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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
Right up my alley but just wasn't living up to the potential
medium-paced
just not holding my interest at all (+ the narrator does nearly the same voice for every character)
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you're a queer full of rage who has spent some time in the small towns and holy roller churches of the south, particularly Appalachia, then hot damn is this the book for you.
This hooked me right away and just mangled my heart in the most wonderful way. The ending left me wistful but was still satisfying.
This hooked me right away and just mangled my heart in the most wonderful way. The ending left me wistful but was still satisfying.
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
DNFed at 20% (58 pages)
- I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily -
Yeah… this one just wasn’t for me. It gave me serious Godkiller vibes, so if you liked that book, you might actually enjoy this! I just couldn’t get into it, but hey, not every book is for everyone.
- I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily -
Yeah… this one just wasn’t for me. It gave me serious Godkiller vibes, so if you liked that book, you might actually enjoy this! I just couldn’t get into it, but hey, not every book is for everyone.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
*I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
I really did not like this book and honestly, I’m really upset about it. This was sold as sapphic Appalachian magic with sentient mountains and I mean they weren’t wrong but from nearly the beginning of the book there was something about that irked me and I struggled to finish it.
I think the biggest thing that I struggled with was the writing. It was flowery in a way that became distracting and by the 50% mark I was Over It. I also really really struggled with the choice to make Bennie a Black woman because to me it was obvious that the author was not Black. Like I would love a book that explores the intersection of racism, classism, and environmental degradation in Appalachia but this felt so surface level that it seemed like a diversity box checking exercise. I also didn’t love the way the story handled the political and social concepts it was trying to explore. It started out very anti-mining/capitalism but then started to sway into pro-corporation/anti-union territory and like yes those concepts get messy and complicated when you’re talking about “real world” issues especially in places like rural Appalachia over the last 150 years but as a reader it was jarring to see the main characters flip flop on these issues so frequently.
Overall, I think the idea was there but the execution fell super flat for me. It maybe would have worked better if it was solely set in modern day or solely set in the historical timeline or if Codega had written from a white woman’s perspective and not tried to write outside their own racial experience, but that’s not the book they wanted to write.
I really did not like this book and honestly, I’m really upset about it. This was sold as sapphic Appalachian magic with sentient mountains and I mean they weren’t wrong but from nearly the beginning of the book there was something about that irked me and I struggled to finish it.
I think the biggest thing that I struggled with was the writing. It was flowery in a way that became distracting and by the 50% mark I was Over It. I also really really struggled with the choice to make Bennie a Black woman because to me it was obvious that the author was not Black. Like I would love a book that explores the intersection of racism, classism, and environmental degradation in Appalachia but this felt so surface level that it seemed like a diversity box checking exercise. I also didn’t love the way the story handled the political and social concepts it was trying to explore. It started out very anti-mining/capitalism but then started to sway into pro-corporation/anti-union territory and like yes those concepts get messy and complicated when you’re talking about “real world” issues especially in places like rural Appalachia over the last 150 years but as a reader it was jarring to see the main characters flip flop on these issues so frequently.
Overall, I think the idea was there but the execution fell super flat for me. It maybe would have worked better if it was solely set in modern day or solely set in the historical timeline or if Codega had written from a white woman’s perspective and not tried to write outside their own racial experience, but that’s not the book they wanted to write.