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hedgehogreads01's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- 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? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Grief, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Infertility, Police brutality, and Death of parent
abbieinwonderland's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The world is so intriguing and feels so much bigger than what we get to see in this book. This and the writing style kept me going. I would have given it 3 stars but I do think the writing style gives it that slight edge to push it to 3.25.
The characters fell a bit flat for me, particularly the main characters of North and Callanish. I didn't feel much of their personalities. I also didn't buy into the romance. It's very much a love at first sight thing. The only thing that kind of justified it was that these are two very lonely people who don't feel understood until they meet. Some of the side characters were interesting and most of the characters (including the main characters) are flawed.
The plot was so-so. I didn't expect it to be the best anyway as this kind of book feels more about the aesthetics and the world than the story. But to give it credit, I still wanted to know what happened and enjoyed the journey. I never felt bored or angry with it.
I liked the themes of isolation and loneliness and of family and found family.
I think this should have been a much longer book. There is so much to the world and I wanted it to go deeper. There are the landlockers and their pagan religions, the damplings and their world view, the revivalists, the military... I don't normally want a longer book, but that way the plot would have had more room to grow and allow for more development of the characters.
It all felt very surface level, but I was happy to float along with it.
The characters fell a bit flat for me, particularly the main characters of North and Callanish. I didn't feel much of their personalities. I also didn't buy into the romance. It's very much a love at first sight thing. The only thing that kind of justified it was that these are two very lonely people who don't feel understood until they meet. Some of the side characters were interesting and most of the characters (including the main characters) are flawed.
The plot was so-so. I didn't expect it to be the best anyway as this kind of book feels more about the aesthetics and the world than the story. But to give it credit, I still wanted to know what happened and enjoyed the journey. I never felt bored or angry with it.
I liked the themes of isolation and loneliness and of family and found family.
I think this should have been a much longer book. There is so much to the world and I wanted it to go deeper. There are the landlockers and their pagan religions, the damplings and their world view, the revivalists, the military... I don't normally want a longer book, but that way the plot would have had more room to grow and allow for more development of the characters.
It all felt very surface level, but I was happy to float along with it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Infidelity, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Miscarriage and Fire/Fire injury
maddiebusick's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
Minor: Confinement, Misogyny, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol