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lucybbookstuff's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.25
- I might have gotten more out of it if the blurb and the opening chapter hadn't told me the whole plot. If what happened to the sisters was more of a surprise. This is part of why it felt so slow for me. It just felt like a long way to say what had already been summarized and I was waiting for something new to happen... and nothing really did.
- I somewhat wish that the Iris Chapel/Sylvia Wren perspectives had been more mixed together. It felt like an awfully long time to wait to get back to the protagonist we were first introduced to (even if they are the same person).
- While I appreciate the feminist themes and the critique of the treatment of women, I found it extremely heavy-handed and also completely mystifying. Which was maybe the point but didn't work for me. Why this family? Why Belinda's line? What was it all for? And why did it happen this way?
- Lastly, it seemed like the gun legacy and the victim ghosts were going to be a much bigger part of the story, and that was interesting to me, but it was disappointingly sidelined.
Okay that is a lot of complaints lol, this wasn't my favorite book. But despite all of that, I did find it interesting and well-written, and I was invested in Iris's story. Just wish it had been executed a bit differently.
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Child death
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Self harm
readwithbrittany's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Blood, Death, and Suicide
hazelgirl21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Suicide, Pregnancy, and Forced institutionalization
mondovertigo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Death, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Misogyny, and Suicide
Moderate: Pregnancy, Self harm, and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexual assault, Lesbophobia, and Car accident
meredithamadee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Sexual harassment
bookshelf_al's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Death, Sexism, and Confinement
Moderate: Car accident
Minor: Suicide and Self harm
bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Death, Suicide, Grief, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Pregnancy, Blood, Gun violence, and Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent, Rape, Vomit, Body shaming, and Panic attacks/disorders
closedcassket's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Sexism, Death, Grief, and Misogyny
Minor: Car accident, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, and Rape
wateringpages's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.0
I'm a huge fan of the gothic genre, and the sort of revival that we've been seeing of the gothic within the contemporary scene has been very enjoyable for me. The Cherry Robbers is no exception. It's a beautifully constructed novel about femininity, sexuality, and grief.
The Cherry Robbers follows the Chapel daughters, who are heiresses to the Chapel firearms fortune. But their story doesn't begin with them, it has always existed. We open with Sylvia Wren, a renowned, yet elusive artist living in New Mexico. We learn that she is, in fact, Iris Chapel, the fifth (of six) daughter of the Chapel family. The majority of the novel is set as a flashback to when the six girls were growing up, and the fates that befell them. We learn that their father is very detached, and their mother, Belinda, never really wanted the life that she has. She's believed to be insane because she thinks that their house is haunted by the ghosts of people killed by the firearms produced by Chapel.
While there's not a lot of horror involved, the eerie atmosphere that Walker sets and maintains is extremely captivating. It took me a while to be fully engrossed because I wasn't sure of the direction the story would take at the beginning, but it's well wrapped-up with a very satisfying arc throughout.
The Cherry Robbers is set to be published in February 2022.
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Suicide
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, and Mental illness
Minor: Death of parent