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carolibrary's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Animal death, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, and Mental illness
Minor: Suicide
jwhitlow91's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Pregnancy, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Gun violence, Medical content, and Alcoholism
Minor: Vomit, Miscarriage, and Suicide
mpurdy's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.5
I was utterly enthralled in this story. It gave me a rumpelstiltskin retelling feel. It was a page turning favorite. I fell in love with so many characters and felt there pain but at the same time grew to despise others. I gave it 4.5 because I had two unanswered questions.
are her parents alive? I mean I figure they are because of how it ended but I would have liked to get the confirmation. My other question I guess is I wanted to see how Sam really grew so dark? Or was he always that way? I wanted a replay more of when he made
his bargain with the "queen". And how absolutely messed up that he was so readily to offer his twin like wtf. Like was he just mad that his dad respected Ellerie more and that set him off?!
This isn't a spoiler but if you have read this wouldnt it have been kinda cool if Ezra the real Ezra had joined the Kindred to spare the town a little longer? I enjoyed the backstory on the first hanging in Amnity Falls not the hanging itself but how famlies have been at eachother at the start. Looping back to what the "Queen" said about how the violence was here they just kinda helped it along.
All in all it was a great book and has become a favorite that I will cherish in my collection. I am looking forward to reading her debut novel. I really enjoyed her writing. It was the perfect amount of flowery imagery, loveable characters that were soooooo easy to connect to, and a dark fairytalk/folklore that I cannot get enough of.
are her parents alive? I mean I figure they are because of how it ended but I would have liked to get the confirmation. My other question I guess is I wanted to see how Sam really grew so dark? Or was he always that way? I wanted a replay more of when he made
his bargain with the "queen". And how absolutely messed up that he was so readily to offer his twin like wtf. Like was he just mad that his dad respected Ellerie more and that set him off?!
This isn't a spoiler but if you have read this wouldnt it have been kinda cool if Ezra the real Ezra had joined the Kindred to spare the town a little longer? I enjoyed the backstory on the first hanging in Amnity Falls not the hanging itself but how famlies have been at eachother at the start. Looping back to what the "Queen" said about how the violence was here they just kinda helped it along.
All in all it was a great book and has become a favorite that I will cherish in my collection. I am looking forward to reading her debut novel. I really enjoyed her writing. It was the perfect amount of flowery imagery, loveable characters that were soooooo easy to connect to, and a dark fairytalk/folklore that I cannot get enough of.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Animal death
marchhare89's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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? No
5.0
“Would you follow me into the underworld?”
This just might be my favorite book of the year so far as well as an all time favorite. It was so much more than I expected and I was absolutely blown away. I saw someone describe this as “prairie horror”, which is something that felt made for me. It’s like The Village mixed with Midnight Mass. Small Favors is unsettling, immersive, atmospheric, and beautifully dark. Unending stars from me. 5 is not enough.
This just might be my favorite book of the year so far as well as an all time favorite. It was so much more than I expected and I was absolutely blown away. I saw someone describe this as “prairie horror”, which is something that felt made for me. It’s like The Village mixed with Midnight Mass. Small Favors is unsettling, immersive, atmospheric, and beautifully dark. Unending stars from me. 5 is not enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, Violence, Animal death, and Blood
tkatt20's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.5
Small Favors was everything I had hoped it would be and more. This book had the perfect amount of suspense and untrustworthy characters, I found myself completely unable to put it down. Every character had a story and role to play and different motives, it plays masterfully into the human condition and how some people will do anything in their power to help themselves or the ones they love. It makes you think twice about trusting anyone you meet or even your family. This was definitely more of a slow burn thriller with a lot of suspense leading up to the ending, but its so well written I never felt it was boring. There was always some sort of action or event going on, and I loved the descriptions of the bees added in between and how it weaves in with the darker aspects of the story.
While I did truly love this book, I do believe it could have used an extra chapter right at the end or an epilogue. Open-ended books can work in many cases, but I dont usually favor them, and there was one very glaring question I was left with that would have been resolved by this addition and would have made this book perfect for me. Any books by Erin A. Craig have been added to my must buy list and I'm looking forward to any future novels by her!
While I did truly love this book, I do believe it could have used an extra chapter right at the end or an epilogue. Open-ended books can work in many cases, but I dont usually favor them, and there was one very glaring question I was left with that would have been resolved by this addition and would have made this book perfect for me. Any books by Erin A. Craig have been added to my must buy list and I'm looking forward to any future novels by her!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Pregnancy
Minor: Religious bigotry, Vomit, and Suicide
tays_books's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Gun violence, and Pregnancy
Minor: Suicide
elderflower's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I was expecting a sweet, historical romance, but got a horror novel instead. Horror novels are not my thing and this one was definitely creepy. It wasn’t necessarily a bad horror novel, but the advertising did not communicate the fact that it was a horror novel. It was a bit predictable and cliché though.
Songs:
Songs:
- Chelsea by Phoebe Bridgers- this one doesn’t fit very well, but I got the same vibes from this song and this book
- august by Taylor Swift- for Rebecca and Sam
- Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson- for Ellerie
Similar reads:
- The Monster in the Hollows by Andrew Peterson- if you want a younger, cleaner, and more christian version of this book then The Monster in the Hollows is the book for you!
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. R**ling (god I hate to write her name)- I was reminded of Ginny’s storyline while reading this book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Murder, Pregnancy, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Minor: Suicide, Ableism, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Gun violence
more content warnings: ableist language, cheating
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