Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Small Favors by Erin A. Craig

7 reviews

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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immovabletype's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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ashlikes's review

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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


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ka_ke's review

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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. 

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tkatt20's review against another edition

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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!
 

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elephant_mouse's review

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adventurous 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


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ireadinbed's review

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved the entire experience of reading this book. 

It gave me the same feelings I often had reading books as a child. I cannot remember the last time I felt so well immersed. It did a good job of dropping red herrings do I couldn't quite figure things out whilst also giving me enough crumbs that my fairy story loving brain was a buzzing!

I found parts of it quite dread inducing but in a fun way. Like it was surprisingly scary, I didn't expect it!

I connected a lot with the characters and some over arching themes about what desperation and bad luck can do to us.

Just genuinely very well done. 

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