Reviews

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

f4ll3n's review against another edition

slow-paced

3.5

omskivar's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

doom_inique's review against another edition

5.0

I skimmed a bit towards the end between scenes I couldnt remember. But overall definitely holds up almost 3.5 years later. Absolutely stellar debut.

sleeprunreadrepeat's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

solleron's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional relaxing fast-paced

5.0

i was in a cafe reading this. i think i was alone. i flailed like crazy

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gaslighting, Death, Abandonment, Body horror, Grief, and Toxic relationship

rhensie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

3.5

This is an odd one for me to rate. For a lot of it, I was super intrigued, I love the spooky cave/underwater vibes a lot. But I had problems with the pacing (which seemed way too slow at times), the way the climbs were described (I didn’t have enough background information to always be able to understand/picture what was actually happening), and the resolution. I love the dynamic between Em and Gyre though: one think Starling does well is write unhinged women having unhinged relationships. I actually think I’d really enjoy learning more about their story post the events of this book.

horrorhussy's review against another edition

5.0

Queer horror! We love to read it

hagganmaggan's review against another edition

1.0

Tedious, repetitive, and strangely paced.

georgiaseely's review against another edition

adventurous tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

tangoshrimp's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0