Scan barcode
theaceofpages's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
"Well, picture me as a popped party balloon. Picture me as a stone made of foam, incapable of smashing a single window. That’s the sort of tired I am."
Seraphina feels the need to investigate after her sister, Eff, ends up in a coma after getting involved with what Seraphina is sure is a cult. She decides to leave her life of odd jobs (including pet sitter and princess for hire) and her rather demanding cat to try find answers, and hopefully not get sucked into the cult herself (she is less naive than her sister, afterall).
Ooh I absolutely loved the setting! An abandoned goblin amusement park is such a great idea and I'd love to explore such a place. Although I'm sure it would be very creepy (even without a probable cult that may or may not have tried to kill someone I care about). It very much gave me Night Circus vibes (although the style is very different) and was one of the strongest parts of the book. The mood shift between the earlier chapters and the main story were amazing. I mean, it went from princessy and pink and parties to rust, cults and a dark mystery. I found myself thinking about this a couple of times while reading and it was definitely well executed.
While I loved the wandering style of the story, I was a little annoyed by the ending. A lot of things happened very suddenly. It felt out of place and didn't answer a lot of questions. I would have appreciated the events building up a little more slowly with more time for answers. I also had a similar annoyance when Seraphina changed her mind what felt like too quickly about something (nothing major, but it felt odd).
I recieved a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. As always, all views are my own.
Some notes on some content warnings:
Seraphina feels the need to investigate after her sister, Eff, ends up in a coma after getting involved with what Seraphina is sure is a cult. She decides to leave her life of odd jobs (including pet sitter and princess for hire) and her rather demanding cat to try find answers, and hopefully not get sucked into the cult herself (she is less naive than her sister, afterall).
Ooh I absolutely loved the setting! An abandoned goblin amusement park is such a great idea and I'd love to explore such a place. Although I'm sure it would be very creepy (even without a probable cult that may or may not have tried to kill someone I care about). It very much gave me Night Circus vibes (although the style is very different) and was one of the strongest parts of the book. The mood shift between the earlier chapters and the main story were amazing. I mean, it went from princessy and pink and parties to rust, cults and a dark mystery. I found myself thinking about this a couple of times while reading and it was definitely well executed.
While I loved the wandering style of the story, I was a little annoyed by the ending. A lot of things happened very suddenly. It felt out of place and didn't answer a lot of questions. I would have appreciated the events building up a little more slowly with more time for answers. I also had a similar annoyance when Seraphina changed her mind what felt like too quickly about something (nothing major, but it felt odd).
I recieved a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. As always, all views are my own.
Some notes on some content warnings:
- Medical content:
Mentions of her sister's coma and father's cancer treatment - Cancer/death of parent:
Father's treatment/condition is discussed in some detail but it's only mentioned afterwards that it was cancer. Mostly just that he looked sick and tired. - Domestic abuse:
Mentions of a past relationship - Animal death/cruelty:
Live mice are fed to a snake
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Blood, Death of parent, and Violence
More...