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amelioramus's review against another edition
dark
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? It's complicated
2.0
I loved the concept and hated the execution. The witch turning up randomly wherever she wants, and honestly, anything the witch herself did, was great. But all of the focus characters were deeply unlikeable, beyond what I could tolerate for the plot, and the random misogyny and obsession with nipples made me aggressively uncomfortable.
We get it. You hate women with foreheads. At one point women with high foreheads are called "expendable" and I know it's a character talking, not the author, but when there's only one female character whose perspective we see more than a very brief glimpse of and she's written as such a condescending caricature of small-town DV survivors, it starts to feel like maybe it's a bit of the author perspective coming through.
This could have been a brilliant book, and it had its moments, but 80% of it moved at a glacial pace and the overbearingly misogynistic perspective made it difficult to enjoy.
We get it. You hate women with foreheads. At one point women with high foreheads are called "expendable" and I know it's a character talking, not the author, but when there's only one female character whose perspective we see more than a very brief glimpse of and she's written as such a condescending caricature of small-town DV survivors, it starts to feel like maybe it's a bit of the author perspective coming through.
This could have been a brilliant book, and it had its moments, but 80% of it moved at a glacial pace and the overbearingly misogynistic perspective made it difficult to enjoy.
mollymctouch's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
I didn’t know this book was going to be full on horror, but there ya go. It was so well-balanced. Seriously gave me the creeps.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Islamophobia
saric7's review against another edition
This was not working for me. I gave it an honest go.
mysimas's review against another edition
Made it half way through… The idea of the witch all chained up, with her eyes and mouth sewn shut just randomly haunting the town was interesting and unsettling, and the way the townies tried to live normal lives around her and camouflaged her from visitors made for my favourite take-away from the whole story.
But the writing style, the characters, the misogyny all put me off. This is one of those books that’s written a little like watching a movie: the action is described but there’s no additional value to the text. The character work didn’t go deep either, and especially the ‘police’ guy came off annoying and incompetent. I skimmed ahead to see how it ends and feel no need to stick around for the rest of the journey.
But the writing style, the characters, the misogyny all put me off. This is one of those books that’s written a little like watching a movie: the action is described but there’s no additional value to the text. The character work didn’t go deep either, and especially the ‘police’ guy came off annoying and incompetent. I skimmed ahead to see how it ends and feel no need to stick around for the rest of the journey.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Torture
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Death of parent
bryn's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.5
gayathri_alayil_sha's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
kristalr24's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
kmolson29's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
albaviesca's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
maxikf's review against another edition
4.0
This book is like if Lord of the Flies met Pet Cemetery and had a Gen Z baby. The first part of the book, which is a good 3/4 of the book, kinda drags. But the the second part is so engaging and emotionally compelling that it earns the book a solid 4. It's a worthwhile horror story that borrows heavily from other horror and sci-fi work but somehow still manages to be fresh and original.