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kell_xavi's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt and Misogyny
Moderate: Rape, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Blood, Sexual harassment, Suicide, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Gun violence
town_scar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Sexual content, Sexism, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Rape, Blood, Alcoholism, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Car accident, and Alcohol
Moderate: Suicide, Homophobia, Vomit, Police brutality, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Racism, Cursing, Cancer, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Cultural appropriation, and Death
sophmcgraw's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Suicide
atsundarsingh's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Car accident, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Confinement
mondovertigo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Death, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Misogyny, and Suicide
Moderate: Pregnancy, Self harm, and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexual assault, Lesbophobia, and Car accident
chaptersofchase's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Genre: Gothic Fiction
Format: š§
Pub Date: 5.17.2022
Star Rating: āāāā
āWhen you live in defiance of yourself, you can adapt to your circumstances, but remnants of who you are at your core remain. A bit of wildness that canāt be tamed.ā
Full disclosure, I picked up this book because of the cover. But, I stuck around for the authors writing style. Sarai Walker wrote with just enough mystery and subtlety that I couldn't stop reading.
I saw this listed a fictional and a sub-genre mentioned horror - while I do see where one could see the horror element to the story, it didnāt feel overwhelmingly gory. It is gruesome and descriptive (specifically with the death of the first sister), but it in no way compares with other horror stories Iāve read in the past (hello, Book of Accidents).
The only facet that held me back from giving the book a full five stars is that I didnāt feel like I had the ending I needed. Itās difficult for me to explain without giving away too much of the story, but I think I needed more? Donāt get me wrong; it was an exceptional plot that kept me hooked; I was just a bit let down with the ending.
ššØ Slow build, and then the story takes off
š³ Family tree provided
š©ø Horror element
š± Addicting
āļø- Graphic attempted suicide, self-harm, maternal death
Also, I highly recommend reading the author's note at the end. She provides a lot of context and inspiration for the story! I canāt wait to read the next book Walker writes.
______
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Graphic: Suicide attempt
readundancies's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
3.25
The writing is very atmospheric. Itās gloomy and melancholic, with a main character thatās ill fitting in the world she finds herself in and a mother figure whose misanthropy is steeped in what is either curse or delusion and itās captivating. The suspense is strong and it helps in traversing the rather slow pace of the novel. I really enjoyed the way that Sarai Walker set the scenes of each chapter and the subdivision of the parts within. However, I think a lot of the foreshadowing was a bit too heavy-handed and in your face as the reader; it reinforced the atmosphere of the story, but also made it seem like the suspense was overly dramatic at times.
Thereās also a bit of a misconception that this is more of a mystery novel. Which I can understand, but upon finishing this story, ambiguity is the name of the game and the mystery surrounding the Chapel family is not the focus of the novel. There are no answers given to the reader upon finishing this tale because there are no real questions with which the Chapel curse is of importance. The whys and why nots behind the curse are not addressed, it simply exists and so we instead explore how the Chapel sisters grapple with the curse.
The characters are definitely distinct but what you get as a reader from them is little; theyāre not very open to Iris as our narrator and so we donāt get to really see what makes them tick. Iris is an interesting lead character because her interpretation of the world around her and her family is coloured by the fact that she could be an unreliable narrator. I could never be sure that what she was saying about her past was entirely truthful, whether thatās because she was addled in the head like her mother or because of the paranormal events that occur throughout the story.
I will say that I think the ending makes the tale feel rather unfinished. The ending itself is not the problem, I actually think the abruptness and the finality of it works well, but the execution feels a bit muddled. I wanted more of a punch to send me off at the end, more of a tighter KO than the jumbled flurry of things happening that all culminated to a single hanging dash.
The pacing was also slow, and it really started to feel that way by Calla and Daphneās almost joint demise. Then Zelie just became an annoyance to deal with. It felt too long in that there were almost too many paired sisters (we couldāve stopped at 5 I think because there was also Belinda to contend with), and yet not long enough with respect to how much is packed in that last chapter and glossed over. Sylvia Wren didnāt get enough page time for me in lieu of Iris Chapelās slow moving story because the synopsis seemed to advertise that weād get to know this alias a little more than we actually get to.
I think one of the strongest aspects of the novel are the themes that are tackled, especially those of sexuality, misogyny and motherhood. The way that motherhood specifically was explored through Belinda, a troubled mother who never wanted children or marriage, and the impact her actions had on her children, really showcased how poorly women have been treated throughout time and how stifled and powerless their situations often were, even in the context of extreme wealth. The madwomen trope was alive and kicking in this story, and I truly loved how Sarai Walker constructed such a juxtaposition between marriage and weddings (which are normally displayed as positive and happy events) with this idea of incarceration and institutionalization, in that the Chapel girls literally attributed their family home to that of a wedding cake.
All in all, though I didnāt fall in love with this read, I donāt regret picking it up and trying it, and so if youāre in the mood for a gothic novel with strong feminist themes and strange unsettling deaths, this may just fit the bill.
Moderate: Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, and Blood
bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Death, Suicide, Grief, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Pregnancy, Blood, Gun violence, and Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent, Rape, Vomit, Body shaming, and Panic attacks/disorders