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gonetohilo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It was descriptive enough, but very repetitive in a way that I could tell was trying to be a stylistic choice that unfortunately just fell flat.
This may be a very personal gripe, but I think it did the book no favors that the prose read very modern which feels at odds with it being a story set in the 19th century.
Luckily, once the pace picks up about a third of the way through, it gets less noticeable. It's still present, but the action and dialogue between characters were engaging enough for me to shift my focus completely.
The ending read to me more as action/thriller than horror, but I did genuinely enjoy the imagery presented. Maybe the mood just wasn't set properly for me, but I still love the general concept and mechanics of the Usher's affliction. There was clearly a lot of thought put into how things work in this world.
Overall, I think it's a fine book! Don't take the 3 stars as a discouragement to read it. It's an above-average score, and my issues with the writing style are subjective. I would not have written this long of a review if I didn't care about the book at all.
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Gore
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, and War
lazmataz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Murder, Medical content, Death, Grief, Animal death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Misogyny, Sexism, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: War, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide
Minor: Transphobia and Vomit
beautifulminutiae'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Gore
winglesswarrior's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Gore, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: War
perifairy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Gore, Chronic illness, Body horror, and Death
Minor: Transphobia and War
Main character does not face transphobia on page, just alludes to experiencing it in the past. Book as a whole is very thoughtful on the characters own gender, and gender within the fictional culturekaylascoffeeplot's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Animal death and Body horror
Moderate: Gore, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide
gondorgirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Gore, Death, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Murder, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail
mothmania's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Body horror, Animal death, Grief, Medical content, and Gore
bibble_kingly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, Gore, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Chronic illness, Medical content, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, and Confinement
Moderate: Medical trauma, War, and Murder
Minor: Transphobia
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This is an intriguing blend of horror, mystery, fantasy, gothic retelling/reimagining.
This was a fascinating take on the Fall of the House of Usher, a story I find fully engrossing! The setting was eerie — Alex Easton (nonbinary MC) receives a letter that their friend Madeline Usher is dying, so they goes to be with her at the Usher manor. Alex is shocked to see the dire state of the home, and so are readers. The descriptive writing had me fully immersed in this creepy ass world😭
I used they/them in my review but in the book, Kingfisher created new pronouns entirely in this world, with ka/kan, va/van, which I did appreciate and found very neat!
I won’t give anything away but I’m averse to mushrooms after reading this hahaha. I’m the president of weenie hut jr. so please let me be 😂
cw: Suicide, Body horror, Fire, Animal death, Animal cruelty
Graphic: Suicide, Body horror, Gore, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Fire/Fire injury