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caughtbetweenpages's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This has been on my radar for quite some time and I'm thrilled that I happened to pick it up during the spookiest of seasons this year. Carroll's collection of bite-sized horror is ominous and foreboding and sometimes fucking nasty in turns, and I loved every bit of it. There are nods to old, familiar fairy tales (A Lady's Hands are Cold feels incredibly Bluebeard-esque, though with a decidedly happier ending), but there's a very Carrollesque bent to all the stories that make them feel unique to her, and not just because her illustrative style is so distinct. My favorite was the closing story, The Nesting Place, maybe because it touches on so many of my own personal fears. If anything, I wish there was a greater thematic throughline between the stories, so that the framing device of the introduction and conclusion (very Red Riding Hood, but the HEA hasn't and may never come) felt more appropriate (for lack of a better term? maybe of use?), OR that there was no framing device whatsoever, and the story collection was just presented as-is. I also just wanted there to be more of them, not because the collection needed it to be good, but because what is there is so good that I didn't want it to end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Body horror, Death, and Toxic friendship
Parasite TW
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