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blynecessity's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Huh. This was actually pretty good. I didn't realize it was the first installment in a series, but I'll probably keep up with the series as the sequels come out.
The writing was a little disorienting because all the POV characters had a really similar tone and I'd sometimes forget who was narrating. Also, the flashbacks were not at all easy to read. I assume the author will improve his writing in time, so no hate on that front.
There were some problematic moments (listed in spoilers at bottom of review), but all in all I pushed through that and managed to still really enjoy the read.
I didn't really looove that there was basically no development or fleshing-out for any of the women in the story, but with such a small cast I'm willing to set that aside as (hopefully) a first-book quirk.
I liked that family was such a big part of the novel! Like, the MC and the plot both treated family as a v important topic, which helped me emotionally invest in the story. I def thoughtthe brother was the warlock for a sec there, but I'm glad the twists and surprises weren't as predictable as all that.
All in all, I'd read the rest of the books and will probably recommend this to some people I think might like it!
So yeahhh, that romanticized pedophilia was hard to get past, but it's mostly glossed over in the story, and the abuser is not making more moves on the MC (now that the MC is an adult?), which is a relief. Still think the abuser should be shot in the head or something, but whatever.
And sure, there was a lot of pro-cop pandering (even though we only meet two cops in the story) but it wasn't as overt as I thought it would get with how the author seemed to be ramping up when the story was still getting started.
And yess, the love interest being magically insta-loved without his consent wasn't great and was def unethical, but the mind-control part lessens towards the end of the book which made it less squicky.
And okay, the main woman in the story was shown for, like, one chapter being defined by her ability to bear children which is reductive, and she then spent the rest of the novel in a coma and just generally being unloved and treated as a literal possession (haha, ghost pun) or property, but I can see how the story would have suffered had the brother been the one in the coma instead.
The writing was a little disorienting because all the POV characters had a really similar tone and I'd sometimes forget who was narrating. Also, the flashbacks were not at all easy to read. I assume the author will improve his writing in time, so no hate on that front.
There were some problematic moments (listed in spoilers at bottom of review), but all in all I pushed through that and managed to still really enjoy the read.
I didn't really looove that there was basically no development or fleshing-out for any of the women in the story, but with such a small cast I'm willing to set that aside as (hopefully) a first-book quirk.
I liked that family was such a big part of the novel! Like, the MC and the plot both treated family as a v important topic, which helped me emotionally invest in the story. I def thought
All in all, I'd read the rest of the books and will probably recommend this to some people I think might like it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Pedophilia, Police brutality, and Toxic relationship
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