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mysimas's review against another edition
dark
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
1st half: an imaginative, often funny dark fairy-tale, very engaging and amazing and ahhh
Half-way point: an annoying love triangle takes the front seat, it sort of reflects the book‘s main conflict so a bonus point there, but otherwise ugh
The last third or so: everyone is dead or dying. Lots of gore and violence, completely unnecessary. The last page of the book or so brings the focus back where it should be, but it‘s a bit too little too late.
But somehow I still mostly enjoyed myself even through the weaker parts and overall liked the book.
My favourite part: Ints the MC‘s snake friend. It‘s not a sentiment I often hold about characters (even animal ones), but I would absolutely die for Ints.
My least favourite part: the sexism. Hurts all the more because initially it looked like MC‘s mom might actually be a badass… got disillusioned pretty quick.
Half-way point: an annoying love triangle takes the front seat, it sort of reflects the book‘s main conflict so a bonus point there, but otherwise ugh
The last third or so: everyone is dead or dying. Lots of gore and violence, completely unnecessary. The last page of the book or so brings the focus back where it should be, but it‘s a bit too little too late.
But somehow I still mostly enjoyed myself even through the weaker parts and overall liked the book.
My favourite part: Ints the MC‘s snake friend. It‘s not a sentiment I often hold about characters (even animal ones), but I would absolutely die for Ints.
My least favourite part: the sexism. Hurts all the more because initially it looked like MC‘s mom might actually be a badass… got disillusioned pretty quick.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexism, Torture, and Death
sagesaria's review
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Misogyny, Animal death, Murder, Violence, Animal cruelty, Death, and Gore
paulap's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
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? It's complicated
3.25
This is a fantasy book roughly situated in middle age Estonia. We follow Lemeet, who lives in the forest the ancient way, learns how to speak snakish. Snakes are considered to be the kings of the forest and with her language he can control other animals and speak to some of them, living as much as possible in sync with nature. But his form of life is disappearing as more nd more people move to the village, and are more interested in religion, obsessed with foreign powers and trends, and forget how to interact with the forest. That tension between the people in the village and the people in the forest builds up to a point into which everything changes.
The pacing was quite unequal. The first two thirds or so are quite calm, Lemeet is young nd we see his day to day life, which I quite enjoyed. But in the last third events concentrate and the story takes a very dark turn. I found that change a bit too abrupt at times. However, I enjoyed the overall plot and idea of the book, Lemeet was an engaging character.
The writing is fairly simple, which feels intentional, since the story is narrated from Lemeet perspective, and he is a fairly black-and-white person from living in the forest.
I overall enjoyed the book, and found the Estonian folklore in which is based interesting, adding a new touch. However, there were parts that were a bit repetitive and could be cut down, while other parts at the end happened very fast and could have been expanded.
The pacing was quite unequal. The first two thirds or so are quite calm, Lemeet is young nd we see his day to day life, which I quite enjoyed. But in the last third events concentrate and the story takes a very dark turn. I found that change a bit too abrupt at times. However, I enjoyed the overall plot and idea of the book, Lemeet was an engaging character.
The writing is fairly simple, which feels intentional, since the story is narrated from Lemeet perspective, and he is a fairly black-and-white person from living in the forest.
I overall enjoyed the book, and found the Estonian folklore in which is based interesting, adding a new touch. However, there were parts that were a bit repetitive and could be cut down, while other parts at the end happened very fast and could have been expanded.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
kkmk's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Animal death and Blood
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