emciver's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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zoe_archambault's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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? Yes

1.0

all i wanted was something like 'the hauting of the hill house' by sherley jackson but all i got was the author's gross sexual assault fantasy and a half assed mystery thrown in the background. The mystery was at least a decent backdrop that made the (MANY) assaults make sense??? but also stockholm syndrome? or mental fuckery as everything descends into madness but it was honestly done so badly and in such poor taste i hated every second of it

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saffic's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I really enjoyed this book and I don't have too much to say. I feel it's pretty solidly 4 stars, I might drop it to 3.5 if I think overthink everything. Only have 2 real complaints.

1. In a lot of author interviews, Silvia Moreno-Garcia states that one of the core gothic horror tropes is an 'alluring but dangerous man'. And I am assuming that Virgil is supposed to fill that role in this story. However, whatever 'allure' he may have had, quickly faded for me when
  he started echoing all the things his father said. Would he probably hold those views? Yes, absolutely. But the fact that Noemi really started thirsting for him after he told her he believes in inferior races, girl. I cope by thinking the shrooms had infested her brain at that point.


2. This point is all spoilers so-
The ending. I am a huge fan of bittersweet/gut-wrenching endings so this complaint is for me and me alone. All of the good guys survived. I won't say they lived happily-ever-after as the author has flirted with the idea of a sequel, but yeah. I get why the author chose to have Francis and Catalina survive, but part of me wished one of them got messed up in the end. They are both the 'princess in the tower' that Noemi saves, a play on her earlier wish. I wish Catalina had more scenes because I wanted her inevitable killing of Virgil to have more weight, but it just didn't. They barely interact. Was he a shitty husband? Probably, but do we ever see it directly? No. If there had been a scene earlier in the book where Noemi sees Catalina seem perfectly fine with Virgil, but she moves away from him every time he gets closer or something to that extent would have even been enough. Justice for Catalina she deserved more development.

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katemarie99's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.0

It's giving Saltburn. It's giving Wuthering Heights. It's giving Beloved. It's giving The Yellow Wallpaper. It's giving Get Out. It's giving Alice in Wonderland.

I'm spooked down to my very bones, but this is a good book. Do yourself a favor and check out TWs first, tho.

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emilemilemily5's review against another edition

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dark mysterious
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0


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emzinator's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? No

4.75

This book has a sleepy lull in the first half - but don't worry, it picks up SO much. I think this book reads almost like a screenplay, and I hope the Hulu limited series gets back on track! 

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garbage_mcsmutly's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The first big reveal was kind of an obvious one, but they took it in an unexpected direction. It was interesting and well written.

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deetabz's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0


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bookybeckyboo's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75


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chaotic_tumbleweed's review against another edition

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dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I really enjoyed this book. However, towards the end there was a lot of explaining I didn't think was necessary. It felt like the action kept starting and stoping. Other than that I really enjoyed it.

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