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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
I was going to round this up to four stars, but the ending kind of didn't do it for me. It's a very well-written book and a relatively quick read, but I think ultimately I wanted more tension and creepiness. Marin's anxiety, for all that it was a major focal point in the first few chapters, kind of seems to take a backseat to her attraction to Evie. And the mystery surrounding Evie and the Lovelace family does seem to be revealed pretty quickly/easily.
As for the ending, I hadn't gotten the level of tension around Alice to make it as satisfying as it could have been. Alice was either too present or not present enough in the story as a human character--not mysterious enough to be ghostly and not present enough to wonder if she was going insane. I actually would have liked more of her backstory and I felt the "reveal" about her was almost an easy way out. There could have been a lot more done with that and with her character, but instead we got this reveal through journals and third-party accounts. I thought this didn't really do the story or the character justice and it made the ending a little less interesting to me.
All that being said, if you're looking for a Gothic sapphic YA story, this is a pretty good one.
As for the ending, I hadn't gotten the level of tension around Alice to make it as satisfying as it could have been. Alice was either too present or not present enough in the story as a human character--not mysterious enough to be ghostly and not present enough to wonder if she was going insane. I actually would have liked more of her backstory and I felt the "reveal" about her was almost an easy way out. There could have been a lot more done with that and with her character, but instead we got this reveal through journals and third-party accounts. I thought this didn't really do the story or the character justice and it made the ending a little less interesting to me.
All that being said, if you're looking for a Gothic sapphic YA story, this is a pretty good one.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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
Hauntingly beautiful
dark
mysterious
tense
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
8th & up
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
This is pretty good! I’m not obsessed with it. but i think it's one of those books that if i had read it in like 2014 when there was a lot less queer YA spec fic i would have loved it yknow
it’s conceptually atmospheric but also I found that sentence by sentence the prose….wasn’t very atmospheric? idk. something about the writing when I was listening to it felt..not enough. but also at the same time, definitely some very vivid scenes.
The spookiness creeps up on you though. and damn some weird stuff going on huh i didn’t guess all of that. always up for some lesbian necromancy
OH MY GOD I LOVED IT. That was the perfect read to bring spooky season in. First off, I have NEVER been so jealous of a fictional couple until I read about Evie and Marin. Evie is the EPITOME of my dream girlfriend. It didn’t scare me because nothing does but still, I always love a good morbid tale. And I learned so many new flowers too.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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:
No
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated