Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Cackle

At times, I thought the author may be trying a bit too hard to make a “funny” main character. But by the end of the book, I found her to be the most relatable main character I’ve read in awhile. I think a character that is worried about what others think and is worried about ending up alone is beyond relatable. The main character was also very real with her drinking, Netflix watching, dirty dishes, and days in bed. I only wish I could have learned more about Sophie’s past and the townspeople.

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modernmatilda's review against another edition

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slow-paced

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

1.0

[Normally I hate being mean to books because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, so I will only be posting this review here. Just because I wasn't a fan doesn't mean it's a bad book, just wasn't for me! I don't really intend this review to change anyone's mind about picking up the book or not, but more as a cathartic release after having wasted time reading it...]

Cackle is what you get if you order Coraline by Neil Gaiman on Wish.com....

The best part of this book was that it made for EXCELLENT discussion with our book club group; what is the line between control and liberation, what are the boundaries between toxic friendships and empowering ones, what does feminism look like throughout the ages.

But the story itself left much to be desired. Loose ends, a "flat line" story arc, repetitive "I ate this for lunch, then I took a nap, then I did this" writing style, a dense protagonist, and an ending that didn't mean anything? Just wasn't an enjoyable read at all for us.

Would have possibly liked this more if Sophie and Annie were a weird couple, but the sensual "dress me in silky pajamas and kiss me goodnight like my mom used to" was VERY weird for me.

Wouldn't put it on your list of "Witchy reads".

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blewballoon's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious tense 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? Yes

3.0

As I was reading this book, I thought I would describe it as "unhinged." It starts out sane enough with a main character who feels like a person. A person who is in a bad place emotionally, but still a person you can relate to. As she is thrust into more bizarre situations and interactions, it is harder to understand why she does what she does. In some instances she's obtusely passive and ignores what should not be ignored. In others she's overly confrontational and aggressive. I started to lose my sympathy and understanding of her and any of the other characters and never really got it back. The side characters and Sophie never feel completely fleshed out. Sophie is so performative and mysterious you never get closure on what she's really like underneath it all. I did like the ending, and I flew through the book, it was easy to read and kept me engaged even if a lot of the time I was just asking myself "wtf?"

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hello_lovely13's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious fast-paced

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

2.5

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amandaquotidianbooks's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

I enjoyed the main theme that the book was arguing for, but didn’t enjoy how easy some parts of the story were accomplished while others were beleaguered. I also didn’t enjoy Annie’s pov very much. It kind of felt like she was either totally flawed or totally self-actualized depending on the scene. I also didn’t like how the conflict between Sophie and the town wasn’t resolved. But it was an easy, cozy read that made me rethink spiders.

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queergoth_reads's review against another edition

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dark funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

I received this as an eARC from NetGalley but all thoughts are my owns.

This is such a cozy little horror novel. It doesn't lean into the horror as much as I think it could have but it was a really great read. It's definitely the book is give people if someone asked about my taste in literature.

Also as someone who is afraid of spiders, this book did a great job at endearing them to me which is quite a feat.

<Spoiler> I do feel that maybe Sophie was forcing her world view on Annie a bit much but then I think most of the conflict in the book wouldn't have happened so probably necessary in this case. </Spoiler>

I do feel like Annie's dependency on alcohol probably could have done with a bit more serious discussion.

Overall great read though. Very much enjoyed it.

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cinthiaurora's review against another edition

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dark funny lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

I picked this up because I wanted something spooky, but still lighthearted and easy to read, and the good news was that this delivered. While Rachel Harrison’s writing WAS easy to read though, I found her writing flowed really well and was very introspective. Premise of the book sounds like a pitch for a sitcom, which for me is a plus. If it WAS a sitcom I would watch 10 seasons of it. Good read if you know what to expect!

I deducted .5 because Annie and Sophie never kissed. And another .5 because at a certain point it was just unbelievable to me that Annie moves to a pretty new town where she befriends a LITERAL WITCH who cooks for her and makes her dresses and shows her her own magic powers AND has a cute little spider side-kick….and she’s STILL thinking about her loser ex-boyfriend? She’s literally insane. Also I really thought for a minute there that all the character development we did manage to get from her would be undone when she decided to see Sam. I literally had zero faith in her. None whatsoever. So a pleasant surprise she turned it around in the end. Anyways, Annie and Sophie should have kissed. I don’t care if Sophie was a little toxic. I support women’s wrongs. Otherwise pretty solid read.

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