Reviews with content warning for Addiction - Scorched Grace

Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy

39 reviews

tarasoraptor's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

Tl;dr version: This reads as trauma porn disguised as a mystery. The plot twist was predictable, the concl sion was hurried, poorly structured, and unsatisfying. If I wasn't finishing the book at midnight, in bed next to my partner, I would have thrown it across the room in frustration.

Will come back to review in more detail if I can.

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sidneyreads_'s review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated

2.75

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ermw0's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Ever since I finished this book last night, I found myself with a lot of thoughts on it. I couldn't decide whether or not I just enjoyed the prose style or the book as a whole. The mystery ... wasn't great in my opinion. The voice of the author and her writing style, as well as the voice of Sister Holiday, are not going to be liked by everyone. She thinks in these long, flowery, and gilded sentences where everything is rich with intense imagery. You can really smell, see, and feel New Orleans from her descriptions, as well as every other scene and memory in this book. I found this writing style very appealing, and mixed with the religious reverence you could feel Sister Holiday's devotion.

However, the mystery aspect of this book was almost baffling. We are immediately told that Sister Holiday loves mysteries and is the convent's de facto detective, but not only are we not shown any of this (just told) but she is an awful investigator! Sister Holiday's interrogation style is to go right up to the person she needs to speak to and just shouts at them "what do you know about the fire! tell me!" and then when the person obviously denies and prickles, she becomes suspicious. Rinse and repeat. I was baffled at this style, she does it to every single suspect she has! There's no nuance to her detective work at all. In fact, she doesn't really solve the mystery of the fires except by accident almost. None of the clues or detective work she does really pays off. It feels so random and silly. And when she does solve the mystery, she just immediately let's Sister Augustine go out of the country! All of the detectives that she quotes and says she is inspired by wouldn't just absolve this crime.

Again, we are told that Sister Holiday knows her stuff and is effective. Even the actual investigators somewhat trust her. But I can see why they don't really, she's not very good at it.

Prince Dempsey - I don't even know where to begin with this character. His entire lawsuit and plot was dropped, so we have no resolution with that. I was annoyed with this since Sister Holliday spent so much time obsessing over him as a suspect. And then his random trial for a different crime (and car chase lol) felt like Prince was going to be a big player, but he was also duped by Sister Holiday and just a traumatized boy lashing out.

Rosemary - was a background character with slight tinges of suspicion but then veers suddenly into a "are we about to kiss rn" scenes with Sister Holiday? This felt shoehorned in, I wish they did more with her.

Nina - she didn't need to come to New Orleans at all. I actually liked her better as a memory, because the effect on Sister Holiday was so much more potent! Then you bring this character back for a tiny scene of zero consequence that could be removed from the book with no changes. Wish they kept her in the past.

Bernard - he was giving off a little creepy vibes towards the end by copying SH's neckerchief and getting the Judith tattoo and insisting SH get one too. It felt like this was building to something, but he's just there.

Sister Augustine - so she is the one who was setting the fires, accidentally killed John but did kill Sister T. I do not understand her motives at all and was confused and underwhelmed that she was the perpetrator? And then SH just lets her go? And then Sister Augustine accidentally (after trying to purposefully) lights herself on fire and dies? What? That ending was wild (not in a good way.)

There's so much more about this book I could write. I'm not sure if having this much to say and somewhat critique means I didn't enjoy the book, or I cared so much I wanted it to be as great as it can be. The book's interpretation on religion, especially as it applies to a queer woman, is very interesting and refreshing. I loved Sister Holiday as a character, I haven't read anyone like her before. I will definitely follow this series but I hope the sequel tightens up or at least continues the threads that were dropped off here.

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lambkm's review against another edition

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mysterious 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

2.0

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cheeseplant111's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

i am not religious but damn,,,
genuinely so intriguing loved the story and the prose
only complaint is that the end felt rushed and if it was missing something, could’ve been a bit longer i felt. somethings didn’t get resolved
however i loved it def would read more

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bmbriar's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I heard "queer nun detective" and said "give it to me" but I didn't enjoy this book as much as I anticipated. The homage to Chandler-esque mysteries almost veers past homage and into parody. Sister Holiday is a character I know I would like under other circumstances, but her narration is so indulgent and over-written that I was not able to be submerged in the character and the story.

I did enjoy Holiday's relationship with Riveaux, and the overall plotting picks up towards the end, but the ending nonetheless felt rushed, with characters' attitudes towards each other turning on a dime.

I also called the murderer/arsonist early on, not because of breadcrumbed evidence (the main case-solving clue was presented right at the end of the book), but because she was the only character that Sister Holiday didn't suspect for a moment, thus making my correct call much less satisfying.

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styx_the_gremlin's review against another edition

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dark hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

The characters were well-written and compelling, and the writing vastly improved towards the end of the book. It's a bit cliché (whaaat, a sleuth with a bunch of personal problems and ex-alcoholic), and the ending mostly forseeable. There's too much prose in the wrong places, while some important scenes are skipped over, and the entire plot is a bit convenient. But the interpersonal relationships the books dive into make up for it a bit, and were a lot more intriguing than the actual story.

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durrance_c's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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sapphicbookfae's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

okay this book really surprised me because i expected something more explicitly messy in the sense of LESBIAN RELATIONSHIPS for Sister Holiday. WITH THAT SAID, the book has good commentary on the harm several powerful institutions have on society and the religious devotion also seems over glorified on purpose. i love/hate Sister Holiday for what she ends up doing. i need to see more of Holiday x Riveau... everyone is messy af and i love it

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knicke's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

There’s not a whole lot of mystery-solving that happens here, it’s mostly slow-developing exposition and revelations. Scorched Grace seems to be focused on introducing the protagonist, Sister Holiday, for the launch of a series.

Also, Sister Holiday has too many contradictory interests and characteristics. This made it pretty difficult to understand/get-on-board with the character.

There is a stained glass motif that is not particularly emphasized, but is really good!

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