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madarauchiha's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
✨🌠 my about / byf / CW info carrd: uchiha-madara 🌠✨
I hate gothic genre. I should really check genres before reading. That said, it wasn't tooooo bad. It was historical gothic with a hint of horror and supernatual in the The Fae flavor. If you read Purcell's previous books, you'd familiar with the tones and themes also present in this book.
I suppose it was a bit slow. I thought it was very well written and competently described. Much of the historical details were not confusing to someone like me who does not read much historical genre. I liked the MC, if only because she was stubborn and clever and tried her best to survive in a shitty misogynistic society. She's a fucked up person who has done fucked up things. Neat!
The ending was sudden and honestly I can't disagree with that. In context it makes perfect sense. The POV is of the MC, why wouldn't it flow just like that?
You know what's fuckign weird tho?the nurse girl character fucking the prisoner / medical abuse experiment subject guy. What th efuck.
All that said, I didn't care for the book. Just didn't click for me. I appreciate how well made it is, and can tell the author is pretty skilled at what she does.
major addiction, blood, classism, death, dogs, medical content, miscarriage, murder, parental death, racial slurs, religion christianity, sinophobia, suicide ideation
medium ableism, alcohol, classism, parasites, pedophilia, psychiatric abuse, sexual abuse, trafficking, whorephobia
Minor alcoholism, drowning, excrement, infertility, kidnapping, pregnancy, sexual content, vomit
I hate gothic genre. I should really check genres before reading. That said, it wasn't tooooo bad. It was historical gothic with a hint of horror and supernatual in the The Fae flavor. If you read Purcell's previous books, you'd familiar with the tones and themes also present in this book.
I suppose it was a bit slow. I thought it was very well written and competently described. Much of the historical details were not confusing to someone like me who does not read much historical genre. I liked the MC, if only because she was stubborn and clever and tried her best to survive in a shitty misogynistic society. She's a fucked up person who has done fucked up things. Neat!
The ending was sudden and honestly I can't disagree with that. In context it makes perfect sense. The POV is of the MC, why wouldn't it flow just like that?
You know what's fuckign weird tho?
All that said, I didn't care for the book. Just didn't click for me. I appreciate how well made it is, and can tell the author is pretty skilled at what she does.
major addiction, blood, classism, death, dogs, medical content, miscarriage, murder, parental death, racial slurs, religion christianity, sinophobia, suicide ideation
medium ableism, alcohol, classism, parasites, pedophilia, psychiatric abuse, sexual abuse, trafficking, whorephobia
Minor alcoholism, drowning, excrement, infertility, kidnapping, pregnancy, sexual content, vomit
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Death, Medical content, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Racial slurs, and Addiction
Moderate: Trafficking, Ableism, Alcohol, Classism, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence
Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Excrement, Infertility, Kidnapping, and Vomit
ceallaighsbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
“Ignorant people always fancied that ghosts appeared as shrouded ghouls. Anyone who had suffered loss could tell them differently. Sounds and smells haunted with more persistence, dragged you backwards in a way that nothing else could.”
I strongly encourage you to read the book without reading anyone’s review of it first!
It is actually impossible to talk about what this book is “about” without totally spoiling the book so let me just say that this book takes place in two dual timelines—one in the late 18th c. and one forty years later in the early 19th c.—alternating between the perspective of Louise, the daughter of a physician, and Hester, a maidservant, respectively. Hester’s story starts in London and both stories end in Cornwall.
And just to be safe the rest of my review will be marked as spoilery. But again I strongly encourage you to read the book without reading anyone’s review of it first!
“The cliff face suffered; that was why it looked so stern. Wave after wave, blow after blow, relentless, interminable.”
TW // abduction and sexual abuse of a child alluded to off the page, graphic descriptions of consumption, miscarriage, death of family members to illness, depression, severe grief, hallucinations, psychosis leading to violent actions, murder,
Spoiler vis-a-vis “does the dog die in this one?”: so there is a dog in this book but he doesn’t die until the very end and his death isn’t on the page, it is mentioned only in passing, and it could have been a natural death, although the reader is kind of left to draw their own conclusions...
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Violence
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Child abuse, Kidnapping, and Pedophilia
leecalliope's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I think I enjoyed this book! The rare book that I picked up at work to pass some time and took home and then actually read all the way through not immediately. But I picked it up again yesterday and did reread the first like 10 pages, so I did read all of it in around 24 hours.
It is very engrossing! Very atmospheric. I am definitely glad I was not alone when I was reading it! A spooky book.
I think I do not really?? Extremely enjoy an ambiguous ending like this. I dunno. I also did have some issues sympathizing w Hester? I dunno. I think her all-encompassing need to be needed is very! Relatable! And also interesting, as a character trait to examine, but I don't know that I got enough time with it/her to really feel it.
Louise is a much more sympathetic character, and I think the fact that we don't really find out what happens in the last 40 years through her eyes is my biggest complaint. I want to know how she is feeling throughout the book! Also? The thing with the door counter is just SO spooky, and I think could have been used to greater effect if Hester had been less muddled about it.
Anyway, I think I really enjoyed the experience of reading this book. I've always been enamored by the idea of changelings, and it's an interesting exploration of the theme! I had a nice time, and I would definitely read another book by this author.
It is very engrossing! Very atmospheric. I am definitely glad I was not alone when I was reading it! A spooky book.
I think I do not really?? Extremely enjoy an ambiguous ending like this. I dunno. I also did have some issues sympathizing w Hester? I dunno. I think her all-encompassing need to be needed is very! Relatable! And also interesting, as a character trait to examine, but I don't know that I got enough time with it/her to really feel it.
Louise is a much more sympathetic character, and I think the fact that we don't really find out what happens in the last 40 years through her eyes is my biggest complaint. I want to know how she is feeling throughout the book! Also? The thing with the door counter is just SO spooky, and I think could have been used to greater effect if Hester had been less muddled about it.
Anyway, I think I really enjoyed the experience of reading this book. I've always been enamored by the idea of changelings, and it's an interesting exploration of the theme! I had a nice time, and I would definitely read another book by this author.
Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, and Addiction
There's a lot of talk about drowning specifically in the latter half of the book.
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