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3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
3/5
Wasn’t as impressed by this book as I was hoping! The beginning was great and pulled me in quickly but the second half was kind of boring. I had a hard time keeping track of the magic system and the world was too close to historical reality and I couldn’t quite tell which period the author was trying to emulate. The entire thing just felt very confused. But the beginning was so good, the imagery was descriptive, and it definitely had me scared to turn my light out a couple of times so it definitely wasn’t too bad!
Wasn’t as impressed by this book as I was hoping! The beginning was great and pulled me in quickly but the second half was kind of boring. I had a hard time keeping track of the magic system and the world was too close to historical reality and I couldn’t quite tell which period the author was trying to emulate. The entire thing just felt very confused. But the beginning was so good, the imagery was descriptive, and it definitely had me scared to turn my light out a couple of times so it definitely wasn’t too bad!
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I absolutely loved this. The depiction of magic was so unique and the body-horror-ish bits were right up my alley. Plus the characters were genuinely likeable. I love how this played with fears of disease as unknowable and also medicine as being almost too powerful? Or at least powerful enough to fall into moral grey areas surrounding death… this is less of a ghost story and more of a gothic novel on bioethics. I loved it.
I really really enjoyed the book. I could pick it up one day and then two days later pick it back up and be super immersed right where I left off. It was fast paced and immersive. A review I saw previously had ranked this book lower because the fast pace changed to slower in the middle. I get how the sudden change of pace would startle someone, but I think every little bit was crucial to the novel. there was a blank spot i’ve decided where jane kinda just sulked around and was angry and living in the house. i’m cool with a slower book tho.
I loved the background support and the depth of people like Abigail Yew and Mr. Lowell. I think jane is a sensible person and that people are seriously overreacting when they say that she got less and less logical. Its total bullshit. She literally went through hell and back. Jane was smart and kind and I really loved her relationship with Augustine. I know its controversial but he was a kind guy who just wanted to keep Jane safe. anyway, I loved how the author included characters like the Cunninghams and Janes parents. I REALLY liked people like Renton and Abigail and it caused so much character development,, truly it was just interesting.
i loved augustine!! i wish people would understand his freaking boundaries. jane keeps pushing and pushing when he doesn’t wanna talk about his past, and clearly he just wants to keep her safe. ESPECIALLY ABOUT ÉLODIE! I wish Jane would have just asked Augustine about it instead of jumping to horrible conclusions. that's probably one of the only things I did not like about this book.
i really liked the interpretation of magic!! especially about the afterlife and how its just a big bubble and everyone gets to have their own bubble, and inside their bubble is how they lived in life. I also liked the ritual and the suspense.
The creatures that haunted Lindridge Hall were so interesting to me. I got so excited when Jane figured out what they really were. I was satisfied and surprised when the author revealed that these creatures were not ghosts or spirits. I liked how the creatures fed off of shame and memories. It was a good explanation and I was surprised that it didn't leave that many plot holes.
The ending was INSANE. it all made sense to me up until like ten pages to the end. then it clicked. i was all "hooolllly shiiiiit" for anyone who needs an explanation, when she locked augustine in the cellar he died. and jane, in performing the ritual and with her continued wishing of him to be alive, she created the augustine that was inside her mind. the same one she knew but with flaws fixed. after making memories and displaying care, this augustine she created was not just a creature anymore, he was living. the novel closes with augustine being able to fix jane up. she visits the plane of ghosts or whatever and it turns out that the elodie that jane was used to never existed in the house. Yes augustine did operate on her but her spirit never remained. it was always jane. the book closes with jane being at peace and Lindridge hall destroyed.
I really liked the ending, it just was so satisfying and nice to me.
Even though black magic was not quite what I expected, I really liked how the book turned out to be. I loved jane and Augustine. I definitely recommend this book. I really liked the writing style, it stood out to me more than other books did and I liked that. Overall it was a very immersive, suspenseful, fast paced book that I really enjoyed.
I loved the background support and the depth of people like Abigail Yew and Mr. Lowell. I think jane is a sensible person and that people are seriously overreacting when they say that she got less and less logical. Its total bullshit. She literally went through hell and back. Jane was smart and kind and I really loved her relationship with Augustine. I know its controversial but he was a kind guy who just wanted to keep Jane safe. anyway, I loved how the author included characters like the Cunninghams and Janes parents. I REALLY liked people like Renton and Abigail and it caused so much character development,, truly it was just interesting.
i loved augustine!! i wish people would understand his freaking boundaries. jane keeps pushing and pushing when he doesn’t wanna talk about his past, and clearly he just wants to keep her safe. ESPECIALLY ABOUT ÉLODIE! I wish Jane would have just asked Augustine about it instead of jumping to horrible conclusions. that's probably one of the only things I did not like about this book.
i really liked the interpretation of magic!! especially about the afterlife and how its just a big bubble and everyone gets to have their own bubble, and inside their bubble is how they lived in life. I also liked the ritual and the suspense.
The creatures that haunted Lindridge Hall were so interesting to me. I got so excited when Jane figured out what they really were. I was satisfied and surprised when the author revealed that these creatures were not ghosts or spirits. I liked how the creatures fed off of shame and memories. It was a good explanation and I was surprised that it didn't leave that many plot holes.
The ending was INSANE. it all made sense to me up until like ten pages to the end. then it clicked. i was all "hooolllly shiiiiit" for anyone who needs an explanation, when she locked augustine in the cellar he died. and jane, in performing the ritual and with her continued wishing of him to be alive, she created the augustine that was inside her mind. the same one she knew but with flaws fixed. after making memories and displaying care, this augustine she created was not just a creature anymore, he was living. the novel closes with augustine being able to fix jane up. she visits the plane of ghosts or whatever and it turns out that the elodie that jane was used to never existed in the house. Yes augustine did operate on her but her spirit never remained. it was always jane. the book closes with jane being at peace and Lindridge hall destroyed.
I really liked the ending, it just was so satisfying and nice to me.
Even though black magic was not quite what I expected, I really liked how the book turned out to be. I loved jane and Augustine. I definitely recommend this book. I really liked the writing style, it stood out to me more than other books did and I liked that. Overall it was a very immersive, suspenseful, fast paced book that I really enjoyed.
Loved the vibe and the Jane Eyre meets Jekyll and Hyde meets Blue Beard storyline. Problems stem when the story moves from a haunted house story to a physiological horror story. It gets confusing and drags when there are scenes upon scenes of her talking to herself with no other characters to interact with. I know from the start that I can't trust anything she says once the midpoint starts so it's a drag to get through because there's no place to really ground myself. I'm always asking what's real with no points in which I'm misled into thinking 'oh I get it!'
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I unfortunately hated this book so much I honestly suffered through the entire thing. Like actually what the fuck happened in this