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bridget_magpie's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.25
This is such a strong 4 stars book, I will give it a 4.25 instead. The writing is amazing, Melissa Albert is clearly crazy talented, this book makes me want to check out her other works.
The characters are so well written half of the time I was conflicted if Becca is a good person or an antagonist because of her toxic and manipulative behaviour presented a few times in the story.
The ending was good enough for a small town mystery novel, I just didn’t like how little we got of what happened after. Nora’s other friends didn’t even show up at the end, not even mentioned which I though was unfortunate.
But all in all I really enjoyed this book and I devoured it as fast as I could.
The characters are so well written half of the time I was conflicted if
The ending was good enough for a small town mystery novel, I just didn’t like how
But all in all I really enjoyed this book and I devoured it as fast as I could.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, and Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Eating disorder, and Gore
ohennui's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Body horror, Gore, Religious bigotry, and Murder
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
3.5
When 3 students and a teacher go missing one night, one of their best friends, Nora, and the mysterious boy James, get pulled into an old town myth, the Goddess Game.
Well, I found the book partly predictable. I figured out what was up with the connection to the old game, or who was now in the story was connected to it pretty easily.
There were some good parts, like the interesting twist as to why these particular people disappeared, and what exactly was going on with Becca being a bit harder to guess.
I didn't like the "evil Goddess" thing. It's an anti-Pagan trope that rubs me the wrong way, even though I do not identify as Pagan.
Overall, the book wasn't terrible, it was just a bit too anti-Pagan and predictable for me. Though at least it wasn't preachy it was more overall anti-religion.
Narrator Rating: 4 stars
The narrator was excellent but not spectacular. Her voice can also be a bit annoying at certain points; it just depends on her tone.
Elemental Levels: Heartfelt-3/5 Mystery-3/5 Predictability-3.5/5 Suspense-1/5 Tear- 2.5/5 Thrill-1/5
Well, I found the book partly predictable. I figured out what was up with the connection to the old game, or who was now in the story was connected to it pretty easily.
There were some good parts, like the interesting twist as to why these particular people disappeared, and what exactly was going on with Becca being a bit harder to guess.
I didn't like the "evil Goddess" thing. It's an anti-Pagan trope that rubs me the wrong way, even though I do not identify as Pagan.
Overall, the book wasn't terrible, it was just a bit too anti-Pagan and predictable for me. Though at least it wasn't preachy it was more overall anti-religion.
Narrator Rating: 4 stars
The narrator was excellent but not spectacular. Her voice can also be a bit annoying at certain points; it just depends on her tone.
Elemental Levels: Heartfelt-3/5 Mystery-3/5 Predictability-3.5/5 Suspense-1/5 Tear- 2.5/5 Thrill-1/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Grief, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child death, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Mass/school shootings
blakeandbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
3.75⭐️
Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I want to start off by saying that Albert’s writing is incredible. It is so captivating and immersive, and I truly had such a great time reading this story. I loved how the book started out. I was so invested in the missing persons cases. It was so creepy; and a great YA horror, supernatural mystery. Nora was a great protagonist, and I felt that she was a great developed character, who was smart and focused on trying to find out exactly what was going on in her town and where her best friend went. I loved all of the clues scattered throughout the book, including Beeca’s POVs that happened several months previously and what Nora, James, and others are able to discover while searching for the truth.
I think what made this fall short for me was how long it took to get to the resolution. If it were shorter, possibly 50-75 pages less, I think it would’ve worked better for me not to be able to get distracted so much within the last 3rd of the book.
Overall, I think it was a really fun read, and I am looking forward to reading more of Albert’s work in the future.
Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I want to start off by saying that Albert’s writing is incredible. It is so captivating and immersive, and I truly had such a great time reading this story. I loved how the book started out. I was so invested in the missing persons cases. It was so creepy; and a great YA horror, supernatural mystery. Nora was a great protagonist, and I felt that she was a great developed character, who was smart and focused on trying to find out exactly what was going on in her town and where her best friend went. I loved all of the clues scattered throughout the book, including Beeca’s POVs that happened several months previously and what Nora, James, and others are able to discover while searching for the truth.
I think what made this fall short for me was how long it took to get to the resolution. If it were shorter, possibly 50-75 pages less, I think it would’ve worked better for me not to be able to get distracted so much within the last 3rd of the book.
Overall, I think it was a really fun read, and I am looking forward to reading more of Albert’s work in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Homophobia, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail