felt both natural and inevitable once the downsides were understood.
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Drug abuse
Minor: Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Child death, War, Death of parent, Addiction, and Sexual content