Reviews with content warning for Rape - Scorched Grace

I struggled with this one. I really wanted to like it, I went to Catholic school and I knew some pretty cool nuns. There was a lot of potential in the premise. I thought this would be a fun time, despite being a murder mystery. It wasn't fun, it wasn't funny, and it didn't have anything new or interesting to say. It was just a series of awful people either doing awful things or having awful things done to them while the author describes how hot and humid it is every other sentence. (Do check the content warnings, there is a lot of dark stuff here.) The book is written in a stream of conscious sort of way, so I would be in a scene and then three paragraphs later the narrator was still musing, reminiscing about the past in a vague way, and talking about how hot it is, and I would have forgotten what was even happening. This was made worse by listening on audiobook and not being able to just flip back or skip over, but I do think Mara Wilson did a good job narrating the material she was given. Sister Holiday makes incredibly bad choices, is selfish and hard to root for, and doesn't really figure anything out that isn't completely obvious. The word "sleuthing" is heavily overused by her, especially considering that she doesn't actually do any. I would say the diversity is good, but because the diverse people are flat or terrible, I'm not sure the representation does anyone a service.

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zarap's review against another edition

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Nottt a fan. The writing wasn't great, to start with - I don't dislike stream of consciousness generally, but it just did not work for me here. I wasn't invested in the present storyline, Holiday's back story, or any of the characters, all of whom felt pretty flat to me. I was bothered by the fact that halfway into the book, the Catholic church's views on gay people hadn't been addressed despite Sister Holiday being a lesbian (one of the other nuns is homophobic and Holiday's just...fine with it?). I was even more bothered by

Sister Holiday's repeatedly hitting a disabled student (after he says some pretty bad/threatening stuff, but nonetheless, *student*) and knowing she "crossed a line" but not feeling any remorse or, up to this point, experiencing any consequences.

. This was on my list of anticipated 2023 releases, so I'm sad it didn't live up to my hopes, but if I could rate it, it'd be a 2 star at best. Also, if you do want to check it out, definitely check CWs first. There's some very dark stuff in the back story, as well as some in the present day narrative.

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egmamaril's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

I rated this higher because I really appreciated seeing the social-justicr Catholic church (and nuns) I know represented, but the actual prose and mystery were not my cup of tea. However, it is setting up an interesting duo and I love Sister Holiday as a queer version of the troubled noir detective. I will remain optimistic for the sequel.

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bronteberry's review against another edition

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3.25

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madsw14's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.25

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