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readwithria's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I don't have much to say as a preamble so I'm going to get straight into the lists
Things I liked:
- I like that Craig decided to group up the younger sisters to make them easier to keep track of
- I really liked the setting and how the religious celebrations were linked to location
- I think the spooky/horror aspects of the book
Things I wish were different:
- While I appreciated grouping some of the sisters together, it did make them less individualistic, which I didn't love
- I could not for the life of me figure out how old Morella, Mercy, or Honor were. I know the triplets were 16 and Verity was 6, but the two older Graces are just somewhere in between I guess? And Morella was apparently not much older than Camille and Annaleigh (19 and 18) but had been working as a midwife for 5 years before the beginning of the book? I was very confused
- I wish there had been another chapter or two of resolution between the last chapter and the epilogue. I don't actually feel like I got any closure
- I almost think the last third of the book could have been stretched into a second book. Have book one stop at the lighthouse, or even earlier
- I don't think the world-building was as strong as it could have been. I didn't figure out something major about their religion until almost 75% of the way into the book. I think the book was trying to be too much with the fantasy religion, ghost story, murder mystery, romance/love triangle, and family drama. If it had picked two or three it would have been much stronger.
All in all, this was a 3.5 star read for me. I liked it, but I didn't love it.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Blood, and Mental illness
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
nutmegandpumpkin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.75
At first it was hard to keep track of all the names because there were 12 sisters plus more characters (though four of the sisters are dead from the beginning). Although I liked having a large cast of characters, it was a bit confusing for a while.
There were also some cliché romance moments and a bit of instalove which isn’t my favorite but didn’t ruin the whole thing.
It felt like it was trying to be a little too much all at once: a psychological thriller, horror, fairy tale retelling, fantasy, romance, family drama, mystery. I think this might be why it felt a little all over the place and rushed in some areas.
HOWEVER, I really just loved the ~vibes~ of the whole book and I did NOT expect it to get so dark and unsettling but I enjoyed that (despite it being a shock). I had also totally thought I guessed the twists but BOY was I WRONG lol.
The description was lovely and the tension, suspense, and mystery definitely kept me intrigued.
would recommend!
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
Moderate: Murder and Self harm
Minor: Suicide, Death of parent, and Vomit
jahodge714's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Pregnancy, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
queenrivanni's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Vomit
tkatt20's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I have very conflicted feelings about this book. On one hand I loved it, on the other hand, there were some very random things that happened that caught me off guard. For the most part I did love this book and I was so excited to read it when I found out it was a retelling of the twelve dancing princesses. The story is extremely dark and gothic, bordering on demonic, and the writing style really made the characters come alive as they were all very interesting with each one having their own personality and quirks. The last 1/4 of the book became very fantasy heavy which I found could have been executed better if there was more of that element mentioned throughout the first part of the book, but that was my biggest issue and I got over it fairly quickly. This book had the perfect setup for a series but since it isn't the world-building as a little lacking and the ending seemed fairly rushed. There are some unanswered questions but with the story being first person I feel like it fits well with the narrator and I don't feel dissatisfied with the ending. All in all, I can definitely see myself coming back and rereading this book in the future.
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Suicide
Minor: Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, and Vomit
dadimabookernow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book is so so good. It's so dark and twisty but so good. Very much reminds me of The haunting of hill house vibes.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, Pregnancy, Suicide, and Vomit
megloveswords12's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Child death, Violence, and Mental illness
mikaelaandherbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Child death, Murder, Miscarriage, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death of parent, Mental illness, and Suicide
Minor: Infidelity
mreno5's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Minor: Death, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Pregnancy, and Violence
carysbeesbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Gore, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, and Suicide