Scan barcode
lilbroccoli's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
youshouldreadthisif's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
3.75
jenhurst's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this novel of female rage with Sri Laken folk lore. the writing was good and I think the pacing was good. There was just enough description to build up the world but not enough to delve into purple prose.
gypsynyx91's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.25
violetjean4's review against another edition
I can’t keep pushing myself to read it
tatyanavogt's review
3.5
Hmmm.. This is an interesting one because I both did, and did not, like it. For what it was I think its a good story, but booooy did I want more! So much potential, and I do think it scratched the surface but I wish it pushed it farther. I did find the idea to be pretty enticing especially the more we learned about the specific attacks happening that this family is being blamed for, along with the different questionable things around our main character and the secrets of her family. I really liked the conversations that it had and I did like the direction that it went in the end and ended up liking it overall.
The issues that I have with it is mainly that I wanted more from it, and honestly I was a little bored with the set up. I don't know if the pacing was off or if we didn't get enough focus on the parts I thought would be more interesting, but I wasn't as gripped as I wanted to be, so parts of it felt a little slow. Fortunately I stuck around cause I did like the idea and where the book went.
So I was annoyed by the families lack of communication, which is admittedly a pet peeve of mine, even though I understand it was to set up the reveal of her assault. I do think thats a weird reason tho for her once doting and loving father to push her away the way he did. It seemed out of character, but then he ended up being another bad egg so I guess her original feelings about him were biased and he may not have been as loving and doting as she thought. If thats the case I wish we got more commentary on it because I feel like we were told one thing and shown another and i'm not clear if the inconsistency was in her recollection OR if he was just supposed to have been both.
And again, as I mentioned above, I wanted more in the end. Like the idea was cool but it didn't feel as impactful as I would have liked it to be especially after she was done and the demon thing had to trick her. I also dunno if we got enough good hints before hand, like the set up wasn't as strong as I would like. I think too much was held back so it felt more like an "okay, I guess" moment, instead of an "OMG, YES!" moment. I dunno.
Also, for me the day to day stuff was a little boring and took up a lot of the book/setup. I struggled to care about the character and push through because it didn't seem like much was going on. Also WHY would she give her necklace to the boyfriend?? AND WHY would her dad feel the need to give it to her to begin with? Like that element wasn't as fleshed out as it should be. Like If he was afraid that a demon would get to her, WHY did he not communicate it. And what made him think that after what happened to his daughter that a demon would come that she needed protecting from? Did I miss this explanation? Did she get possessed or something after the abortion? I dunno, confused.
The issues that I have with it is mainly that I wanted more from it, and honestly I was a little bored with the set up. I don't know if the pacing was off or if we didn't get enough focus on the parts I thought would be more interesting, but I wasn't as gripped as I wanted to be, so parts of it felt a little slow. Fortunately I stuck around cause I did like the idea and where the book went.
So I was annoyed by the families lack of communication, which is admittedly a pet peeve of mine, even though I understand it was to set up the reveal of her assault. I do think thats a weird reason tho for her once doting and loving father to push her away the way he did. It seemed out of character, but then he ended up being another bad egg so I guess her original feelings about him were biased and he may not have been as loving and doting as she thought. If thats the case I wish we got more commentary on it because I feel like we were told one thing and shown another and i'm not clear if the inconsistency was in her recollection OR if he was just supposed to have been both.
And again, as I mentioned above, I wanted more in the end. Like the idea was cool but it didn't feel as impactful as I would have liked it to be especially after she was done and the demon thing had to trick her. I also dunno if we got enough good hints before hand, like the set up wasn't as strong as I would like. I think too much was held back so it felt more like an "okay, I guess" moment, instead of an "OMG, YES!" moment. I dunno.
Also, for me the day to day stuff was a little boring and took up a lot of the book/setup. I struggled to care about the character and push through because it didn't seem like much was going on. Also WHY would she give her necklace to the boyfriend?? AND WHY would her dad feel the need to give it to her to begin with? Like that element wasn't as fleshed out as it should be. Like If he was afraid that a demon would get to her, WHY did he not communicate it. And what made him think that after what happened to his daughter that a demon would come that she needed protecting from? Did I miss this explanation? Did she get possessed or something after the abortion? I dunno, confused.
time4tori2read's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
4.5
amandalorianxo's review
4.25
This is a mix of horror, thriller and historical fiction with the British colonizing Sri Lanka during this timeline. This is great if you want to read about female rage and how it gets handled using folklore passed down from a Native group of woman who didn’t want anyone else to suffer. The pacing around the middle ish does drag a bit but the beginning and the end are what make this novel worth the read. I’ll always support Amanda Jayatissa and I’m happy to see her continue to succeed.