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mattressy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
bookishly_sam126's review against another edition
4.0
I wasn't sure how to rate this book or even review it. What I do know is I have the second one on my tbr pile for this year.
Overall the story itself was really interesting, dark and twisty in places and somewhat confusing. If you can get past the writing style, the jumping from one scenario to another very quickly then I think you will find this an enjoyable read
Overall the story itself was really interesting, dark and twisty in places and somewhat confusing. If you can get past the writing style, the jumping from one scenario to another very quickly then I think you will find this an enjoyable read
alongreader's review against another edition
4.0
Madeline and Catlin find their new home, Ballyfrann, a bit...well...odd. It's full of Collinses for a start, one family grown out of all recognition. There's the bodies that keep turning up – birds, foxes – and the strange feeling of warmth in the middle of winter, and Mamó, their new stepfather's cousin, with her herbs and potions. And, of course, there's the missing girls; teenagers have gone missing in Ballyfrann for many years. But that won't happen to Madeline or Catlin, of course. They're perfectly safe...
An atmospheric, slightly terrifying read. The language is amazing, lyrical sentences that lull you into thinking nothing bad can possibly happen – usually immediately followed by something bad happening. The increasing fear as things start to go wrong will ensure you can't put this one down. Deirdre has captured perfectly the relationship between siblings, sometimes prickly, sometimes supportive, always there for each other. I'd love to meet Mamó for real, assuming I could get her to answer my questions!
A great, chilling read.
Receiving a proof did not affect my review in any way.
"What will your Galway boyfriend be called?" I ask.
"Something pure Galway like Peadar or Ultan," she says.
"Mine will be called Fenian," I tell her. "Or maybe Mountain. Mountain Boyfriend O'Galway."
"That's good," she says.
I tell her that I know. We make her bed and then we go into my room and make mine. I quite like making beds. When you're putting the duvet cover on you can pretend to be a ghost. Our rooms are almost identical, mirror images, only with different tapestries and views. Every room in Brian's castle has a view. It's a bit much, really. All that landscape.
"Ultan will be able to drive a tractor," Catlin says, as though this is an extremely desirable quality in a man.
Which it may well be. We're in the country. There are different rules.
"My one will have ROAD FRONTAGE," I tell her, "and feed abandoned baby lambs by the hearth. With his big Galway hands." I think I've won.
"Ah. Mountain sounds like a sweetheart," she says. "Ultan will have a shock of bright red curls."
"Mountain will have straw instead of hair. Like a thatched cottage."
"That is incredibly Galway of him," she says, and I can tell that she's impressed.
An atmospheric, slightly terrifying read. The language is amazing, lyrical sentences that lull you into thinking nothing bad can possibly happen – usually immediately followed by something bad happening. The increasing fear as things start to go wrong will ensure you can't put this one down. Deirdre has captured perfectly the relationship between siblings, sometimes prickly, sometimes supportive, always there for each other. I'd love to meet Mamó for real, assuming I could get her to answer my questions!
A great, chilling read.
Receiving a proof did not affect my review in any way.
"What will your Galway boyfriend be called?" I ask.
"Something pure Galway like Peadar or Ultan," she says.
"Mine will be called Fenian," I tell her. "Or maybe Mountain. Mountain Boyfriend O'Galway."
"That's good," she says.
I tell her that I know. We make her bed and then we go into my room and make mine. I quite like making beds. When you're putting the duvet cover on you can pretend to be a ghost. Our rooms are almost identical, mirror images, only with different tapestries and views. Every room in Brian's castle has a view. It's a bit much, really. All that landscape.
"Ultan will be able to drive a tractor," Catlin says, as though this is an extremely desirable quality in a man.
Which it may well be. We're in the country. There are different rules.
"My one will have ROAD FRONTAGE," I tell her, "and feed abandoned baby lambs by the hearth. With his big Galway hands." I think I've won.
"Ah. Mountain sounds like a sweetheart," she says. "Ultan will have a shock of bright red curls."
"Mountain will have straw instead of hair. Like a thatched cottage."
"That is incredibly Galway of him," she says, and I can tell that she's impressed.
naomi_et_'s review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-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
3.5
grace_griff's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 ⭐️ i liked this one, it’s very cozy with lots of witchy nature vibes and it’s gay and i didn’t even know ! the characters are so loveable, it was quite predictable though but not in an awful writing way
gothdess's review against another edition
5.0
This book breathed a new light inside of me. It drew me in from the sentence and took my breath away. Her writing is magical and comforting, even with the disturbance towards the end. I can’t really fault anything in this book, and I’m excited to read more from this author as I absolutely adored this book.
gretarutt's review against another edition
2.0
This book had so much potential, but it felt like Deirdre Sullivan was trying to make it too many things. It could have been a great cold case true crime story or a great witchy story or a great lgbt romance or a great coming of age story or a great mixture of any of those things. But she tried too hard to make it everything and the pace really wasn't fast enough and the plot was downright confusing at times. And there were no answers at the end. And honestly what even was that epilogue? Knocking off a star just for that ridiculous epilogue. This book took me three months to listen to which is insane given my pace of reading. I was hoping for more of a Moira Fowley style, which Sullivan has but the plot did not work as well.
betweenpagesandcats's review against another edition
Honestly, the writing is horrible, it was trying to be a first person POV, but with a million random thoughts that had nothing to do with anything and a bunch of whining.
heretherebemonsters's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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
3.5
caoimhe9876's review against another edition
dark
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Animal death, Murder, Gore, Blood, Physical abuse, Rape, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Cannibalism