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johnsnowwasright's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Ava Reid is quickly becoming an auto buy author for me. I absolutely loved this book as I've loved all of Reid's other works.
I love Reid's dark, twisted but ethereal settings that read like a Florence and the Machine song.
Evike was such a complicated and flawed character. I would say she's an ugly character at times who is hard to like but we need more characters like her.
Reid managed to explore how trauma can shape who we are and how we treat people in such a poignant way. I liked that we saw Evike grow beyond her trauma responses and realize that she can't treat people however she wants because she is hurting. That it is our choice to break the cycle of trauma and abuse.
I also enjoyed the discussion of religious fundamentalism and the hypocrisy inherent in that fundamentalism. I found it hilarious that the 'Godfather of Life' was every bit as capricious as the pagan gods but the followers completely missed that in their devotion.
I do wish that Reid had given more definition to how these gods interacted with each other and how all their magic could coexist. (Also if there is a godfather of life that's the Christian God then is the Yehuli God the same as Godfather Life but worshiped differently? That's something I wish she had expanded upon.)
But all in all, Reid is such a unique voice and I cannot wait for her next book.
I love Reid's dark, twisted but ethereal settings that read like a Florence and the Machine song.
Evike was such a complicated and flawed character. I would say she's an ugly character at times who is hard to like but we need more characters like her.
Reid managed to explore how trauma can shape who we are and how we treat people in such a poignant way. I liked that we saw Evike grow beyond her trauma responses and realize that she can't treat people however she wants because she is hurting. That it is our choice to break the cycle of trauma and abuse.
I also enjoyed the discussion of religious fundamentalism and the hypocrisy inherent in that fundamentalism. I found it hilarious that the 'Godfather of Life' was every bit as capricious as the pagan gods but the followers completely missed that in their devotion.
I do wish that Reid had given more definition to how these gods interacted with each other and how all their magic could coexist. (Also if there is a godfather of life that's the Christian God then is the Yehuli God the same as Godfather Life but worshiped differently? That's something I wish she had expanded upon.)
But all in all, Reid is such a unique voice and I cannot wait for her next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Religious bigotry, and Body horror
myranda_the_bookwyrm's review
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
If I was rating this book by the last third, maybe even the last half, it would definitely have scored higher. The pacing of the book felt uneven, however, with the first half being a slog with just enough potential to keep me from consigning to the DNF pile (that is, it came close enough this was a second attempt, as I'd started and put it aside after about a third more than a year ago). Part of the issue is that things felt-more heavy handed and repetitive in trying to show the world-building and character development, to the point where I was essentially going, "I get it already, move the story on!" and some of the buildup didn't lead to the payoff expected of it as a result. Still, I gave the book a second chance and I will give the author another chance, as there is definitely that sparkle of potential in this book and the author's writing, that perhaps a different editor or a little more time might serve better.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Antisemitism, Violence, and Xenophobia
laurapalmertm's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Self harm, Death, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Vomit, and Torture
witcheep's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book is a dark adventure of folktale-inspired worldbuilding that relies heavily on body horror laced into the magic system and cruel characters ruling over others. The body horror and brutality made me wince, the extent of them were too much for me. However, the book is also a tale of fragile hope building between Évike and Gáspár, the main characters with two very different world views learning to understand and support each other. Their deepening relationship and shifting worldviews were what kept me reading the book further.
"What would you have me do?" he asks. "You have already ruined me."
The worldbuilding showcases a colonizing worldview where the ruling religious group deems other religions, cultures, and ethnicities inferior and something that should be purged. The oppressor-religious group is content on using the other groups to their own benefit, though. They take the others' magic, lives, and even their folklore, but bend it so that it fits their own religious world view. This changing of stories takes the voice away from the original people, hiding them.
You can't hoard stories the way you hoard gold, despite what Virág would say. There's nothing to stop anyone from taking the bits they like, and changing or erasing the rest, [--]
The ruling people of the world do this even to their own kings: their legacy is carved in stone only after their death, when he kings themself won't be able to have a say in it anymore, so the living may decide what kind of kingdom they have left behind. Words have power, and the rulers are very strict with who gets a say in anything important. Hence, the cruelty of rendering other people voiceless extends to every level of the society, making power a fleeting thing instead of a lasting impression.
Reid brings up the topic of picking parts of someone else's folklore and rebuilding it to fit one's own needs multiple times. She seems to have a message that this kind of cultural appropriation is bad, but cannot be stopped. She flashes different possibilities of the groups either being forcefully assimilated into the ruling religious ways, staying separate and against each other, or finding a way to mix and coexist.
Maybe by doing so Reid wants to justify her own usage of source material and research for this book: Reid herself has clearly used this strategy of reusing stories while writing this book. She has combed through different mythologies, religious and cultural lore and histories, and uses them quite loosely as her material, combining them into her fantasy world and disregarding some parts or facts altogether. Reid uses at least jewish lore, Eastern European mythology, history and names, and Finnish national epic Kalevala. I was first intriqued by this, but the execution left me wanting a retelling more true to the elements of the original tales or an altogether more original lore to this fantasy world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Death, Cultural appropriation, Torture, Xenophobia, and Bullying
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
miblette's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
3.5
The pacing was a bit all over the place for me. There were moments I really enjoyed, but a vast majority of the middle of the story dragged on for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Murder, Body horror, Gore, and Self harm
yikesav's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Genocide, Blood, Violence, Death, Self harm, Colonisation, Religious bigotry, Classism, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror
Moderate: Sexual content
insomniacsun's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
2.75
Ho scoperto Ava Reid vedendo "A study in drowning" ovunque, ma ho deciso di partire dal suo debutto per la trama intrigante, ma anche perchè mi piace vedere come lo stile di un autore matura con il tempo.
Non sono grande fan della prosa in prima persona e sono molto pochi i libri per cui credo sia adatta. Per questo libro, ritengo che la terza sarebbe stata preferibile: Evike non è una protagonista particolarmente reticente, per cui non vedo l'utilizzo della prima persona come essenziale quando è apertamente schiva e reattiva nei confronti dei personaggi e l'ambiente che la circonda.
Il modo in cui costruisce questo mondo tramite descrizioni tematiche e storie raccontate da Evike stessa è favoloso, anche se è palese che ha dei descrittivi preferiti che non esita a ripetere (take a shot per ogni "I closed my four fingers into a fist" ed è subito cirrosi epatica). C'è una particolare attenzione per l'aspetto culturale e quell'amore nei minimi dettagli si sente attraverso le pagine: le descrizioni e figure retoriche utilizzate non appesantiscono la lettura come temevo, ma arricchiscono l'atmosfera rendendola immersiva.
Seguire Evike nelle sue vicende è stata una delizia, ho proprio un debole per protagoniste di questo tipo, ma l'entusiasmo è stato breve per lo sviluppo che viene stranamente smorzato a metà storia: non si capisce cosa la mandi avanti, per cui mi è sembrato un po' un personaggio allo sbaraglio.
Gaspar era altrettanto interessante all'inizio, ma la storia si conclude lasciando un alone di mistero ancora troppo pesante attorno a lui, il che è un vero peccato per il potenziale sprecato.
Parlando di potenziale sprecato, si nota una vera e propria divisione fra i due archi narrativi del libro, con la seconda metà che lascia abbastanza a desiderare: per quando interessante sia stata la trama, il libro ne era così pieno che non ha lasciato i personaggi respirare e farsi abbastanza spazio.
Questo, a lungo termine, mi ha lasciato meno coinvolta nella storia, perchè sia il mio interesse per i vari personaggi che lo sviluppo delle relazioni fra i vari personaggi erano troppo superficiali.
Un vero peccato considerando che la prima parte del libro mi ha stregato al punto da averla letta quasi tutta in un colpo: la tumultuosa relazione fra Evike e Gaspar è stata gestita con maestria, ma appena questi si separano e la trama si espande, la scintilla viene persa.
Per quanto rispetti la decisione di aver mantenuto un volume unico, una duologia avrebbe permesso di addentrarsi più profondamente nel rapporto fra religiosità e magia, e sull'aspetto politico della storia: la seconda parte sembra incentrata su questi temi ma vengono trattati in modo troppo velato considerando la loro centralità nei conflitti fra le varie parti.
Inoltre, la narrazione limitata solamente al punto di vista di Evike ha aggravato la cosa, in quanto la ragazza è come un pesce fuor d'acqua nella capitale e non le è stato dato tempo per mostrarci come arriva a comprendere a pieno la situazione in cui si ritrova, nonostante ci venga detto il contrario.
La storia poteva essere molto più profonda se avessimo avuto un duplice punto di vista, includendo Gaspar come protagonista. Senza, purtroppo, ho trovato la seconda parte molto blanda e insulsa.
Purtroppo tutte queste carenze sono cultimate nell'epilogo, per cui ho davvero scosso la testa tutto il tempo.
Detto questo, è pur sempre un debutto e il suo stile narrativo mi piace da morire, per cui questa esperienza non mi precluderà dal leggere i suoi altri libri.
Non sono grande fan della prosa in prima persona e sono molto pochi i libri per cui credo sia adatta. Per questo libro, ritengo che la terza sarebbe stata preferibile: Evike non è una protagonista particolarmente reticente, per cui non vedo l'utilizzo della prima persona come essenziale quando è apertamente schiva e reattiva nei confronti dei personaggi e l'ambiente che la circonda.
Il modo in cui costruisce questo mondo tramite descrizioni tematiche e storie raccontate da Evike stessa è favoloso, anche se è palese che ha dei descrittivi preferiti che non esita a ripetere (take a shot per ogni "I closed my four fingers into a fist" ed è subito cirrosi epatica). C'è una particolare attenzione per l'aspetto culturale e quell'amore nei minimi dettagli si sente attraverso le pagine: le descrizioni e figure retoriche utilizzate non appesantiscono la lettura come temevo, ma arricchiscono l'atmosfera rendendola immersiva.
Seguire Evike nelle sue vicende è stata una delizia, ho proprio un debole per protagoniste di questo tipo, ma l'entusiasmo è stato breve per lo sviluppo che viene stranamente smorzato a metà storia: non si capisce cosa la mandi avanti, per cui mi è sembrato un po' un personaggio allo sbaraglio.
Gaspar era altrettanto interessante all'inizio, ma la storia si conclude lasciando un alone di mistero ancora troppo pesante attorno a lui, il che è un vero peccato per il potenziale sprecato.
Parlando di potenziale sprecato, si nota una vera e propria divisione fra i due archi narrativi del libro, con la seconda metà che lascia abbastanza a desiderare: per quando interessante sia stata la trama, il libro ne era così pieno che non ha lasciato i personaggi respirare e farsi abbastanza spazio.
Questo, a lungo termine, mi ha lasciato meno coinvolta nella storia, perchè sia il mio interesse per i vari personaggi che lo sviluppo delle relazioni fra i vari personaggi erano troppo superficiali.
Un vero peccato considerando che la prima parte del libro mi ha stregato al punto da averla letta quasi tutta in un colpo: la tumultuosa relazione fra Evike e Gaspar è stata gestita con maestria, ma appena questi si separano e la trama si espande, la scintilla viene persa.
Per quanto rispetti la decisione di aver mantenuto un volume unico, una duologia avrebbe permesso di addentrarsi più profondamente nel rapporto fra religiosità e magia, e sull'aspetto politico della storia: la seconda parte sembra incentrata su questi temi ma vengono trattati in modo troppo velato considerando la loro centralità nei conflitti fra le varie parti.
Inoltre, la narrazione limitata solamente al punto di vista di Evike ha aggravato la cosa, in quanto la ragazza è come un pesce fuor d'acqua nella capitale e non le è stato dato tempo per mostrarci come arriva a comprendere a pieno la situazione in cui si ritrova, nonostante ci venga detto il contrario.
La storia poteva essere molto più profonda se avessimo avuto un duplice punto di vista, includendo Gaspar come protagonista. Senza, purtroppo, ho trovato la seconda parte molto blanda e insulsa.
Purtroppo tutte queste carenze sono cultimate nell'epilogo, per cui ho davvero scosso la testa tutto il tempo.
Detto questo, è pur sempre un debutto e il suo stile narrativo mi piace da morire, per cui questa esperienza non mi precluderà dal leggere i suoi altri libri.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Antisemitism, Blood, and Animal death
stardust_heidi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I have no idea how to rate this book. I listened to the audiobook. Saskia Maarleveld did an amazing job, as per usual. But the story itself... It was fine? I think part of it was what usually happens when I listen to fantasy on audiobook (for the first time) -- I miss a lot as I go about my day. And I'm fairly slumpy right now. But at the same time, it lacked something that made me look forward to listen to it every day. I think the story was solid enough for me to keep going, for sure, but not enough to love it. It was very gruesome and dark, so beware. The romance was not particularly moving, but I like how they connected by the end. The mythology and lore parts of the story are pulled from is interesting.
I liked it okay but definitely won't reread it. I'm hoping Ava Reid's other books are better. 😬
I liked it okay but definitely won't reread it. I'm hoping Ava Reid's other books are better. 😬
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Gore
immovabletype's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
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
3.25
man, i thought this was going to be a solid 4 stars for a good chunk of the novel, while we're following the two main characters on a quest of sorts. this is hate-to-love, and throughout their journey they're grappling with preconceptions about each other based on centuries of hatred and oppression between their people (the fantasy is very cleverly based on pagan, christian, and jewish mythology, with all the attendant real world conflicts--the author "has a degree in political science . . . focusing on religion and ethnonationalism" and her expertise shows). grappling while wanting to grapple each other, if you know what i mean. it makes for a very intimate narrative, slow-paced but propulsive . . . but then the journey ends, the world opens up, and our two lovers are separated. what was compelling me to keep reading just kind of dropped out of sight for a while and i found it harder to pick up as much as i had been, and even after they were reunited it never quite got that spark back for me. and then i loathed the epilogue.
idk. there were things that happened in the latter part of the book that i liked and i think were necessary to forward the narrative and themes. however. it just could've been done better. i will also say, this is sold as adult fantasy. i would argue it feels a lot more ya. the heroine is almost a classic ya heroine, the tropes are very ya tropes. these aren't necessarily bad things, but that's not gonna work for everyone, so i wanted to make a note of it.
i did enjoy this for the most part, i'm glad i read it because now i know that ava reid is gonna knock it out of the park for me someday (this was a debut). i'm quite looking forward to reading more from her.
idk. there were things that happened in the latter part of the book that i liked and i think were necessary to forward the narrative and themes. however. it just could've been done better. i will also say, this is sold as adult fantasy. i would argue it feels a lot more ya. the heroine is almost a classic ya heroine, the tropes are very ya tropes. these aren't necessarily bad things, but that's not gonna work for everyone, so i wanted to make a note of it.
i did enjoy this for the most part, i'm glad i read it because now i know that ava reid is gonna knock it out of the park for me someday (this was a debut). i'm quite looking forward to reading more from her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Blood, Bullying, Confinement, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Religious bigotry, Violence, Murder, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Genocide, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Minor: War
Genocide isaveri's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Death, Murder, Self harm, War, Antisemitism, Body horror, Blood, Gore, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Ableism