Reviews with content warning for Grief - The Cloisters

I really enjoyed this book! I've visited The Cloisters once before, and the descriptions were phenomenal! I also love how the book balanced the descriptive aspects with the plot!

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ellenigrace's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

The characters fell flat for me and the plot was SO slow to start up (one of the main events mentioned in the blurb doesn't happen until over half way through). Once the plot had started in earnest I found the many threads hard to follow and untangle.

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teganbeesebooks's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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kiwij96's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I absolutely adored the concept for this book and the cover art so I had to give it a go. I went into this thinking it would be a dark academia type book with the focus on tarot and fate and choices. However, none of this really happened on-page. All the reasons I picked the book up and what made me want to read it happened off-page and so that was a major disappointment.

However, I stuck with it purely to see where the story would go, and I can honestly say I don't know where it went. All the characters were plain and unlikeable. Ann was way too trusting, and was constantly comparing herself to Rachel and genuinely came across as obsessive sometimes it was a bit unnerving. And then the romance sub-plot was completely unnecessary. The book would have been the exact same without it. The FMC was also just too nice and trusting, she went along with everything. I was getting frustrated at how much everyone just avoided her questions and hid everything from her, and she just,,,let them?

For all its faults, the book was okay. The discoveries and the twist that happened towards the end were good. But I'm not sure if it has any rereadability. But it was an easy read, it just lacked the academia that I wanted.

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khakipantsofsex's review against another edition

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2.5

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skyfluff's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

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abiyy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I’ll admit that I wasn’t initially sold. Especially in the beginning, the plot is a bit slow and the character exposition feels onerous. But it lays critical groundwork for a spectacularly told story that leans into how the choices we make shape our path. The characters are complex and you truly come to understand their motivations and desires. I was surprised by some of the plot twists later on, except also not at all because wow they made SO much sense. Reading the final few chapters felt like finishing a puzzle and realizing you’ve got pieces in the wrong spots but now seeing where they actually go.

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