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cescaboo19's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Vomit
nerdybookqueen's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
What an amazing adventure. If you enjoyed this author's other work, you'll enjoy this one.
Featuring three povs, these female leads must join together to achieve their goals and solve the mystery underlying the story. I found all three women to be very interesting and compelling characters, featuring unique motives and personalities.
Jude is working to fix the botched deal with a demon, and along the way starts investigating a string of murdered women, all with a similar signature. She meets Zara, a woman trying to find a way to bring her sister back from the dead. Together, they find Emer, the woman who, as it turns out, has written deals-invocations- with demons for all the murdered women so far. And she's not pleased they're turning up dead. Together, they work to discover whose been murdering these women, while trying to find a solution to both Jude and Zara's problems.
This story kept me hooked, every twist and turn in the tale creating an exciting adventure that had me hanging on every word until the end. I also loved the addition of sapphic main characters, enjoying their story and the evolution of their relationship through the tale.
I was so sad when the story ended, but so satisfied, and surprised, by the final act. I've already preorder the book, I loved it so much.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Stalking, and Death of parent
Minor: Child death
leos_library's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Gore, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Misogyny, Blood, and Vomit
Minor: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexism
anna_may's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
camiandkitread's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
ramreadsagain'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
4.5
Krystal Sutherland is really proving herself to be the exception to the rule when it comes to Young Adult literature for me. House of Hollow was excellent and this probably even exceeds that. This book really had that "one more chapter" feel, especially after the 80% mark; I've not stayed up late just to finish a book for so long but this truly had me hooked.
I loved all of the fantasy aspects, the interesting take on witchcraft was a highlight for me, particularly the world building around demons.
The main characters all felt very realistic, which I think is an achievement when you consider their extreme (and extremely different) upbringings. Their flaws felt real, done really well, and created an excellent dynamic between them as well. There was just enough of the romance subplot too, it never took over and I thought it was cute.
Some twists were a bit obvious, while others made me gasp as I only realised connections a couple of lines before our characters did. This to me is the perfect balance, I'm not against obvious twists but also enjoy being completely surprised. I've seen people comparing the 'obviousness' of the twist(s) here to the one in House of Hollow but I saw the HoH one coming a mile off too lol
It's not quite a 5 star read for me, partly because of the amount of convenience they experienced, for example
This was such an enjoyable read all the way through and I think that young women and girls will really enjoy this for its (albeit slightly heavyhanded) introduction to some fundamentals of feminism and the history of witch burning. I think the book created a really good balance between "witches are real in this world and they were persecuted" and "witch hunting was a tool used to oppress and control women". I think Zara's motivations too are a really great message and I love how her
Overall I really loved this and I'd absolutely recommend this to urban/contemporary fantasy fans as well as young adult readers.
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Drug use
marywahlmeierbracciano's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Child death, Sexual violence, Torture, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
metaphorsandmisc'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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Misogyny, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
emminkirjakasa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Physical abuse, Blood, Vomit, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
CW: Blood, murder, body horror, and everything other thing you might imagine in a book about witches and magic.