Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
this is okay! I found it a bit slow and not as atmospheric as it could be. some interesting elements but I don’t have any particular strong feelings.
the snake handling church thing?? is interesting. would have liked if there was a bit more of it
2025 reads: 99/300
after her best friend dies in a coal mine, bennie sacrifices her job, relationship, and reputation to uncover the truth behind what’s killing miners on kire mountain. when she finds a half-drowned woman in a mining slough, she’s so drawn to this stranger that she takes her in. the woman, called motheater, can’t remember her real name or what brought her to the mountain. bennie and motheater work together to find out what’s going on in the mines and, by extension, how to save the town.
with this being a sapphic appalachian fantasy, i wanted to love this so badly. and while i did enjoy some aspects, such as the setting and the characters, overall i was just kind of bored. i liked how the setting played into the story and directly impacted the characters’ journeys. i didn’t like the slow pacing, and the plot didn’t quite captivate me. still, while this wasn’t quite for me, i liked parts of it, and it might be for someone else.
after her best friend dies in a coal mine, bennie sacrifices her job, relationship, and reputation to uncover the truth behind what’s killing miners on kire mountain. when she finds a half-drowned woman in a mining slough, she’s so drawn to this stranger that she takes her in. the woman, called motheater, can’t remember her real name or what brought her to the mountain. bennie and motheater work together to find out what’s going on in the mines and, by extension, how to save the town.
with this being a sapphic appalachian fantasy, i wanted to love this so badly. and while i did enjoy some aspects, such as the setting and the characters, overall i was just kind of bored. i liked how the setting played into the story and directly impacted the characters’ journeys. i didn’t like the slow pacing, and the plot didn’t quite captivate me. still, while this wasn’t quite for me, i liked parts of it, and it might be for someone else.
Started strong but COULD NOT keep it. The main story line with Motheater is interesting, but otherwise weird and specifically racially weird. Couldn't finish it, even tho I really tried.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
honestly if Bennie's main conflict was just Kire/Kelly Ann I would have liked it a lot more but it pissed me off that so much of her character was the struggle of being Black in Appalachia. that's not actually your story to tell, Linda
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Motheater has a “screw the corporations” (kind of?) vibe and some really striking imagery, but the storyline left me pretty confused. The plot is fragmented and abstract, with characters and events that feel more symbolic than grounded. I get that it’s supposed to be unsettling, but I kept feeling like I was missing key pieces. It didn’t quite click for me, and unfortunately the romantic aspect felt really lack luster.