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eveee_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Vomit, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Alcoholism and Fatphobia
dodoreadsbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25
It's intriguing. It's has a narrator that talks to to you. It's fantastically gothic. It spans the early 20th and 21st century. It's super sapphic. It is a book about books. On paper that sounds like a winner for me but it is just soooo long and at the end was that meant to be a twist? I just didn't understand what the point was meant to be.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
j_squaredd's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
A little too long - it would be a better paced story if it was 400-500 pages instead of 600. Never truly creepy because of the whimsical tone of the narrative, but never not creepy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Suicide
Moderate: Homophobia
bookburdy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Sapphic, gothic horror with dark academia vibes.
Pros
Pros
- The narrator was my favorite (hilarious and talking to you specifically) I recommend the audiobook!
- I enjoyed the creepy crawly bits (the yellow jackets)
- Loved the atmosphere and the writing
- I liked the multiple points of view.
Cons
- It was trying to be too many things.
the ending was so boring.. nothing even happened?? - Too long for no reason.
- No diversity (barely any POC)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, Sexism, Vomit, and Lesbophobia
angietheace's review against another edition
challenging
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Death
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Fatphobia and Sexual assault
aseel_reads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I absolutely adored the narrative style, having it break the fourth wall was super engaging. I liked the switch between the two time periods and having a mix of horror and the occult in it. I really enjoyed the rawness of the characters, especially merit and I liked how queer the book was. I think the ending could have had a more shocking event, which would have tied the story more holistically.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
wlwlibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This book was wonderful, but, despite the many pages, I was left feeling as if the story was incomplete. However, I loved the story, and the illustrations were beautiful. I feel like there are very few books that I can follow this one up with, partially because of the feeling of incompleteness, but also the uniqueness of this novel. I’ve seen very few books where sapphic characters took centerstage consistently, not just through one or two main characters.
Plain Bad Heroines is a beautiful exploration of queer friendships, sapphic love, and the sometimes-blurry space in between. This book made me laugh out loud one moment and be terrified the next. It’s a complex journey, but a fun one to take. The author does a very good job of not allowing characters’ identities become lost due to the length, and casually renews the reader’s memory of them.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I would have liked a little more closure, but it’s a good one nonetheless.
Plain Bad Heroines is a beautiful exploration of queer friendships, sapphic love, and the sometimes-blurry space in between. This book made me laugh out loud one moment and be terrified the next. It’s a complex journey, but a fun one to take. The author does a very good job of not allowing characters’ identities become lost due to the length, and casually renews the reader’s memory of them.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I would have liked a little more closure, but it’s a good one nonetheless.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia
The d-slur is reclaimed in this book, and that could be triggering to some readers. I wasn’t super vigilant about keeping track of TWs.callikat's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
3.75
I think the premise is extremely cool. I love the movie set twist, the haunted location, and the wlw romances. However, I do not feel it met my expectations.
First of all, it is LONG. I almost DNFed it 150 pages in, because nothing had happened yet. And for so much character exposition, the characters themselves didn't feel very authentic. We got glimpses of their insecurities, feelings, and secrets but it never went past the surface. I think that's why the climax at the end didn't work for me -- you expect to get emotional over all of the betrayal, but then no one has any reaction and everything just ends.
I also didn't really like the switch from different time periods. One part of the book takes place in modern day, as they film a movie about these two girls who died under mysterious circumstances, Clara and Flo. The other part of the book takes place in 1902 - the time period the girls actually died. However, while we learn about the two actresses (and the writer) in modern day, we never really learn about Clara and Flo, because the 1902 scenes are not about them -- they're about the headmistress and her partner. And to be honest it's hard to get interested in their story when the girls in modern day only talk about Clara and Flo. I wish the 1902 scenes had been about Clara and Flo, and then we could learn more about the girls in modern day/how they connect to the original heroines.
It was still a good book, I really did like the plot. I guess I just wish there had been a clearer point to it all, I wish we had gotten to know the characters better, and I wish we could have seen more of the movie being filmed!
First of all, it is LONG. I almost DNFed it 150 pages in, because nothing had happened yet. And for so much character exposition, the characters themselves didn't feel very authentic. We got glimpses of their insecurities, feelings, and secrets but it never went past the surface. I think that's why the climax at the end didn't work for me -- you expect to get emotional over all of the betrayal, but then no one has any reaction and everything just ends.
I also didn't really like the switch from different time periods. One part of the book takes place in modern day, as they film a movie about these two girls who died under mysterious circumstances, Clara and Flo. The other part of the book takes place in 1902 - the time period the girls actually died. However, while we learn about the two actresses (and the writer) in modern day, we never really learn about Clara and Flo, because the 1902 scenes are not about them -- they're about the headmistress and her partner. And to be honest it's hard to get interested in their story when the girls in modern day only talk about Clara and Flo. I wish the 1902 scenes had been about Clara and Flo, and then we could learn more about the girls in modern day/how they connect to the original heroines.
It was still a good book, I really did like the plot. I guess I just wish there had been a clearer point to it all, I wish we had gotten to know the characters better, and I wish we could have seen more of the movie being filmed!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury
jacemchale's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
I really didn't expect to enjoy this book so much when I started it but now I think a piece of me will hold onto the story and all of it's characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism, Cursing, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Dementia, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
perseffable's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, and Lesbophobia