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runes_reads's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
No spoiler review!
4.5/5 Stars. It would've been four stars, but the ending blew me away. I couldn't put it down for the last bit. It's mostly slow paced up until the end, with lots of POV switches and flashbacks The characters were lovable with realistic flaws and good character growth. TONS of found (queer) family, which I love. Lots of mystery and some really suspenseful parts, with twists and turns that I would've never guessed, but were foreshadowed wonderfully. It's main cast is in high school, a great YA book.
4.5/5 Stars. It would've been four stars, but the ending blew me away. I couldn't put it down for the last bit. It's mostly slow paced up until the end, with lots of POV switches and flashbacks The characters were lovable with realistic flaws and good character growth. TONS of found (queer) family, which I love. Lots of mystery and some really suspenseful parts, with twists and turns that I would've never guessed, but were foreshadowed wonderfully. It's main cast is in high school, a great YA book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Murder, Drug use, Homophobia, and Grief
Minor: Cancer, Infidelity, Cursing, Bullying, and Alcohol
krys_kilz's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I really wanted to love this book, but I couldn't connect with the characters and thus was not very invested in the story. Some of the description in this book felt a little off to me - there were parts with a lot more telling than showing that made the narrative fall a little flat in places.
I did love the relationship between the witches - their love for one another and openness - and it was amazing to have such an unapologetically queer story. I just wish the characters and world building were a bit more robust so I could fully immerse myself in the story.
I did love the relationship between the witches - their love for one another and openness - and it was amazing to have such an unapologetically queer story. I just wish the characters and world building were a bit more robust so I could fully immerse myself in the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Blood, Homophobia, and Drug use
Minor: Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, and Eating disorder
faeriekit's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
4.5
I liked this book!! I think that having books that don't go in chronological order can be kind of disorienting, and there were moments that made me feel as though the narrative flow was broken, but it wasn't enough to not enjoy the tense and rocky love of new relationships and teenage witchcraft. This was a two-hour binger.
I liked this book very, very much, and I am very grateful for the friend who recommended it to me! I've never seen a love-letter to California redwoods in the way that I love the woods in my backyard, so this was a lovely perspective on what it means to make magic in foreign landscapes, an excellent ghost story, and yet still down-to-earth and nuanced in its portrayal of being young, frightened, and in love. I deeply recommend it.
I liked this book very, very much, and I am very grateful for the friend who recommended it to me! I've never seen a love-letter to California redwoods in the way that I love the woods in my backyard, so this was a lovely perspective on what it means to make magic in foreign landscapes, an excellent ghost story, and yet still down-to-earth and nuanced in its portrayal of being young, frightened, and in love. I deeply recommend it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Death
storiesofsophie's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
2.5
Premise of the book was interesting but reading it was weird. I hated how the POV kept changing and switching from last to present making the book feel less cohesive.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Blood
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
THE LOST COAST is a sapphic story about grief, trust, and belonging, following a group of queer witches as they enlist a new girl's help to find their missing member who is somewhere near but achingly far away.
I love the way the narrative twists through time and shifts between point of view characters, it’s the feeling of being here but not here, a little bit lost but not all the way broken, that really captures the essence of the story. It’s messy and tangled and full of longing in all the best ways. Every chapter lists the point of view characters and the time frame, so it was pretty easy to follow even as those things kept changing, always coming back to now and back to Danny, as she is the central thread that holds the rest of it together even as she’s new to this place and these people.
The characterization is really great, I especially like how sometimes the “character” is “The Grays” as a group, Because sometimes the ways in which they are together are the point, and sometimes what matters is what each of them thinks separately, even when that isn’t always clear. especially early on when Danni isn’t yet one of The Grays, not quite part of the group, having these sections where they were a unit seeing her see them helps build that sense of separateness between Danny and The Grays so that later developments in the story feel like something coming together.
I have a LOT of questions about what the heck they'll do after this, but the ending feels good and definitely fits the story and the characters. It's not neat and tidy, their difficult problems have some complicated solutions and they'll have a lot to work out after this, but the story felt satisfying.
I love the way the narrative twists through time and shifts between point of view characters, it’s the feeling of being here but not here, a little bit lost but not all the way broken, that really captures the essence of the story. It’s messy and tangled and full of longing in all the best ways. Every chapter lists the point of view characters and the time frame, so it was pretty easy to follow even as those things kept changing, always coming back to now and back to Danny, as she is the central thread that holds the rest of it together even as she’s new to this place and these people.
The characterization is really great, I especially like how sometimes the “character” is “The Grays” as a group, Because sometimes the ways in which they are together are the point, and sometimes what matters is what each of them thinks separately, even when that isn’t always clear. especially early on when Danni isn’t yet one of The Grays, not quite part of the group, having these sections where they were a unit seeing her see them helps build that sense of separateness between Danny and The Grays so that later developments in the story feel like something coming together.
I have a LOT of questions about what the heck they'll do after this, but the ending feels good and definitely fits the story and the characters. It's not neat and tidy, their difficult problems have some complicated solutions and they'll have a lot to work out after this, but the story felt satisfying.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Blood, Child death, and Death
Minor: Fatphobia and Eating disorder
CW for fatphobia (minor), eating disorder (not depicted), drug use, blood, major character death, child death, death.alatarmaia's review
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.5
I will do my best to do this without spoilers.
Lost Coast SOUNDS intriguing, but unfortunately it doesn't follow through. I agree with other reviewers who say that while the plot picks up later, in the beginning it's too ~mystical~ and confusing to be easily followed. It took me until 40 pages in to realize the Greys were not related to each other.
In addition, the ~mystical~ energy and often changing POV/temporal setting make the plot extremely difficult to follow. I often had to double back a little and reread certain parts to make sure I understood what was supposed to be happening. A hallway scene in a high school during a passing period featured only two characters present, somehow. I wouldn't realize characters were skipping school until they explicitly stated they were.
The characters' dialogue does a lot of the heavy lifting as well. How do we find out Rush is fat? How do we find out how each of the Greys identifies in terms of sexual/gender orientation? They go around in a circle and take turns telling Danny. How do we find out what kind of magic they practice? They tell Danny (Imogen, Danny, and Rush are the only witches whose particular skills seem to be important enough to actually be displayed). In short, there's a lot of TELLING, and flowery detail, while I wish there was more showing. These characters are a lovely group, but I don't feel like I actually know them, understand their motivations, or understand much about them at all — and that goes double for anyone else in the book, particularly the younger sister of the missing girl, Imogen.
In addition, the Greys and Danny often get into trouble, but the book seems to go out of its way to avoid having them face consequences for their actions. They go to detention once, but quickly sneak out; Danny's mom gets mad at her, but despite Danny constantly worrying about breaking her strict mom's rules, they never actually STOP her, and "mom will get mad" is a threat completely without weight or impact.
Despite all of this, I did finish Lost Coast. It reminds me of the work my classmates are producing, right now, during our college senior projects in creative writing. There is skill present here. There is a good plot present somewhere in here. But this book could use a LOT more work and editing for clarity before it gets to the point where it's one I would seriously recommend to others (this is without getting into the scene where the Greys insist that Danny practice "skyclad", aka naked, something they are so embarrassed about despite doing regularly that they make her Google what it means instead of telling her — Wicca in general is not my cup of tea, but this book is explicitly using a Wiccan magic system ).
In short, I don't understand people who like this book or frequent comparisons to The Raven Cycle, but YMMV, and maybe I just haven't reread TRC recently enough to understand. I did read the whole thing, but I spent the entire time making fun of each new puzzling development over chat to my friend.
Lost Coast SOUNDS intriguing, but unfortunately it doesn't follow through. I agree with other reviewers who say that while the plot picks up later, in the beginning it's too ~mystical~ and confusing to be easily followed. It took me until 40 pages in to realize the Greys were not related to each other.
In addition, the ~mystical~ energy and often changing POV/temporal setting make the plot extremely difficult to follow. I often had to double back a little and reread certain parts to make sure I understood what was supposed to be happening. A hallway scene in a high school during a passing period featured only two characters present, somehow. I wouldn't realize characters were skipping school until they explicitly stated they were.
The characters' dialogue does a lot of the heavy lifting as well. How do we find out Rush is fat? How do we find out how each of the Greys identifies in terms of sexual/gender orientation? They go around in a circle and take turns telling Danny. How do we find out what kind of magic they practice? They tell Danny (Imogen, Danny, and Rush are the only witches whose particular skills seem to be important enough to actually be displayed). In short, there's a lot of TELLING, and flowery detail, while I wish there was more showing. These characters are a lovely group, but I don't feel like I actually know them, understand their motivations, or understand much about them at all — and that goes double for anyone else in the book, particularly the younger sister of the missing girl, Imogen.
In addition, the Greys and Danny often get into trouble, but the book seems to go out of its way to avoid having them face consequences for their actions. They go to detention once, but quickly sneak out; Danny's mom gets mad at her, but despite Danny constantly worrying about breaking her strict mom's rules, they never actually STOP her, and "mom will get mad" is a threat completely without weight or impact.
Despite all of this, I did finish Lost Coast. It reminds me of the work my classmates are producing, right now, during our college senior projects in creative writing. There is skill present here. There is a good plot present somewhere in here. But this book could use a LOT more work and editing for clarity before it gets to the point where it's one I would seriously recommend to others (this is without getting into the scene where
In short, I don't understand people who like this book or frequent comparisons to The Raven Cycle, but YMMV, and maybe I just haven't reread TRC recently enough to understand. I did read the whole thing, but I spent the entire time making fun of each new puzzling development over chat to my friend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Child death
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