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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Self harm, Murder
Minor: Animal death, Car accident
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was very enamored by The Spells of Forgetting and The Unmaking of June Farrow, so I was expecting a similar sense of magical realism to wow me in this book.
It begins with a girl—mysteriously named James—returning to her small hometown that she had left right after high school because of the death of her brother. Returning to a small town after a death in the family immediately reminded me of The Spells of Forgetting. I thought, “Okay, fine—let’s see what surprises the author has in store.”
The big twist? A supernatural twin connection. Honestly, I was disappointed. This didn’t feel like magical realism to me—twin bonds like this are very real for many people, and sensing the presence of a departed loved one is also a common, deeply personal experience.
In the end, the slow build-up, the character motivations, the romance, and the eventual reveal all felt very similar to The Spells of Forgetting—only without the cool witchy aspect. Instead, it read like a murder mystery, but not a very suspenseful one, since the pacing was so slow.
As with some of the author’s other work, everything truly interesting happens in the last 50–60 pages. I was looking forward to this read, and while the writing is again beautiful and atmospheric, the story itself left me a little disappointed.
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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:
No
This one took me a VERY long time to get into. The buildup was slow and a bit boring, but the setting and writing were beautiful. It picked up towards the end, but in a mellow sort of way. I did not have the mystery of the story figured out, so that’s a plus.