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meg53's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment
ellie_debney's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Physical abuse, Vomit, and Medical content
apoppyinthewind's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The three main POV characters are Jude, Emer, and Zara. The first, Jude, is a novice witch who's made quite a life-changing mistake with her pact and is seeking help to fix it. Zara, grieving her murdered sister, is determined to find answers and a way to bring her sister back. Jude and Zara are brought together while researching the murders of other witches, all of whom were former clients of Emer, the curse writer.
It's a dark, bloody tale, with a significant amount of body horror about three characters trying to track down a murderer targeting witches. I would recommend checking it out if you enjoy witchy books and horror.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
sage_alexandra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Pretty extraordinary book, and the narrator, Kit Griffiths, is phenomenal!
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Classism
Minor: Confinement, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
a lot of graphic knife/blade injuries,laura_wska's review
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Stalking and Sexual harassment
styxx's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
on_my_bookshelf's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
brebeingwell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book gave me all the proper uncomfy feels I want in a horror, but I did feel like it dragged a little in the second half. I wish I didn't know Russian or play The Sims because then the twist might have been a little more twisty (if you know, you know). I think the characters have strong, independent voices and personalities which lead to me becoming emotionally attached to both who they are as well as their desires/goals. The worldbuilding for a standalone book was immaculate and I enjoyed getting lost every step of the way.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
not_another_ana's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
A girl walks home alone, but not alone.
In a world where only women can wield magic three girls will cross paths thanks to a serial killer targetting witches. Jude is a rich heiress who accidentally cursed herself and is now suffering from a rotting soul. A pariah to her family and constantly in pain she will do anything and pay whatever steep price to fix the damage and go back to her normal life, and if she has to track down a killer then so be it. Zara is looking for a way to bring back her sister, Savannah, from the dead and if magic is the answer then she'll stop at nothing, including finding her sister's murderer. When they find themselves down the same path they start working together and come across Emer, an actual witch and the girl who gave Zara's sister her magic. She could cure Jude and maybe even reanimate Savannah, but there's a more pressing situation: her clients are slowly being killed one by one. Bound together by what they know the three of them will try to catch this serial killer before he comes for them.
I thought this would be such an easy 5 stars. A book about witches! With a serial killer! By the same author of House of Hollow! Saying I was hype is an understatement, I was genuinely counting down the days and yet... this did not hit 😔 and trust me, it hurts. Some of my frustration might be due to how much I loved House of Hollow, which I read twice last year, and to that I say my bad, sure, but even separating this from previous books I still think it's weak and not up to standard. There were still elements that I enjoyed so let's start with the good.
The prose was excellent in general. Easy to read, very descriptive without boring the reader, non repetitive. Nobody does gruesome in such an enjoyable way as Krystal Sutherland, tasteful amount of gore I would say. The central idea was solid, I was particulary captivated by the magic system in this world. Magic has a price, magic hurts, it's disgusting, it cannot do it all, it demands a sacrifice. Giving away part of your soul in exchange for power ties up nicely to the medieval beliefs of witches consorting with the devil. Emer's family history
Now to the bad parts. I knew this wasn't a 5 stars when I realized there were three points of view. It made the beginning too slow because we had to meet all of them, learn about their situation, and then connect them to the main plot and eventually each other. The pacing was a big issue, slow start that then picks up only to slump again to then pack all the action in the last 30%. At some points the girls were too similar and difficult to separate, at others some of them felt like they were just there and didn't contribute much to the story
Then there's the... romance.
I said a lot of shit for a book that I still ranked 3.25 but I stand by it all. I did enjoy it! Which makes everything I didn't enjoy so important for me to talk about. Even with all this if Krystal Sutherland handed me a new book in a similar vein I would sit my ass down and thank her for the meal. TL;DR: yeah you can still read this and enjoy it.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Graphic descriptions of corpses