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maresuju's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Abandonment, Religious bigotry, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
samflowerv6's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
The was uniquely beautiful and mysterious. If you like A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid, I am certain this will hit in a similar way. I love grumpy sunshine when the boy is sunshine. They are just perfect to me. Creatures with glowing eyes in the dark, alchemy, trauma, lonely seaside manor and prejudice are some main points in the story. An overall beautiful tale of finding the people who love you as you truly are and believe in your future.
“When she looks like this, flushed and hazy and haloed by the moon, he truly can believe God exists, and her name is Margaret Welty.” '
“In the dim porchlight, she looks like something out of a poem he read in school before he dropped out.”
“How many times will she watch someone leave this place and never look back, while she is left here like a ghost to haunt it?”
“Weston, with his foppish hair and calculating smile
“If he can’t grieve his father or his impossible dreams without hurting his family or himself, what other choice does he have but to keep things light? To dazzle people so they can’t look for the cracks? He’s survived this long by letting everyone believe he’s selfish and shallow. It’s better that way. No one knows how to hurt you if you always play the fool.”
“Love is not the sharp-edged thing she's always believed it to be. It's not like the sea, liable to slip through her fingers if she holds on too tight. It's not a currency, something to be earned or denied or bartered for. Love can be steadfast. It can be certain and safe, or as wild as an open flame.”
“But if lust is so perverse, why would God make girls”
“There are punishments far worse than being struck. To be forsaken and unloved - that is the worst fate of all.”
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Bullying, and Cursing
Moderate: Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, and Gun violence
Minor: Sexual content, Alcohol, and Death
spellboundreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Racism, Antisemitism, Classism, and Religious bigotry
johnstonsami's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Colonisation, Cursing, Blood, Bullying, Grief, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Classism, Abandonment, Antisemitism, Child death, and Death
erinreadsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Read if you like satisfying, emotional, character-based romance.
Graphic: Bullying, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent, Gun violence, Animal death, Emotional abuse, and Grief
alexijai98's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Be warned, this is definitely a ROMANtasy. The fantasy aspects are throughout the whole book, but the action mostly revolves around the protagonists’ romance - which I didn’t mind because I loved them both! Reading this made me feel fuzzy inside, the way it felt to read a stunning fanfiction back in 2014 (you know the ones with the titles in all lowercase, don’t pretend not to!). There is also some heavy-hitting Mommy Issue content in here that had my feeling some kind of way, so keep that in mind!
Graphic: Bullying, Religious bigotry, Violence, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Abandonment, Animal death, Classism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Colonisation
jessereadsthings's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
1.0
Graphic: Religious bigotry and Xenophobia
Moderate: Bullying, Hate crime, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Animal death
florecita_lectora's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Bullying, Hate crime, and Grief
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, and Abandonment
wilybooklover's review
4.0
The writing in this was absolutely gorgeous. So lyrical — poetic, almost — and atmospheric. I highly recommend reading this in autumn because it has perfect spooky, gothic vibes. Margaret and Wes's slow-burn romance was so romantic and tender and full of pining. They both felt like fully fleshed-out characters with realistic flaws and issues. I also enjoyed that they were both poor; usually fantasy romances will have at least one of the pair be royalty or aristocratic or blindingly rich, and that was refreshingly not the case here.
This is a very character-driven and introspective book, and while I loved that aspect, I do wish there had been a little bit more focus on the hala and the hunt. It's mostly squashed into the last 10% and it felt a bit anticlimactic and rushed given the build-up of the previous 90% of the book.
The worldbuilding was also a little bit shaky for me. It's very clearly based on 1920s New England with direct parallels in terms of religion, ethnicity, real-world events and tensions, etc. but then there are some more modern concepts and theories mentioned as well. I know it's fantasy but I think it was too close to the real world to work in terms of cohesion. I think it would have flowed better for me if the world had been a bit more distinctly its own thing or if there were a few more magical/fantastical elements outside of the alchemy and the hala.
Overall, though, this was a lovely heartfelt fantasy romance with some deftly explored themes of loneliness, persecution, trauma, and religion.
Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Blood, Bullying, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal death
Moderate: Ableism, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Classism, Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Grief
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
u_0's review against another edition
Moderate: Abandonment, Racism, Bullying, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Mental illness, and Religious bigotry