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readingbymollie's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Violence, and Abandonment
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
edamamebean'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: Antisemitism, Gun violence, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Violence, Religious bigotry, Grief, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Child death, Alcohol, and Abandonment
naomidanae's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I think my only issue with this book is how unclear the time period of the book is. There are phones and cars and all, but then 25 cents is apparently a lot of money. And the rifle has a magazine? Otherwise, this is a great book.
A few quotes:
"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. It’s a slice of buttered bread at a dinner table. It’s a grudge born of worry. It’s broken skin pulled over swelling knuckles."
"All I know for sure is that if God or the truth or whatever you want to call it is out there and we can reach it, we’re not going to find it in that box. We’ll find it in other people.”
“Loneliness is a terrible thing. Maybe the most terrible thing.”
Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
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
jillmarie'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
4.0
Moderate: Animal death and Abandonment
Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Violence
mpbookreviews's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Blood, Death, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, and Grief
Minor: Sexual content and Child death
blackcatkai'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? It's complicated
4.0
this was such a cute, sweet, slow burn romance with a bit of magic thrown in. it's written beautifully while also dealing with quite a few heavy topics. I loved it and would absolutely read from Saft again!
Graphic: Blood, Xenophobia, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Alcohol, Antisemitism, and Death
Moderate: Body horror, Gun violence, Grief, Mental illness, Abandonment, Violence, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Sexual content and Ableism
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
ka_ke's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
It’s got good alchemy lore but oddly a significant amount of walmart brand christianity? I guess maybe it’s the authors way of recovering from some religious trauma.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Grief, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Racism, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence
Minor: Sexual content, Child death, Toxic friendship, and Xenophobia