Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Plain Bad Heroines

COOL OKAY I HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS IN MY BODY AND I’M GONNA NEED AT LEAST A WEEK TO FIGURE THEM ALL OUT.

I think this book was written directly for me to hit like, most of my buttons, and I’m FURIOUS about it and I need to own this book immediately.

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julesadventurezone's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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quinwithonen's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious fast-paced

5.0

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spiderwitch's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

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issiwerro's review against another edition

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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? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This book was just... wow! With the gothic and spooky setting, witty footnotes and cast of queer characters it was everything I love in a novel and more! I was intimidated by the size of this book but each and every page was important and provided the beautiful richness of this story. This is my favourite read of 2021 and I will definitely be rereading it in the future! Please write more beautiful and creepy books Emily M. Danforth!

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reviewsandreadathons's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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terpsichore1674's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

This time jumping, atmospheric, romantic sprawl of a horror (?) novel upends convention -- much like its rotating cast of plain, bad heroines. Though it lags in some places and races breakneck (Readers, I used that word for a reason!) through others, it somehow all works. Except for the ending. Which doesn't NOT work, it's just ...

It feels rushed and missing context, like a Scooby Doo villain reveal during the historical portion and a little too pat and tidy in the modern day scenes.

That being said, the characters are richly drawn, the scares aren't too scary, the plot is built like a Matryoshka doll, and the narrative rides like a vintage Jaguar.

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mar's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

i usually get frustrated with audiobooks longer than ~8 hours, but I listened to the 19.5h of this one no problem and enjoyed it!! it's slow, but also really captivating and does a great job of building up the tension and creepiness, though it's sadly a little lacking in payoff in the end - I found the ends of both narratives a little abrupt and unsatisfying in different ways (genuinely finished it and went huh. more people should've died :/ or at least get traumatized a little more :/ FJDKGNKF) but overall I did have fun. the characters are compelling, if not always likeable, and the snarky omniscient narrator is excellent. in conclusion i love messy horror sapphics

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