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enchantressreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
You would always rather deal with a ghost than with a god.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Medical content
Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Vomit
eafiu's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I oscillated between 2 and 3 on this one so I'm not super sure. The concept, the main character, the mood, the lore, all great work! The easiest gripe I had was the level of exposition even with things that ultimately didn't matter, but I can handwave that because they *were* what the main character cared about too - no matter how much it's obvious the author felt exactly the same as her character. I can roll with that.
Now, I get to the YMMV bit.Children seeing and channeling supernatural shit is common in horror on its own, but when it's two explicitly autistic kids, whose autism is used to parallel them to each other just as explicitly? That's where my head starts shaking left to right a little. I should point out that the main character was also autistic but in an entirely different way (and so were the kids - ultimately the author was just as explicit about how people on the spectrum can be wildly different from each other so point there). Now, there are talks of the children being "chosen" and "special" but the book does push back on that in its way - Giscelia doesn't play with Clark because he's "special" but because he's like the son she lost, Lady Midday doesn't choose Hyatt because he's "special" (nor does Her interest cause his "specialness" or some bullshit) but because She is a needy asshole who wants to make people worship Her without doing much of anything. Might I say, was it a *subversion* of the ableist tropes? Ultimately, I don't know. That's why it's very YMMV.
You read and decide if you want. Or skip if you don't, based on what you read here. That's why I reviewed it.
Now, I get to the YMMV bit.
You read and decide if you want. Or skip if you don't, based on what you read here. That's why I reviewed it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Child death, and Death
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