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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Absolute perfect book, my god! This resonated with me so much, on so many levels. I'm going to be raving about this book forever. I'm floored.
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
In Winston Pennsylvania those who are bad, who break the rules, are offered to the Lord of the Woods. In a moment of exhaustion, overwhelmed teen Leah offers her infant brother to the LoW, and is sent in after him as an offering to get her brother back. Without her brother she'll never be welcome in Winston, or her own home, again. Stepping across that border, between her community and the realm of the Lord of the Woods, Leah must discover who she should fear more, the demon her community uses as a boogeyman, or a community that would condemn their vulnerable rather than support them.
It was a bit predictable where the two big twists of the story are concerned, but still worth reading.
It was a bit predictable once Leah enters the woods and discovers a community that works together and a LoW who offers choices rather than dictate edicts. I mean...in what story involving teen girls and communities with powerful male religious authorities are the religious authorities not the villains? It was a little vague on the worldbuilding (why do they take babies? wouldn't more communities than just one use it the way Winston does...I mean not to be a downer or anything, but there is the internet and men are terrible.) Also, how many families really just didn't care that their daughters didn't return? Especially if anyone who wanted to find someone lost apparently could?
It was a bit predictable where the two big twists of the story are concerned, but still worth reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Gaslighting
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
5 ⭐
Another five star read for me, this month has been a blessing!
Everything about this book was amazing. I didn't realise that it was inspired by Labyrinth, I thought wow this blurb reminds me so much of our girl Sarah. Little did I know, that it was on purpose. However, it was so good to read a story like this. The anger I felt and the pain I felt was so unmatched.
Leah's story was so relatable and so many moments I felt such pain on her behalf.
Tristan was such a beautiful character and I'm glad his story went in the direction I hoped it would.
The Easter eggs to Bowie and Jareth were so awesome to read. "His mismatched eyes" and "if you decide against it, just look back and we'll be here."
Everything was enjoyable and emotional in so many ways.
I've seen many, many mixed reviews and I just wanted to point out a few things to make it easier for readers to find what they enjoy.
If you expect this book to be a horror, please remember it is YOUNG ADULT and it not going to be like other horror stories.
Tori Bovalino writes in a very gothic and poetic way, the horror isn't on page directly and it is from the trauma and past wounds the FMC, Leah, must heal. It is a story of self discovery, self discipline and self hatred. The story features a town with a religion that has been forced onto the towns children, they must be good, they must not sin or they are broken. Imagine a world where you a shunned just for being a girl, for having feelings and for having emotions. You must be good, you must be pure.
"Horror, an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust." Which is exactly what this book brang to the table.
If this sounds like something you're interested in reading, please do.
Another five star read for me, this month has been a blessing!
Everything about this book was amazing. I didn't realise that it was inspired by Labyrinth, I thought wow this blurb reminds me so much of our girl Sarah. Little did I know, that it was on purpose. However, it was so good to read a story like this. The anger I felt and the pain I felt was so unmatched.
Leah's story was so relatable and so many moments I felt such pain on her behalf.
Tristan was such a beautiful character and I'm glad his story went in the direction I hoped it would.
The Easter eggs to Bowie and Jareth were so awesome to read. "His mismatched eyes" and "if you decide against it, just look back and we'll be here."
Everything was enjoyable and emotional in so many ways.
I've seen many, many mixed reviews and I just wanted to point out a few things to make it easier for readers to find what they enjoy.
If you expect this book to be a horror, please remember it is YOUNG ADULT and it not going to be like other horror stories.
Tori Bovalino writes in a very gothic and poetic way, the horror isn't on page directly and it is from the trauma and past wounds the FMC, Leah, must heal. It is a story of self discovery, self discipline and self hatred. The story features a town with a religion that has been forced onto the towns children, they must be good, they must not sin or they are broken. Imagine a world where you a shunned just for being a girl, for having feelings and for having emotions. You must be good, you must be pure.
"Horror, an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust." Which is exactly what this book brang to the table.
If this sounds like something you're interested in reading, please do.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thank you to NetGalley and Page Street Kids for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I was super, super hyped about this book, based on both the fact that I'm becoming quite a fan of Tori Bovalino—Not Good for Maidens was unlike anything I'd read before in YA, and her contribution to the YA folk horror collection The Gathering Dark was quite excellent as well—and the fact that the premise sounded super, super intriguing. Right off the bat, though, I can tell you that this book has actually very little in common with the film it's being compared to, Labyrinth, apart from the basic premise of a teenage girl whose baby brother is stolen by an otherworldly being, and who must then go on a journey into the unknown to retrieve him. If you go into this book expecting a Labyrinth-esque adventure to follow, but with more horror (just look at that cover), I have to tell you that this is not that. And part of me was disappointed in that fact, at first. But what this book is ended up being so great that the comparison to Labyrinth became disappointing for a different reason: I don't think it does the book justice at all. I also don't know that I'd personally classify it as horror; there's plenty of scary, ghostly business afoot, but to me it seems like more of a dark fairy tale or a fantasy with some darker elements than a horror.
This is a dark, fantastical parable about, much to my surprise, reproductive justice, set in a community where girls' choices are taken from them and then that lack of choice used as ammunition to punish them further. The beginning of the book did a great job amping up the elements of folk horror—the community is small, poor, and fiercely religious, but it's also bordering a deep, dark wood where it's said a man (or devil), known as the Lord of the Wood, rules. This is a very satisfyingly spooky setup, but from there, I felt the scares were minimal. I also felt that the book suffered at times from a lag in action in the middle, and some confusing world building (we're told that the Lord of the Wood isn't human, but we're never given a satisfying explanation of what he is) that made it difficult to stay interested for a chunk in the middle of the book. When the plot really gets going again, though—when it all starts coming together, and we see our main character, Leah, begin to reclaim some of her power—I couldn't put it down. I was very deeply moved by the story, and by all that it represents of our world today. I also found the "twist", if you can call it that, to be fantastic, and just the right amount of unexpected. Others may have found it more obvious than I did, but I didn't really start to pick up on hints until halfway through.
I'm thrilled that this book exists, for so many reasons that I don't want to spoil. I look forward to reading more of Tori Bovalino in the future.
I was super, super hyped about this book, based on both the fact that I'm becoming quite a fan of Tori Bovalino—Not Good for Maidens was unlike anything I'd read before in YA, and her contribution to the YA folk horror collection The Gathering Dark was quite excellent as well—and the fact that the premise sounded super, super intriguing. Right off the bat, though, I can tell you that this book has actually very little in common with the film it's being compared to, Labyrinth, apart from the basic premise of a teenage girl whose baby brother is stolen by an otherworldly being, and who must then go on a journey into the unknown to retrieve him. If you go into this book expecting a Labyrinth-esque adventure to follow, but with more horror (just look at that cover), I have to tell you that this is not that. And part of me was disappointed in that fact, at first. But what this book is ended up being so great that the comparison to Labyrinth became disappointing for a different reason: I don't think it does the book justice at all. I also don't know that I'd personally classify it as horror; there's plenty of scary, ghostly business afoot, but to me it seems like more of a dark fairy tale or a fantasy with some darker elements than a horror.
This is a dark, fantastical parable about, much to my surprise, reproductive justice, set in a community where girls' choices are taken from them and then that lack of choice used as ammunition to punish them further. The beginning of the book did a great job amping up the elements of folk horror—the community is small, poor, and fiercely religious, but it's also bordering a deep, dark wood where it's said a man (or devil), known as the Lord of the Wood, rules. This is a very satisfyingly spooky setup, but from there, I felt the scares were minimal. I also felt that the book suffered at times from a lag in action in the middle, and some confusing world building (we're told that the Lord of the Wood isn't human, but we're never given a satisfying explanation of what he is) that made it difficult to stay interested for a chunk in the middle of the book. When the plot really gets going again, though—when it all starts coming together, and we see our main character, Leah, begin to reclaim some of her power—I couldn't put it down. I was very deeply moved by the story, and by all that it represents of our world today. I also found the "twist", if you can call it that, to be fantastic, and just the right amount of unexpected. Others may have found it more obvious than I did, but I didn't really start to pick up on hints until halfway through.
I'm thrilled that this book exists, for so many reasons that I don't want to spoil. I look forward to reading more of Tori Bovalino in the future.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
There’s so much I want to say about this book, but my thoughts are still settling. I went in expecting horror, but what I found was something far deeper. The religious trauma woven into the story hit me so hard that I had to take breaks from reading. The exploration of how women are forced to suffer for the actions of men? So fucking powerful.
While the book leans more into fantasy, with romance quietly simmering in the background, I can’t say I was disappointed. It delivers something raw, dark, and thought-provoking. An unforgettable read.
While the book leans more into fantasy, with romance quietly simmering in the background, I can’t say I was disappointed. It delivers something raw, dark, and thought-provoking. An unforgettable read.