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soradsauce's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This book is ooky spooky. The body horror level is fever pitch in several key scenes that made me cringe. The horrors are numerous but very rarely something innately horrific, instead we get the ooky spooky stuff running alongside the horror of betrayal and the horror of not being the one telling your own story. I'm a fairly new Catriona Ward reader, I've only read one other book by her, but her work is intense, often a puzzle, and scary as hell.
This book is kind of a coming of age book, kind of a coming out book, kind of a murder mystery and also kind of a tale of madness. The madness we get driven to when we don't have control over how our story is told, and the madness that often happens when the universe surprises you with another curveball right when you think everything is going to be okay.
I ranked this 4.5 stars because I do think that about halfway through the book, the pacing fell off. I honestly had a hard time staying focused from about 55% to 75%, and the writing isn't bad there by any means, but Ward's other scenes in the book are so intense and hard hitting, you kind of feel like you need to skim through the introspection to get to the payoff.
This book is kind of a coming of age book, kind of a coming out book, kind of a murder mystery and also kind of a tale of madness. The madness we get driven to when we don't have control over how our story is told, and the madness that often happens when the universe surprises you with another curveball right when you think everything is going to be okay.
I ranked this 4.5 stars because I do think that about halfway through the book, the pacing fell off. I honestly had a hard time staying focused from about 55% to 75%, and the writing isn't bad there by any means, but Ward's other scenes in the book are so intense and hard hitting, you kind of feel like you need to skim through the introspection to get to the payoff.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Gore
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