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carc19's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Self harm, Rape, Alcoholism, Drug use, Homophobia, and Suicide
knitterscasket's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape and Addiction
Minor: Alcoholism, Incest, and Hate crime
skylarkblue1's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I'm torn between recommending this or not. I'm not fully sure if it's just, I'm not a regular to the crime fiction genre or if there is just something amiss about this one. I liked the characters well enough, story was ok even if fairly predictable.. It just left me feeling a bit unsatisfied. Maybe it's because I'm not religious at all so the ending (which got very religious, even compared to the rest of the book) just didn't interest me whatsoever?
The characters where not the worst, the detective was very cliche and 2d feeling, the other cops where kinda feeling like cardboard stand-ins that did not much at all. Sister Holiday first started as a "not like other girls" kinda vibe but I grew to actually kinda like her. The rest of the sisters where ok, but I did absolutely keep confusing who was who even at the end aha.. The kids where fun though, Prince was cliche but not the worst character at all, the other kids didn't appear enough to feel like they where actually important which was weird as their storylines felt very important overall? I think there was just way too many characters and the author only wanted to mainly write about Sister Holiday and Riveaux and what they did together.
The story felt pretty standard and predictable, the reveal at the end wasn't shocking at all to me. The "mysterious" events that happen throughout either have throwaway answers or uh, don't really get answered at all? How on earth did no one realise who the shadow was going through the school in the first fire? Like genuinely, they got spotted multiple times. But it also meant it was a very easy read that didn't take much thinking or brain power so I did kinda like that.
Idk, maybe this book just caught me on a good mood where I just wanted something to zone out to but it wasn't the worst book I've read. The writing was pretty good, and the way the dialogue was written also wasn't that bad. I don't know if I agree with the "cozy" tag this keeps getting, there's a hell of a lot of heavy topics discussed and it's not exactly what I'd call "cozy" (especially with the animal death part.... would have been nice if storygraph had that as a content warning on graphic or like... at all🙃).
The characters where not the worst, the detective was very cliche and 2d feeling, the other cops where kinda feeling like cardboard stand-ins that did not much at all. Sister Holiday first started as a "not like other girls" kinda vibe but I grew to actually kinda like her. The rest of the sisters where ok, but I did absolutely keep confusing who was who even at the end aha.. The kids where fun though, Prince was cliche but not the worst character at all, the other kids didn't appear enough to feel like they where actually important which was weird as their storylines felt very important overall? I think there was just way too many characters and the author only wanted to mainly write about Sister Holiday and Riveaux and what they did together.
The story felt pretty standard and predictable, the reveal at the end wasn't shocking at all to me. The "mysterious" events that happen throughout either have throwaway answers or uh, don't really get answered at all? How on earth did no one realise who the shadow was going through the school in the first fire? Like genuinely, they got spotted multiple times. But it also meant it was a very easy read that didn't take much thinking or brain power so I did kinda like that.
Idk, maybe this book just caught me on a good mood where I just wanted something to zone out to but it wasn't the worst book I've read. The writing was pretty good, and the way the dialogue was written also wasn't that bad. I don't know if I agree with the "cozy" tag this keeps getting, there's a hell of a lot of heavy topics discussed and it's not exactly what I'd call "cozy" (especially with the animal death part.... would have been nice if storygraph had that as a content warning on graphic or like... at all🙃).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Addiction, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Cancer, and Homophobia
Minor: Rape, Incest, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, and Self harm
Animal Death:yulia's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
3.0
I really liked the premise and author's style. There are some really hard hitting emotional parts that I loved.
However it just felt all over the place, especially closer to the end. There were some scenes that just lead nowhere.Like Holiday's ex girlfriend appearing for a chapter out of nowhere and without particular significance to the plot/character development.
I had mixed feeling on the main character, but there were barely any likeable characters in the book so by comparison she wasn't so bad.
I also felt that her attitude to cops was very inconsistent considering her history. Especially her betraying John's secret to the cops without any solid reason
Not a hard read, but if you like any joy in your stories, I would pass on this one.
However it just felt all over the place, especially closer to the end. There were some scenes that just lead nowhere.
I had mixed feeling on the main character, but there were barely any likeable characters in the book so by comparison she wasn't so bad.
Not a hard read, but if you like any joy in your stories, I would pass on this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Hate crime, Violence, Police brutality, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Animal death
Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Self harm, and Medical content
marywahlmeierbracciano's review against another edition
challenging
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
4.0
Over a sweltering New Orleans summer, a series of fires plagues the Sisters of the Sublime Blood and their associated school, St. Sebastian’s. Determined to catch the culprit is Sister Holiday, a queer punk Maria von Trapp, who, between playing guitar and helping kids, has broken a commandment or two. It’s actually not that uncommon for nuns to be radical, and the sisters in Holiday’s order are no strangers to run-ins with the law. But whose law comes first—God’s or man’s? This women-led story highlights struggles of incarceration, queerness, poverty, and addiction, with a few lovely Easter eggs for the Catholics among us. Sister Holiday’s love for the divine feminine, despite everything, is inspiring.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Cancer, Homophobia, Death of parent, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Alcohol, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Self harm, Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, Child abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Incest, and Medical content
grunbean's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-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
3.0
The first half of this book would’ve been a two and half stars for me. The second half was closer to three and a half stars. But the ending was like reading something that had a deadline, and the author realised it was due the night before.
The idea of a queer nun detective is fresh, and I enjoyed that aspect of it. I think the religious trauma and exploration of what it’s like to grow up queer in these communities was interesting. But these didn’t really have much to do with the story of THIS book. A lot of the book didn’t have much to do with the story and mystery. I don’t know whether I’m not smart enough and I didn’t pick up on all the clues, or whether the answer to the mystery was shoe horned in at the end.
I found myself questioning the choices of the characters a lot. Not because they’re bad, but because their choices just didn’t make sense to me in the context.
Given that this is a series I feel like more time was spent on building up this world and characters for the series than on the story. It sort of felt like the author remembered there was a mystery to answer at the very end. It gave me whiplash, but not in the ‘oh my gosh I don’t know how I didn’t see this coming’ way. It was more of like ‘was I meant to see this coming’ way. If that makes sense.
There’s a lot of promise and the writing is beautiful in places. The author definitely has a flair for description. There’s a lot of promise, but it doesn’t deliver here. I will be picking up the next book in the series out of curiosity.
The idea of a queer nun detective is fresh, and I enjoyed that aspect of it. I think the religious trauma and exploration of what it’s like to grow up queer in these communities was interesting. But these didn’t really have much to do with the story of THIS book. A lot of the book didn’t have much to do with the story and mystery. I don’t know whether I’m not smart enough and I didn’t pick up on all the clues, or whether the answer to the mystery was shoe horned in at the end.
I found myself questioning the choices of the characters a lot. Not because they’re bad, but because their choices just didn’t make sense to me in the context.
Given that this is a series I feel like more time was spent on building up this world and characters for the series than on the story. It sort of felt like the author remembered there was a mystery to answer at the very end. It gave me whiplash, but not in the ‘oh my gosh I don’t know how I didn’t see this coming’ way. It was more of like ‘was I meant to see this coming’ way. If that makes sense.
There’s a lot of promise and the writing is beautiful in places. The author definitely has a flair for description. There’s a lot of promise, but it doesn’t deliver here. I will be picking up the next book in the series out of curiosity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Car accident, Rape, and Violence
midnightcxreal's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Religious bigotry, Violence, Alcohol, Drug use, Drug abuse, Suicide, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Addiction, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, and Death
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.
Will come back to review in more detail if I can.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Alcohol, Classism, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Incest, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Drug use, Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Sexism, Self harm, Terminal illness, Cursing, Death, Police brutality, Murder, Rape, and Sexual harassment
ermw0's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Murder, Death, Addiction, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Grief, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, Terminal illness, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape, Pregnancy, and Adult/minor relationship
lambkm's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Death, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide
Minor: Animal death and Self harm