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jourdanicus's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
I really enjoyed the themes of this story, the "casual" diversity (not bending over backwards to fit diverse characters in and not sacrificing their humanity for their identity aka tokenizing them), the character depth, and more. I loved the setting, both time and place. I think the 1910s need more attention in a world of historical fiction that focuses so heavily on the WWII era.
The plot was a little scattered I think, maybe it was more difficult for me to keep track of everything because I was listening on audio. It seemed like the depth of some elements of the plot was sacrificed for the sake of breadth, and the author's attempt at trying to give every character a backstory left me with some questions about the more main characters' motivations. The author did pretty well weaving together all the loose ends, but it took a little while to get there.
If you like a bit of horror, don't mind gore, and need your characters (even the monsters) to be deeply humanized, this is a book for you.
Graphic: Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, and Gore
Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, Death, Racism, Transphobia, Violence, Gun violence, and Deadnaming
Minor: Sexual content, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Slavery, and Vomit
amalas_bookstop's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Racial slurs and Gore
Moderate: Transphobia
kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Ominous build-up, creature horror, found family, realistic portrayals of racial dynamics on the “frontier”, heartwarming ending; the author put it all in here without it feeling too jumbled or heavy.
will definitely be reading more by this author; the prose was lovely!
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Racism, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Child death, and Animal death
Moderate: Animal death, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Murder, Misogyny, and Colonisation
vexatiousbird's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I liked Adelaide, who is brave and decisive though pragmatic to the point of sometimes seeming emotionally detached. Side characters were also compelling, though we spent more time with some than I would have liked while others were left more unexplored than they probably deserved. Good writing and overall enjoyable, though at times a little bleak.
Mostly what stops me from giving this a higher score is that I felt not enough time is really given to explore the relationship between Adelaide and her mysterious burden, once the truth is fully revealed, and the lead up to the climax felt rushed and flat (partly as a result of that) when it could have been revelatory and profound.
Moderate: Violence, Transphobia, Gore, and Racism
bedtimesandbooks's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Murder, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Child death, Death, Transphobia, Sexism, Blood, Cursing, and Pregnancy
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
axel_p's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Minor: Ableism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Transphobia, Violence, and Xenophobia
billyjepma's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Moderate: Transphobia, Racism, Murder, Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Animal death, Lesbophobia, Gore, and Deadnaming
Minor: Alcohol, Sexual content, and Dysphoria
hmatt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
What holds it back for me is the pacing, which felt a bit up and down. This might partially have been how I read it, but it's one of those that start slow and then all of a sudden wrap up. With the very in-depth characterizations, I think it would have benefitted sticking to the slower pace and being longer.
I also did not like the narrator for this audiobook - it felt too obviously like they were reading off a page.
Graphic: Confinement, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Blood, Deadnaming, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Death of parent, Alcohol, Body horror, Colonisation, Death, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Grief and Racism
Minor: Domestic abuse
meganpbell's review
- 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
4.0
Highly recommend reading this excellent article on the historical background of Lone Women:
https://www.tor.com/2023/04/03/book-reviews-lone-women-by-victor-lavalle/
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Racism, Gun violence, Murder, Gore, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Confinement, Transphobia, Death, and Colonisation
Minor: Pregnancy, Child death, and Sexual content
seasonedreadings's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Child death, Murder, and Death of parent
Moderate: Gore