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readwithbells's review against another edition
4.0
Then I made faces like the faces on the rocks, and I twisted myself around like the twisted ones, and I lay down flat on the ground like the dead ones.
That made my skin crawl. Folk horror (and turns out a pulp horror retelling, thanks authors note) done absolutely right. Sometimes the humour felt a little too much and there was a point between 60-80% where so many reveals were happening the storyline got totally convoluted for me. I took a six hour break and finished the book this afternoon and I’m so glad I did because that climax was fantastic. I haven’t had a horror book make me physically shudder in a long time and this was exactly what I was looking for: something spooky and horror-feeling where I’ll still be able to sleep at night. Potentially a bit long and certainly a bit repetitive, the atmosphere wasn’t great but the body horror was; I liked it. Never gonna look at rocks the same though.
That made my skin crawl. Folk horror (and turns out a pulp horror retelling, thanks authors note) done absolutely right. Sometimes the humour felt a little too much and there was a point between 60-80% where so many reveals were happening the storyline got totally convoluted for me. I took a six hour break and finished the book this afternoon and I’m so glad I did because that climax was fantastic. I haven’t had a horror book make me physically shudder in a long time and this was exactly what I was looking for: something spooky and horror-feeling where I’ll still be able to sleep at night. Potentially a bit long and certainly a bit repetitive, the atmosphere wasn’t great but the body horror was; I liked it. Never gonna look at rocks the same though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Chronic illness and Mental illness
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
Moderate:shadowspinner's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Animal death, and Death
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Gun violence
Minor: Death of parent, Racism, and Emotional abuse
emzhay's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The first 60% was a type of horror that really had me creeped out a scared to look out of the corner of my eye. It was thrilling, and I was sucked in. The last 30% I have mixed feeling about. The horror imagery still hit that same beat, but the plot direction and the cut-in humor was pulling me out of the story. I really don’t know exactly how I feel about the ending, but it’s not exactly positive.
I wasn’t too fond of the narrator either, but I also didn’t hate her. Mouse’s attempted southern jokes came off as sly classiest comments and that irked me. They did disappear in the later half, but there were enough comments early on for her to leave a bad impression.
I would rate lower, but I really did enjoy it a lot up until the end.
I wasn’t too fond of the narrator either, but I also didn’t hate her. Mouse’s attempted southern jokes came off as sly classiest comments and that irked me. They did disappear in the later half, but there were enough comments early on for her to leave a bad impression.
I would rate lower, but I really did enjoy it a lot up until the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Racism and Classism
elly29's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Satisfyingly creepy and well-plotted. It's about a woman who cares for her dog, and wants to help folks when they ask for help. I loved Foxey, and that it was a woman and an older woman who get to have the adventure. And this novel. Is. Out. There.
A but slow at the beginning, and bit fast at the end. Creepy all the way through. Seriously: Cotgrave and everything surrounding his death is sooo twisted.
A but slow at the beginning, and bit fast at the end. Creepy all the way through. Seriously: Cotgrave and everything surrounding his death is sooo twisted.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Death
Minor: Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Animal death
dreamy_demon's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia, Animal death, Body horror, and Blood
jasmine256's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Animal death, and Body horror
Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Dementia
Minor: Death of parent, Child death, and Racism
chloseencounter's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The Twisted Ones was my second novel by T. Kingfisher, my first being What Moves the Dead. Throughout that story I loved the atmosphere and the style of writing but historical fiction of any kind is just not for me, so I was excited to try something else by her and was not dissatisfied.
Even though the first half of the book was a bit slow, I really enjoyed getting to know our main character and her dog, as well as the relationships she forms with the people in town. The writing style was fun and even though I did find some small bits sorta…this is not how people talk but how the author imagines is a hip way to speak, I still thought a lot of the narration was humorous and I liked Mouse as a person. I’d definitely want to grab a coffee with her. Also the ongoing bit about NPR pledge week was hysterical.
I must say I did think some parts of this book where frightening. I am not someone who scares easily but folklore is probably what frightens me the most in books, when the upside down deer head was looking in Mouse’s window while she “slept”, that definitely made me feel anxious.
The ending was where things kinda flipped for me but I didn’t hate it either, some bits where good and some bits felt meh. I think it was hard for me to feel scared of Anna because faceless monsters are much more frightening than what we can put a name and description tomorrow . The uncanny valley element of folklore creatures is what makes them scary to me personally so even though I thought Anna was bad news, I wasn’t frightened by her either. I also feel like there wasn’t enough hints leading up to her reveal as a character, I just would’ve liked a little more there for her instead of some vague moments where she was seen and then all of a sudden you’re supposed to care, or be scared, or feel really much of anything toward her. Now what I did like is that Foxy and Mouse kept up. I thought Foxy was a sweet and lovable character and I was definitely afraid she would be killed. I’m glad she survived and that her and Mouse continue their friendship. I also appreciated the open ending, we don’t really know what happened to Anna so she could still be out there. That’s definitely an unnerving thought to be in the back of your mind.
Overall this was a solid read that I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys folklore, a good mystery, tense but not too scary or gory, and some fun characters with good humor even in the face of horror. I’ll definitely be trying something else by T. Kingfisher in the future.
Even though the first half of the book was a bit slow, I really enjoyed getting to know our main character and her dog, as well as the relationships she forms with the people in town. The writing style was fun and even though I did find some small bits sorta…this is not how people talk but how the author imagines is a hip way to speak, I still thought a lot of the narration was humorous and I liked Mouse as a person. I’d definitely want to grab a coffee with her. Also the ongoing bit about NPR pledge week was hysterical.
I must say I did think some parts of this book where frightening.
The ending was where things kinda flipped for me but I didn’t hate it either, some bits where good and some bits felt meh.
Overall this was a solid read that I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys folklore, a good mystery, tense but not too scary or gory, and some fun characters with good humor even in the face of horror. I’ll definitely be trying something else by T. Kingfisher in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Stalking, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Kidnapping
thekeytotheend's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Body horror, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Blood, Alcohol, Dementia, Emotional abuse, and Pregnancy
Minor: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Gun violence, Racism, and Torture
ashleycmms's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Body horror
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, and Animal death
Minor: Child death
parkerluck's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Almost a 4 star because the horror aspect is 😵💫, really really worked for me. I loved the buildup, particularly with the journal/manuscript, and all the description was very scary. I was worried the outcome would fall flat once the mystery was revealed but instead I found it very gross (affectionate) and intriguing!
Mainly I wanted just a little more from the characters and maybe like... 10% less quip during the tense scenes. The humor waned after a bit and I felt myself getting tired after reading "Hon" for the 4th time on a page. Overall it definitely wasn't a dealbreaker by any means and I found the MC very likeable!! Just wish she had a bit more going on.
Mainly I wanted just a little more from the characters and maybe like... 10% less quip during the tense scenes. The humor waned after a bit and I felt myself getting tired after reading "Hon" for the 4th time on a page. Overall it definitely wasn't a dealbreaker by any means and I found the MC very likeable!! Just wish she had a bit more going on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Animal death, Slavery, and Miscarriage