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discarded_dust_jacket's review
It’s not that I think the writing is necessarily bad, but this book would benefit from a few more rounds of editing. The author has definite potential, but this story needs some work, and I didn’t want to continue forcing myself to push through.
The anachronistic language took me out of the story every time. It’s supposed to be set in the 1920s but the characters use modern day colloquialisms. The dialogue in general just feels a bit odd and forced, sometimes even downright cringey.
The narrative pushes forward at a pretty quick pace right off the bat, but it isn’t really properly contextualized through any meaningful worldbuilding. I couldn’t get a solid grasp on the religion in particular. Who are the hunters? What and why are they hunting? Why does Ilya keep referencing a time when he “burnt out his eyes” as part of some ritual, without giving any further explanation?
Now granted, I did give up after only 45 pages so maybe these issues would have resolved themselves, but nothing about what I read thus far incentivized me to continue further.
The anachronistic language took me out of the story every time. It’s supposed to be set in the 1920s but the characters use modern day colloquialisms. The dialogue in general just feels a bit odd and forced, sometimes even downright cringey.
The narrative pushes forward at a pretty quick pace right off the bat, but it isn’t really properly contextualized through any meaningful worldbuilding. I couldn’t get a solid grasp on the religion in particular. Who are the hunters? What and why are they hunting? Why does Ilya keep referencing a time when he “burnt out his eyes” as part of some ritual, without giving any further explanation?
Now granted, I did give up after only 45 pages so maybe these issues would have resolved themselves, but nothing about what I read thus far incentivized me to continue further.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Death, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse, Drug use, Terminal illness, and Cancer
haileeraye's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Emotional abuse, Violence, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Blood, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Homophobia and Death of parent
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