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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Francine lives pretty happily in her family home with her ghosts for company. Occasionally she rents the extra rooms to pay the bills.
When Francine's sister shows up unexpectedly something darker starts to happen. Francine is now dealing with a lodger, dealing with her relationship with her sister, and thinking a lot about the past. It turns out Francine doesn't know much about her family and remembering is key to solving her new problems.
When Francine's sister shows up unexpectedly something darker starts to happen. Francine is now dealing with a lodger, dealing with her relationship with her sister, and thinking a lot about the past. It turns out Francine doesn't know much about her family and remembering is key to solving her new problems.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Grief
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is a truly wonderful, just shake you to your core gothic ghost story. It was thrilling and gripping from beginning to end, and I often felt just like Francine trying to piece together what was happening or what happened. The conveyed feeling of it being just out of reach is excellent. The book itself is also very intriguing and fits wonderfully in a botanist niche.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-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
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Better than I expected in terms of plot/mystery, although I rolled my eyes at the MC forgetting the literal name of the giant defunct asylum within walking distance of her home at one point . I also can't un-wonder what the love interest's grown kids are going to think about him hooking up with a random white lady so enmeshed in the British landed class that her family owned the aforementioned asylum.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
It was very mid. It’s like the author would get close to a good idea, and then….would just abandon it. I think this book could have been awesome. Obvs. this is still my favorite kind of book. It left me wanting more. I wanted more description, more terror, more sadness. For instance: the asylum was a passing thought. Maybe like 5 pgs total dedicated to one of the creepiest places in the book. Why didn’t we get more description? Why didn’t we get more history? I wasn’t transported into Francine’s world and I so desperately wanted to be.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
One of my biggest problems with this novel is its "horror" label. While it does contain paranormal events and creatures, horror is not a feeling this book evoked upon its reading: if you are looking for a Gothic or a dread-soaked experience, this is not the read for you. I will say Morgan expertly sprinkles twists and reveals throughout her story, which is why I decided to finish it, but the story in between those beats felt more like page padding than what I was hoping for. A good read if you like tales about family trauma with a dash of the supernatural, but this is not what it claims to be on the tin.
dark
emotional
sad
fast-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