ashlikes's review
dark
mysterious
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? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/injury detail, Kidnapping, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Animal death, Death of parent, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Child death, Miscarriage, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, and Alcoholism
ka_ke's review
dark
mysterious
medium-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? No
4.75
Small Favours certainly has dark christianity based undertones. I’m not sure if this is intentional or if I’m simply projecting my own experiences on the story. Otherwise, Small Favours is a fun thriller. Watching the towns people slowly lose themselves to insanity is creative, dark and immersive. Another win for Erin A. Craig.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Violence, Body horror, Grief, and Misogyny
Minor: Colonisation, Alcohol, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy
bwwilhelm's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book is not for the faint of heart, but it was damn good!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Blood, Murder, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Grief
andromeda_1998's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Small favors took me by surprise. I really enjoyed myself while reading it and I’m not sure if I will ever be able to find something like that again. I hope that the writer will someday decide to write a second book because some things are left unanswered but I like it as a stand-alone. The books has some dark and tense elements that I loved but I would have enjoyed it more if we had seen even more of this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Pregnancy, Violence, Vomit, Animal death, Chronic illness, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, and Misogyny
nytephoenyx's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Disclaimer: I received this book for free from NetGalley and Delacorte in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I sat down to read a couple of chapters of Small Favors and ended up reading the entire book.
Erin A. Craig has a way of doing that, a way of weaving her spell around her readers so throughly with her compelling worlds and duplicitous characters that one more chapter becomes two, then ten, and then you’re reading the acknowledgements and wondering where the day went. The same thing happened to me when reading House of Salt and Sorrows and I’m not sorry to see she’s done it again.
If you enjoyed her debut, Small Favors takes the storytelling up a notch. Craig still paints the world with a fairytale feeling, but it’s far more Grimm Brothers than Disney. She knows when to focus on the details and she knows when it’s time to jump forward. I adore her storytelling because I fall into it effortlessly. There were shades of The Grace Year in Small Favors, but it’s also Rumpelstiltskin and Little House on the Prairie gone awry, with just a pinch of The Crucible. I love, love, loved it.
The characters as well are interesting and … shadowed. I spent most the book trying to figure out who the true villain was. Sometimes I was right, at least a little, but I certainly didn’t guess the whole thing. Siblings Ellerie, Samuel, Merry, and Sadie paint an interesting quartet – each one compelling but each one flawed. Small Favors is more than the story of a family – it’s the story of a town. Be prepared to meet a lot of people and learn a lot of names. This may be off-putting for some, but for me it made the game more interesting. Some characters are developed better than others, but the ones we need to know the best… we do. Then there’s the mythology, the edge of Van Helsing… ah. You must read this. You simply must.
I know this may be controversial, but I so very much loved the ending. It’s the sort of ending I think a lot of readers will be annoyed with – I’m sorry! But I think it made perfect sense and was clever and honest. Too may YA books wrap everything up with a lovely ribbon tied in a bow and that was not the case with Small Favors. I’ve probably said too much already, but know that this is the sort of ending you have to appreciate and rage over all at once.
Would I recommend Small Favors? Absolutely. With her sophomore novel coming hot on the heels of her first, not only would I recommend Erin A. Criag’s books, but she’s become an insta-buy author for me. Small Favors is compelling and leaves you guessing about the darkness in everyone’s hearts. I eagerly await her next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Vomit
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