Reviews

the writing style in this book was far too lyrical and poetic for my taste. I found the metaphorical language unrealistic and cringey and it consistently took me out of the story. thus, reading it wasn’t very enjoyable and I was disappointed. the story overall was quite good, though I felt like I never got to know the characters very well due to how repetitive it was. I also found that I lacked the emotional connection with the peripheral characters, so the deaths never felt very impactful. I think this book would have benefited from being shorter and more concise. I thought the last 50 pages were very strong and there were certain standout passages throughout. I also really enjoyed the perspective of the river in the early parts of the book as well as the inclusions of drawings. I thought these were unique additions that broke up the monotonous pace.

Content Warnings

thehellboundreader's review

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challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

3.0

katieurban's review against another edition

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4.0

Tiffany McDaniel is an unbelievable storyteller. Her last book, BETTY, was so incredibly written - but also very intense and hard to read at times. This story is equally raw and emotionally draining, and there were many times I had to put the book down and take a break. This book is not for the faint of heart, with many triggers such as pedophilia, sexual assault, drug use, violence against women. But the author's prose is STUNNING, and she really brings such powerful emotions to your core as you read. I will be reading her next book - and all those to follow!

elenabracadabra's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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