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csleeds's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Violence and Abandonment
Minor: Suicide
fatimaelf's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
To be honest, I think this book thought it was more clever than it really was.
I’ll give it that it was evocative, and the mystery semi-intriguing. But it was obvious from the get-go the major “twist,”
One of my main issues was with the logic behind the Farrows’ time travel. What caused it? Why are they the only ones who can do it? How do they know the rules they’re passing on? As far as we know there’s like five generations of Farrow women with the supposed curse. Is that really enough time to discover the rules June’s told? Which matriarch tried to go to a time in which she was already alive? And why is it that June’s the only one who seemed hell-bent on breaking the curse? We met three generations of Farrow women that could reason and talk and want and such, and only one was determined to stop them from going insane because of the dual timelines they experienced at the same time?
It was very convoluted. And we spent so long in the beginning, like the first third of the book, setting up the breaking of June’s mind (the “unmaking”) that when we eventually got to the reason why, how to solve it had to be resolved very quickly, and I’m not convinced it was done as well as it could have been.
The other problem I had was with the characters. June was fine, I suppose; she was our POV character, so I suppose we have to know her the best. And her motivations and wants are clear, because she tells us them. What really got me was when she stepped through the door into the other time and we were introduced to Esther and Eamon. I could not comprehend how truly stupid they were acting. Don’t even get me STARTED on Eamon. I understand he went through something upsetting:
What makes Eamon’s tom-fucking-foolery even worse is that we’re meant to root for him as a love interest! It’s not as if we have another option,
Maybe I’m being overly harsh, but I think the real problem is that I’m told they love each other, without being able to see it for myself, so when June finally decides she does, in fact, love this dick of a man despite not remembering half their history, I simply do not care.
WHY WOULD THEY TELL HER NOTHING. I AM STILL ANGRY ABOUT THAT.
I know it’s for plot purposes but that ISN’T GOOD ENOUGH.
Okay sorry. Back to it. I’ll say that my favorite character was Margaret. We didn’t get to meet her as an old lady, but as a teenager she rocks, and I’m sad we didn’t see more of her. Annie was adorable as well. The town of Jasper was well rounded, and felt realistic. The religious aspect also felt realistic in an infuriating way — Nathaniel made for a convincing villain. Hated that guy unequivocally, but then again, I was meant to. And, again, as I said, the mystery was engaging enough. Once we got the meat of the story, maybe 60 percent of the way in, I flew through it.
The final thing I want to say is that I don’t know who the fuck edited this book but they did an absolute shit job. The typos I saw are the type I expect to see in a fanfic, not a published novel. Someone needs to take a remedial course on when to use commas or periods when indicating a person is speaking. And that is all I have to say about that.
Graphic: Religious bigotry
Moderate: Death of parent, Stalking, Murder, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Suicide
magpienicky's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
It started as a really interesting premise, but then fell flat. It’s like the author watched the show Dark and decided to make a less interesting, watered down version of it.
I don’t usually write bad reviews, however *cracks knuckles* these are the glaring plot holes that I take issue with:
I could go on, but you could just read it yourself and drive yourself silly asking questions more along these lines. Or don’t read it and instead read better time travel books such as This Time Tomorrow or Sea of Tranquility. I’d even recommend Oona Out of Order over this.
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Death of parent
bookishkale's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
For any interested audio listeners, I thought the narrator did a pretty great job, but sometimes I felt like she had a hard time with Eamon’s voice.
Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Violence, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Mental illness, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Emotional abuse, Blood, Abortion, and Abandonment
shannonm306's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Suicide, and Abandonment
Moderate: Blood
louiepotterbook's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Terminal illness, Violence, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Suicide, Domestic abuse, and Stalking
Minor: Child abuse
sunburn's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide, Sexual content, Mental illness, and Abandonment
Minor: Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Alcohol, Abortion, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, and Child abuse
aerwen's review
- 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? Yes
3.0
To me, this story suffered from unnecessary complexity. Throughout the story, it was hard to understand the rules for crossing through the doors. June's thoughts and attention were spread on too many whys and hows, so the storylines were thin. I think the plot would have been better suited to simplify the time travel rules and focus on figuring out WHY June made her decisions rather than solving the murder and the storylines of all Farrow women.
I enjoyed this book but didn't find it to be above average.
Graphic: Religious bigotry and Mental illness
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Suicide
redhead_reader's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I loved it so much. I think it was my favorite read of 2023.
This was my second Adrienne Young book, Spells for Forgetting was my first (which I also loved), and she has easily become an auto-buy author and I’m eagerly looking forward to reading her other books.
Her prose is some of the most beautiful, atmospheric writing I’ve ever read.
This book feels like a breezy summer’s day at the golden hour. I can’t really explain it. I already know I’m going to have the biggest book hangover from this one.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the copy of this eARC!
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Suicide
firefly99's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Grief, Murder, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Bullying, Death, Mental illness, and Pregnancy
Minor: Physical abuse, Abortion, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Sexual content, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Blood