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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Tori Bovalino has crafted a sharp, wrenching, and atmospheric story here. She skillfully balances the (fairly light) horror aspects with impactful and relevant themes. My Throat an Open Grave was a lot shorter than I'd expected it to be, but honestly that's just another indication of how impressive this book is.
There were probably one or two too many side characters that could have been left out to give the others more space, but that's really it. A lot of the themes really hit home, and the ending was very satisfying. 4/5.
Tori Bovalino has crafted a sharp, wrenching, and atmospheric story here. She skillfully balances the (fairly light) horror aspects with impactful and relevant themes. My Throat an Open Grave was a lot shorter than I'd expected it to be, but honestly that's just another indication of how impressive this book is.
There were probably one or two too many side characters that could have been left out to give the others more space, but that's really it. A lot of the themes really hit home, and the ending was very satisfying. 4/5.
Definitely marketed wrong - this is not labyrinth meets folklore horror, very unsettling and mildly gross at some points but not horror by any means and it only shares vague similarities with Labyrinth so keep that in mind! Slightly disappointed by the misleading marketing but this was really good. The main character was so interesting to read from, how she views herself and the world after what she's been through and where she was brought up, however the rest of the characters were so flat unfortunately. The book Explored some interesting themes of grief, trauma, religious issues, and self forgiveness which were done so tastefully and well, I was crying by the final chapter. The whole book did feel very slow and not a lot happened, but it reaped a huge reward as the ending was so unexpected. There are a few logistical and plot inconsistencies but I'm ignoring them purely because of how impactful the ending was and how everything came together so well.
emotional
mysterious
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
This book was beautifully written and I’m obsessed with the Lord of the woods! Even with all the foreshadowing I didn’t expect the twist but it did such a great job of showing how bigoted small towns can be. Highly recommend!
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
She loved me so much. More than anything. More than anyone. I have lost it, been cast out of the castle, burned and shattered and soiled every good thing she ever saw in me. My mother. My mirror. My reflection.
Local suicidal bitch with mommy issues and complex theological feelings found dead after reading novel about other suicidal bitch with mommy issues and complex theological feelings. Where is that damn spiderman reaction image you need it?
This is like a 3.5 tbh only because I wasn't in love with the overly simple writing style. The story is a beautiful crafted journey of shame, love, friendship and self discovery. The friendship between Leah and Jess was beautifully written and worked well as a foil for the romance with Tristan. It reminded me a lot of Holly Black's The darkest Part of the Forest only with better written characters and more of a focus on the horror elements.
Local suicidal bitch with mommy issues and complex theological feelings found dead after reading novel about other suicidal bitch with mommy issues and complex theological feelings. Where is that damn spiderman reaction image you need it?
This is like a 3.5 tbh only because I wasn't in love with the overly simple writing style. The story is a beautiful crafted journey of shame, love, friendship and self discovery. The friendship between Leah and Jess was beautifully written and worked well as a foil for the romance with Tristan. It reminded me a lot of Holly Black's The darkest Part of the Forest only with better written characters and more of a focus on the horror elements.
Beyond the Labyrinth-esque inciting incident, which had a nice horror twist, this has become boring - main character is in the woods with Fae folk of some kind, romance clearly on the horizon, feels very standard YA romantasy, and I've read very similar things before.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
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:
Yes