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akal'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
Graphic: Abandonment and Death
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Racism and Homophobia
klbreyfogle'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
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Xenophobia
Minor: Homophobia
bellebookcorner'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
Graphic: Confinement and Blood
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, and Animal death
Minor: Racism, Homophobia, and Murder
imstephtacular's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Blood, Abandonment, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Cursing
Minor: Murder, Grief, Homophobia, and Violence
fromthefoxhole'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
Saint Juniper is a quaint little town, a little paradise on the right side of the tracks where nothing goes wrong. Wolf's Head is a little grungier, the people slightly more worse for wear. In between them gapes Saint Juniper's Folly, a deep, foresty valley filled with secrets
For Theo, Jamie, and Taylor, it's the source of fear, mystery, and answers.
This book is a cozy little mystery, a tender hearted romance, a generational healing, and a coming of age story all rolled into one treat of a novel. We have 3 narrators - Taylor, a teen witch still grieving the loss of her mother. Theo, the boy next door who's starting to buckle beneath the pressure. And Jaime, the neglected foster kid who's new to the area. The amalgamation we find therein does occasionally suffer from the weight of its premise. The pacing falters a touch and the characterizations lose some of the details that we need. I think any debut novel has a chance of that, though, the author needing to kind of hit their stride. For as vast of a concept as Saint Juniper's Folly is, it is largely successful.
All 3 characters are integrally woven to the plot, each plot point is tied up neatly by the end. I felt satisfied as a reader with the way things ended, and with new spots carved in my heart for all 3 of the leads. ALSO - we love an Achillean romance.
Graphic: Medical content, Abandonment, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Child abuse
Minor: Racism, Gaslighting, Outing, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder
betweentheshelves'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
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child abuse, Animal death, and Confinement
Minor: Racism and Homophobia
raneyak's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
My favorite aspect of the book was the characterization, and specifically, I loved Theo's character. He felt very autistic-coded and I related so much to him. The way that he struggled sometimes to get his thoughts out coherently felt so real, and I empathized with how seriously he takes things and how much of a goody-two-shoes he was for most of his life.
(Mild/vague spoilers below about the romance aspect of this book)
I also can't get over the raw romantic chemistry that was somehow translated onto the page. I find that a lot of romance relies pretty heavily on the author telling the reader the two leads are falling for each other, or the reader filling in the gaps on their own based on their knowledge of various tropes. In this book, I could feel the characters falling for each other and it felt very real. The language is very lyrical and vivid, and Crespo is able to capture living emotions in a way that many authors struggle to do.
As much as I loved Theo and Jaime, Taylor's story left a little bit to be desired. I think this book could have benefited from being a little bit longer to allow us to really get to know her character better. Since Theo and Jaime spend a lot of their chapters getting to know each other, I felt like I left the book less connected to her than I was to the boys. I would love to see more of her and Anna's relationship, which was abandoned for most of the book. I would also love to see more of her personal life beyond the core plotline, and the same goes for Theo. Once the three main characters got together, it felt like their home lives disappeared almost completely.
I really did enjoy this book, though, and I am excited for it to be released. I can already see it making the rounds through queer reading circles, and I would love to get my hands on a physical copy. Thank you NetGalley and Peachtree for the opportunity to read an eARC!
Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Violence, and Medical content
Minor: Racism and Homophobia