Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Small Favors by Erin A. Craig

33 reviews

bosco29's review against another edition

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I loved the author's other books but by the end of Chapter 13 of this one, I had zero interest in any of the characters and decided to stop reading it.  The House of Salt and Sorrows and House of Roots and Ruin were magnificent, beautiful, exciting, spooky, and dark and you feel strong em tions for the characters while this one is just boring and dark.

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luna_lovelace's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

The bright yellow cover of the book initially drew me in, little did I know how deceiving it was! It took a while for the story to build up, but once it did, I found myself hooked by the strange events that began to unfold. The author did an excellent job of keeping me engaged during the last half of the story, and I struggled to put the book down.

I realized that there were a few unanswered questions that left me wondering.
For example, I couldn't help but question if Ellerie's parents were still alive and safe. Also, I was curious about why Whitaker was released from his bonds when Ellerie wished for them to leave the town and not return. These questions left me feeling a bit unsatisfied, but I suppose it's up to our interpretation of what happens next!


The ending was a bit anticlimactic.
However, after all the twists and turns throughout the story, it was a relief to see Ellerie have a resemblance of a happy ending.

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lauramcc7's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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carolibrary's review

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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


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kerianne0's review

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0


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confessionsofabibliophile's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Historical Fantasy/ Gothic Fantasy. Fast Paced. 5 Stars. 
Themes: Loss, Love, Betrayal, Loyalty, Folk lore, Religion

"Be careful what you say in the dark of the night, Ellerie Downing, lest you promise something you might regret."

Amity Falls, God' Grasp valley somewhere in the new world (America's). I wish I could say this was a quaint tiny town in the middle of nowhere far off the beaten path from society. I mean technically it is that, but quaint not really. It is a town gripped by fear of what lies beyond the bells. A town that was settled many years ago in the time of wagon trains by families who clutched onto superstitions, lore and fear of the unknown. They put together a place that to the naked eye was perfect, protected and the best place to live, away from the monsters of the forest and the world. A town with rules, set by elders made up of founding families. A town with a hive mentality of a way of life and a way of doing things. They used a vote system to determine some events. Casting votes in a ceremony that stained your skin as a reminder to you and the rest of the town your choice and side in the matter for days to come, like a scarlet letter. 

If the vote didn't decide it fell upon the shoulders of the Elders to decide the best course of action for Amity Falls to take. When I first dove into the book it reminded me a lot of that one M. Night Shyamalan, movie, The  Village and to be honest how the story was tracking I thought that is exactly where this was headed, but boy was I wrong and it was a VERY welcoming surprise. The hive mentality of the town is a theme throughout the book, which is where I will introduce the main character Ellerie Downing. Her family is a founding family and they are the apiarists of the town, that's right the town with a hive complex actually have local beekeepers. She is from a family of 6. Mama, who can bake the best honey cake in the area that is rivalled by none, Papa who's honey is spoken about far and wide, Samuel; Ellerie's twin brother older by mere seconds who I ended up DESPISING throughout most the book. Ellerie, she is the level-headed, strong work ethic, has her own will underneath the rules and is smart. Merry, middle sister who is intelligent, very matter of fact but so devout when it comes to their religion. Sadie, she is the youngest Downing and honestly she is a sassy smart seven year old who is often running around with her imaginary friend Abigail. For what seemed like a normal town, it was not. Strange things begin to happen and I was often left thinking what in the hell is going on but I couldn't put the book down, I was enthralled and needed to know. The town has a bunch of horrible things happen, I won't get too into cause of spoilers. The new trappers in the area and the mutated woodland creatures are some of the oddities that befall Amity Falls. It is a story of love, family, survival, loss, and finding the truth. There were a couple predictable components, the character Whitaker being one of them, I saw that curve ball a million miles away, but Craig does a brilliant job not to divulge all the cards at play so easily. This is my first Erin Craig book and it won't be the last. It ended perfectly tied but I hope for a sequel.  I want to know where the Downings go from here.

I definitely recommend. I can't wait to start House of Salt and Sorrow. Erin Craigs writing was so addictive, I could not put this down. 



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smellymiche's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5


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fionamatilda's review

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dark 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? No

3.0


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taryn_g's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

4.0


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kaitlynnnng's review

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Something I enjoyed about this book was that, when I started a chapter, I never knew how I would feel by the end of it. There was a mix of regular small-town living, the supernatural and fantastical, and mystery. I don’t think there was too much of one thing.

Some of the twists were easy to see coming once other twists were introduced.
For example, I knew “Uncle Ezra” and Whitaker were both suspicious, but once we learned who “Uncle Ezra” really was, it was easy to see that Whitaker was the Dark Watcher.


I appreciate the themes of the story.

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