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znvisser's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Picked this up for the last prompt of my reading challenge and I loved this, so much packed in such a tiny book in terms of genres and world building. It hooked me even though I barely understood any of the magical universe but it turned out I didn’t really needed that understanding because it came along the way; so not sure if it was all specific to this story and written to be mysterious, or wether it was actually accessibly written for readers with entry-level knowledge on wizardry people and - not unimportantly - the bible. These demons and angels were surprisingly worthless however, all withholding information that could save some precious time. Interesting little ride with a pretty but bittersweet ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Lesbophobia, Murder, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Misogyny and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Car accident and Death of parent
quinnyquinnquinn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Homophobia and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Sexism, Death of parent, and Car accident
zsanc's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood
wenwanzhao's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I love a good title-drop. I like that this was a novella. Sometimes a story can feel bloated by trying to extend the plot, but this was story nicely paced and everything felt necessary. I love magic and I love sapphic women god bless <3
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Mental illness, Murder, Car accident, Death, and Blood
trayslays's review
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Murder
Moderate: Lesbophobia
Minor: Car accident, Child death, and Death of parent
lefay_'s review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
i love women!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Mental illness, Blood, Gun violence, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Car accident, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, and Homophobia
wardenred's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“Even if you succeed, you’re still going to Hell.”
“But not yet.”
I picked up this novella intending to read maybe 1/3 of it before bed. I ended up inhaling it all in one go, then feeling too emotional to go to sleep for over an hour. Absolutely no regrets.
Honestly, I adored pretty much everything about this tiny book. The impeccable noir vibes. The cold, alienating allure of the setting. The complexity of it, with all the magical orders and wars between heaven and hell, painted in the lightest strokes due to the format constraints and yet so vivid. The bittersweetness of it all, and the reminder that sometimes you pay a high price and don't get everything you want/need, but what you do get is still worth it. And, of course, the characters. My, the characters.
Helen is definitely going to stick with me for a long while. She has all the trappings of the noir detective, but underneath the cynicism you'd expect from one, she has so much love in her. Love that pushes her, over and over, to sacrifice so much for the sake of her loved ones, no matter the consequences—and no matter their opinion. Is it selfish or altruistic? Both. Love like that tends to be both.
I absolutely loved the romantic storyline. Edith is just as compelling and complex as Helen, and the bond between them is so strong. Honestly, as much as I love regular romance novels focused on characters coming together, I'm a sucker for established relationships in fiction. Love stories, after all, don't end when the first set of obstacles is defeated and the couple settles on the decision to tackle the rest of their lives together. That's only ever, I believe, where the real story starts. I love seeing couples (or for that matter policules, but that's irrelevant to this particular book, of course) actually working together as an established unit. The stakes always feel so much higher when it's a long-standing love/relationship being tested; if something goes wrong, the characters wouldn't just lose a chance at a happy ever after, they'll lose everything they've already built. And so when they get to keep it, the triumph is so much sweeter.
This book does precisely this kind of thing so well. The bond and the feelings between Helen and Esther shine in every scene. They're so close, and yet they both keep such big secrets from each other, for really valid reasons—and when those secrets come to light, they accept it and move on together with this new information. I don't know, there's just something so special about it, and how perfectly it's interwoven with the overall mystery plot, all the demonic/angelic fantasy trappings, and the subplot about Helen's past and her relationship with her brother. So much good stuff packed into such a small book.
Also: that one morning scene with Esther and the sparrows? And the one where Helen was reading The Great Gatsby? And absolutely every time Marlowe showed up on the page? Perfection. All of it. The kind of scenes that are going to live rent-free at the back of my mind for months or years to come.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Death, and Homophobia
Moderate: Car accident and Gun violence
lycheejelly's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, and Death of parent
raptorq's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Death of parent
kelly04's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
3.0
Great premise, flawed execution
Despite the length, I struggled to get through this one, probably due to a couple factors. Top of mind are format and writing style.
The writing is very stylized and the POV main character is a tough-talking, streetwise sort of voice. I infer this is what the blurbs interpret as "noir," but it didn't really work for me. It's atmospheric but I found the wild analogies distracting and it felt like the style was getting in the way of really connecting with characters.
If it matters, it's also not particularly representative of classic noir writing. Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett - these writers were direct and descriptive to the point of crudity. The heavily grounded aspect of noir is part of why it works: the mundane and the everyday, rendered in gritty detail. I don't feel that's seen here.
I think the plotting of the story also contributed. There are religious/fantastical elements and we're tossed immediately into the deep end with these and sort of working out the rules as we go along. This is common in fantasy writing and generally a good thing imo, but here I found disorienting.
Characters and story elements were introduced rather abruptly, and I felt I was still coming to grips with them by the time the story seemed to expect emotional buy-in or payoff. The rapid pacing made for some good reveals, but the impact would have been a lot greater if I'd had time to really get to know the world and characters. Teddy, for instance. Turns out he's super important, vital. But we get maybe two pages with him, collectively. Even having finished, I still don't think I could describe his personality, or his relationship with Helen all that well. Or verify their parents even existed.
This brings me to the format. A few more chapters, a couple sub-plots, just more pages in general could have allowed these characters and ideas more room to breathe. The fantasy elements in particular seem like they could have been fleshed out. <Spoiler> The Brotherhood, for instance: chauvinist magic dudes, got it. But are they like magic cops, gangsters, businessmen? Is this a regional thing, a nationwide thing? What does the "partnership" between male and female members look like? Is there a headquarters somewhere? Who exactly is Teddy reporting to?
Likewise, the angels. Is the Grigori a term I should know? Is this Catholic canon or something? Why is humility a hang up for the angels, as inherently subservient beings? What sort of beings are they? Emotional, soulless, judgmental, not? What does it mean to fall? Why is Teddy automatically damned for killing an angel? Especially one that was blatantly falling? How does the "death" of an angel even work?
As is natural, the story coalesced about two thirds of the way in but it was pretty choppy up to that point. This is definitely a personal quibble but the endingis poignant, or could be, but it seems like there should be more to it. Perhaps I'm just looking for a redemption arc where the author didn't want one, but why is Hell so very chatty while Heaven does nothing at all? There was a cosmic battle of good and evil with devils and souls be tossed asunder and the very gates of Heaven assailed - no one wanted to pop down to take stock?
Is there a reason besides "faith" that past angels didn't communicate with the earthbound angels? Did Haraniel? Why was Heaven "closed" in the first place? How does that even work? A cameo from Michael would've been a nice touch to tie up some loose ends. The story is toying with the ideas of mercy and damnation but I don't feel we explore them very fully, or get a satisfying payoff.
Despite the length, I struggled to get through this one, probably due to a couple factors. Top of mind are format and writing style.
The writing is very stylized and the POV main character is a tough-talking, streetwise sort of voice. I infer this is what the blurbs interpret as "noir," but it didn't really work for me. It's atmospheric but I found the wild analogies distracting and it felt like the style was getting in the way of really connecting with characters.
If it matters, it's also not particularly representative of classic noir writing. Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett - these writers were direct and descriptive to the point of crudity. The heavily grounded aspect of noir is part of why it works: the mundane and the everyday, rendered in gritty detail. I don't feel that's seen here.
I think the plotting of the story also contributed. There are religious/fantastical elements and we're tossed immediately into the deep end with these and sort of working out the rules as we go along. This is common in fantasy writing and generally a good thing imo, but here I found disorienting.
Characters and story elements were introduced rather abruptly, and I felt I was still coming to grips with them by the time the story seemed to expect emotional buy-in or payoff. The rapid pacing made for some good reveals, but the impact would have been a lot greater if I'd had time to really get to know the world and characters.
This brings me to the format. A few more chapters, a couple sub-plots, just more pages in general could have allowed these characters and ideas more room to breathe. The fantasy elements in particular seem like they could have been fleshed out. <Spoiler> The Brotherhood, for instance: chauvinist magic dudes, got it. But are they like magic cops, gangsters, businessmen? Is this a regional thing, a nationwide thing? What does the "partnership" between male and female members look like? Is there a headquarters somewhere? Who exactly is Teddy reporting to?
Likewise, the angels. Is the Grigori a term I should know? Is this Catholic canon or something? Why is humility a hang up for the angels, as inherently subservient beings? What sort of beings are they? Emotional, soulless, judgmental, not? What does it mean to fall? Why is Teddy automatically damned for killing an angel? Especially one that was blatantly falling? How does the "death" of an angel even work?
As is natural, the story coalesced about two thirds of the way in but it was pretty choppy up to that point. This is definitely a personal quibble but the ending
Is there a reason besides "faith" that past angels didn't communicate with the earthbound angels? Did Haraniel? Why was Heaven "closed" in the first place? How does that even work? A cameo from Michael would've been a nice touch to tie up some loose ends.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Blood
Moderate: Abandonment