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confessionsofabibliophile's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Historical Fantasy/ Gothic Fantasy. Fast Paced. 5 Stars.
Themes: Loss, Love, Betrayal, Loyalty, Folk lore, Religion
"Be careful what you say in the dark of the night, Ellerie Downing, lest you promise something you might regret."
Amity Falls, God' Grasp valley somewhere in the new world (America's). I wish I could say this was a quaint tiny town in the middle of nowhere far off the beaten path from society. I mean technically it is that, but quaint not really. It is a town gripped by fear of what lies beyond the bells. A town that was settled many years ago in the time of wagon trains by families who clutched onto superstitions, lore and fear of the unknown. They put together a place that to the naked eye was perfect, protected and the best place to live, away from the monsters of the forest and the world. A town with rules, set by elders made up of founding families. A town with a hive mentality of a way of life and a way of doing things. They used a vote system to determine some events. Casting votes in a ceremony that stained your skin as a reminder to you and the rest of the town your choice and side in the matter for days to come, like a scarlet letter.
If the vote didn't decide it fell upon the shoulders of the Elders to decide the best course of action for Amity Falls to take. When I first dove into the book it reminded me a lot of that one M. Night Shyamalan, movie, The Village and to be honest how the story was tracking I thought that is exactly where this was headed, but boy was I wrong and it was a VERY welcoming surprise. The hive mentality of the town is a theme throughout the book, which is where I will introduce the main character Ellerie Downing. Her family is a founding family and they are the apiarists of the town, that's right the town with a hive complex actually have local beekeepers. She is from a family of 6. Mama, who can bake the best honey cake in the area that is rivalled by none, Papa who's honey is spoken about far and wide, Samuel; Ellerie's twin brother older by mere seconds who I ended up DESPISING throughout most the book. Ellerie, she is the level-headed, strong work ethic, has her own will underneath the rules and is smart. Merry, middle sister who is intelligent, very matter of fact but so devout when it comes to their religion. Sadie, she is the youngest Downing and honestly she is a sassy smart seven year old who is often running around with her imaginary friend Abigail. For what seemed like a normal town, it was not. Strange things begin to happen and I was often left thinking what in the hell is going on but I couldn't put the book down, I was enthralled and needed to know. The town has a bunch of horrible things happen, I won't get too into cause of spoilers. The new trappers in the area and the mutated woodland creatures are some of the oddities that befall Amity Falls. It is a story of love, family, survival, loss, and finding the truth. There were a couple predictable components, the character Whitaker being one of them, I saw that curve ball a million miles away, but Craig does a brilliant job not to divulge all the cards at play so easily. This is my first Erin Craig book and it won't be the last. It ended perfectly tied but I hope for a sequel. I want to know where the Downings go from here.
I definitely recommend. I can't wait to start House of Salt and Sorrow. Erin Craigs writing was so addictive, I could not put this down.
Themes: Loss, Love, Betrayal, Loyalty, Folk lore, Religion
"Be careful what you say in the dark of the night, Ellerie Downing, lest you promise something you might regret."
Amity Falls, God' Grasp valley somewhere in the new world (America's). I wish I could say this was a quaint tiny town in the middle of nowhere far off the beaten path from society. I mean technically it is that, but quaint not really. It is a town gripped by fear of what lies beyond the bells. A town that was settled many years ago in the time of wagon trains by families who clutched onto superstitions, lore and fear of the unknown. They put together a place that to the naked eye was perfect, protected and the best place to live, away from the monsters of the forest and the world. A town with rules, set by elders made up of founding families. A town with a hive mentality of a way of life and a way of doing things. They used a vote system to determine some events. Casting votes in a ceremony that stained your skin as a reminder to you and the rest of the town your choice and side in the matter for days to come, like a scarlet letter.
If the vote didn't decide it fell upon the shoulders of the Elders to decide the best course of action for Amity Falls to take. When I first dove into the book it reminded me a lot of that one M. Night Shyamalan, movie, The Village and to be honest how the story was tracking I thought that is exactly where this was headed, but boy was I wrong and it was a VERY welcoming surprise. The hive mentality of the town is a theme throughout the book, which is where I will introduce the main character Ellerie Downing. Her family is a founding family and they are the apiarists of the town, that's right the town with a hive complex actually have local beekeepers. She is from a family of 6. Mama, who can bake the best honey cake in the area that is rivalled by none, Papa who's honey is spoken about far and wide, Samuel; Ellerie's twin brother older by mere seconds who I ended up DESPISING throughout most the book. Ellerie, she is the level-headed, strong work ethic, has her own will underneath the rules and is smart. Merry, middle sister who is intelligent, very matter of fact but so devout when it comes to their religion. Sadie, she is the youngest Downing and honestly she is a sassy smart seven year old who is often running around with her imaginary friend Abigail. For what seemed like a normal town, it was not. Strange things begin to happen and I was often left thinking what in the hell is going on but I couldn't put the book down, I was enthralled and needed to know. The town has a bunch of horrible things happen, I won't get too into cause of spoilers. The new trappers in the area and the mutated woodland creatures are some of the oddities that befall Amity Falls. It is a story of love, family, survival, loss, and finding the truth. There were a couple predictable components, the character Whitaker being one of them, I saw that curve ball a million miles away, but Craig does a brilliant job not to divulge all the cards at play so easily. This is my first Erin Craig book and it won't be the last. It ended perfectly tied but I hope for a sequel. I want to know where the Downings go from here.
I definitely recommend. I can't wait to start House of Salt and Sorrow. Erin Craigs writing was so addictive, I could not put this down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Gun violence, Pregnancy, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol, Child death, Miscarriage, Classism, and Alcoholism
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