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riverlasol's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Equal parts horrifying and beautiful, Mara Rutherford has done it again. I’ve been a fan of her work for several years now and am lucky enough to even be on her street team, hence this early review. But no matter how much I wanted to love this beforehand it knocked it out of the park. This book is a delicious retelling of a story by Edgar Allen Poe and although I haven’t read the original, I thought this book had both a unique story full of twists and also a feeling of comfortable familiarity—it was easy to love these characters, to feel that they were family, to feel that this world could almost be real (though hopefully without the bloody plague). I also loved the way that the author incorporated her jewish heritage into the character of Seraphina. Jewish stories are so important, but outside of metaphor they’re not often found in the ya fantasy/horror genres. I think that it truly seemed thoughtfully discussed and important to the story, never forgotten but also never overtaking the central horror conflict. Overall I adored this book. It was horrifying in the best way, especially now we are living with covid’s impact. But as with all of Mara’s books, it was brimming with humanity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Pandemic/Epidemic, Kidnapping, Antisemitism, and Blood
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