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littlelili1320's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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
3.5
It took a bit for me to get into this. It could be due to my biases against Christianity caused by my upbringing. I'm also bisexual. I just found it hard to believe that such a queer, "punk" girl would be so religious. I can understand wanting to escape & become a nun after the trauma, but even before that she had a bunch of Christian tattoos & spoke scripture while fooling around with a girl. I found myself rolling my eyes at both her & the nuns.
Thankfully, more of her ideas about God come forth & it's far more believable. The book also picked up pace. I did guess the cuplrit but that's fine. An animal does die, which seemed unecessarry. I did overall enjoy the book. I look forward to reading the next one. If she does decide to take her vows & she doesn't secretly act on her sexuality I might get pissed lol. I really don't think it would be believable.
Thankfully, more of her ideas about God come forth & it's far more believable. The book also picked up pace. I did guess the cuplrit but that's fine. An animal does die, which seemed unecessarry. I did overall enjoy the book. I look forward to reading the next one. If she does decide to take her vows & she doesn't secretly act on her sexuality I might get pissed lol. I really don't think it would be believable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, and Homophobia
Moderate: Rape, Incest, and Infidelity
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Cancer, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Car accident, Confinement, Death, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
mothie_girlie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-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
4.5
"Holy Mary, Mother of God. Let the afterlife have central air and hot women"
I was immediately hooked from the premise, a queer nun solving crimes?? Sign me up!! As one of my most anticipated reads of the year, I went int0 Scorched Grace with high expectations and I was certainly not disappointed. I loved the way that Sister Holiday was written, especially how she defies traditional nun and religious standards people have. As a lesbian that also hates the church and religious authority but still loves christian elements such as rosaries and calling upon the saints, this book felt so cathartic. I will definitely be continuing to read whatever Margot Douaihy writes next. I will also gladly be picking up a physical copy so I can annotate and show this book all the love i have for it!
Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving the opportunity to read one of my most anticipated reads of 2023 in exchange for an honest review. Margot Douaihy, your writing is so eloquent and gorgeous, you are truly a genius.
I was immediately hooked from the premise, a queer nun solving crimes?? Sign me up!! As one of my most anticipated reads of the year, I went int0 Scorched Grace with high expectations and I was certainly not disappointed. I loved the way that Sister Holiday was written, especially how she defies traditional nun and religious standards people have. As a lesbian that also hates the church and religious authority but still loves christian elements such as rosaries and calling upon the saints, this book felt so cathartic. I will definitely be continuing to read whatever Margot Douaihy writes next. I will also gladly be picking up a physical copy so I can annotate and show this book all the love i have for it!
Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving the opportunity to read one of my most anticipated reads of 2023 in exchange for an honest review. Margot Douaihy, your writing is so eloquent and gorgeous, you are truly a genius.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, and Cursing
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Cancer, Death of parent, and Confinement
solarpqwer's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thanks to NetGalley and Zando Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This was honestly unlike anything I've ever read before! I'm a sucker for a mystery and this crime fiction debut was certainly something I thought would be right up my alley and I was absolutely right about it. Sister Holiday is a flawed but intriguing main character, made all the better by the way she acknowledges and pushes through her past. Every character felt so purposefully placed in their roles and felt fleshed out so well, no matter what their purpose was, and even more than that, they were all equally unreliable to me (which I absolutely loved). My only (small) drawback with this book was the pacing. While it wasn't too bad, there were some moments that felt like they dragged and then it almost felt like we were thrust too fast into the ending, leaving me wanting more of what comes next. Though I believe this will be a series if I remember correctly so it's likely that will be resolved in the next book! Overall, this is a crazy, twisting and turning debut and I'm excited to have it officially on my bookshelf! (Don't forget to check content warnings!)
This was honestly unlike anything I've ever read before! I'm a sucker for a mystery and this crime fiction debut was certainly something I thought would be right up my alley and I was absolutely right about it. Sister Holiday is a flawed but intriguing main character, made all the better by the way she acknowledges and pushes through her past. Every character felt so purposefully placed in their roles and felt fleshed out so well, no matter what their purpose was, and even more than that, they were all equally unreliable to me (which I absolutely loved). My only (small) drawback with this book was the pacing. While it wasn't too bad, there were some moments that felt like they dragged and then it almost felt like we were thrust too fast into the ending, leaving me wanting more of what comes next. Though I believe this will be a series if I remember correctly so it's likely that will be resolved in the next book! Overall, this is a crazy, twisting and turning debut and I'm excited to have it officially on my bookshelf! (Don't forget to check content warnings!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Homophobia, Police brutality, and Animal death
Moderate: Rape, Blood, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail
wortfluesterin's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
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
3.5
Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for an honest review!
Scorched Grace is a nun murder mystery. These are certainly words I didn’t expect to say in a sentence, but needless to say, I loved the concept.
The main character, Sister Holiday, might not be the typical nun (tattooed from head to toe and queer) but I was still able to see her love for religion clearly.
The book jumps back between Holiday’s past life, turbulent and tragic, to the present in which someone is setting fires to the church she works in, and the school attached.
The thing I love most about murder mysteries is not knowing who did it and being pleasantly surprised by the reveal in the end. Sadly, I was able to guess the correct person about halfway through the book and the actual reveal was pretty anticlimactic as well.
Mostly I enjoyed the past of Sister Holiday more than the present scenes, they just felt filled with more emotion whereas in some of the present the story seemed to fall a little flat.
I’m not catholic so I can’t comment on how realistic the portrayal of the religion was, but I thought the way it was written into the story was beautiful. Especially, because a lot of it revolves around religious hate and intolerance (especially homophobia) but still shows how Holiday was able to find peace in the very same religion that brought her so much pain.
I understand that the murder mystery was the driving force of the book, but during bits of the story, it seemed to be a side plot that was pushed into the story to give the book a driving factor.
The book is a tragic portrayal of life (definitely a dark one as well CHECK THE TRIGGER WARNINGS!) interwoven with a fun murder mystery and many lovable (or at least realistic) characters.
Definitely pick this one up if it sounds interesting to you!!
(Small addition I’m not yet 100% sure how I feel about: Nina was the only bi rep in this book and is only shown to cheat on her husband in order to be with Holiday. While this can obviously happen regardless of sexuality, I think it’s essential to think about if and how this representation of bi-woman is necessary.)
Scorched Grace is a nun murder mystery. These are certainly words I didn’t expect to say in a sentence, but needless to say, I loved the concept.
The main character, Sister Holiday, might not be the typical nun (tattooed from head to toe and queer) but I was still able to see her love for religion clearly.
The book jumps back between Holiday’s past life, turbulent and tragic, to the present in which someone is setting fires to the church she works in, and the school attached.
The thing I love most about murder mysteries is not knowing who did it and being pleasantly surprised by the reveal in the end. Sadly, I was able to guess the correct person about halfway through the book and the actual reveal was pretty anticlimactic as well.
Mostly I enjoyed the past of Sister Holiday more than the present scenes, they just felt filled with more emotion whereas in some of the present the story seemed to fall a little flat.
I’m not catholic so I can’t comment on how realistic the portrayal of the religion was, but I thought the way it was written into the story was beautiful. Especially, because a lot of it revolves around religious hate and intolerance (especially homophobia) but still shows how Holiday was able to find peace in the very same religion that brought her so much pain.
I understand that the murder mystery was the driving force of the book, but during bits of the story, it seemed to be a side plot that was pushed into the story to give the book a driving factor.
The book is a tragic portrayal of life (definitely a dark one as well CHECK THE TRIGGER WARNINGS!) interwoven with a fun murder mystery and many lovable (or at least realistic) characters.
Definitely pick this one up if it sounds interesting to you!!
(Small addition I’m not yet 100% sure how I feel about: Nina was the only bi rep in this book and is only shown to cheat on her husband in order to be with Holiday. While this can obviously happen regardless of sexuality, I think it’s essential to think about if and how this representation of bi-woman is necessary.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, and Rape
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