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kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Opal was a funny as shit protagonist, and Arthur was so sad and pathetic in a very cute way. I love when men are described as ugly and annoying at first sight but by the end of the book your heart is like vVvVvV. do you get me
I also loved the narrative style; things were kept from Opal, but not from the reader; Arthur’s chapters were deliciously revealing while Opal still went 100mph towards answers. Loved it.
Jasper was sweet and made my older sister heart grow 3 sizes. your baby brother that you spent so long protecting becoming a protector in his own right is so !!! the sibling relationship was everything
Eleanor… my unhinged queen and ally white woman… incredible work
the funky little lesbians also made my day, Opal being the most oblivious straight to ever het only added to her charm lmao
10/10 read, buying this is print but thank you to BCPL for the ebook <3
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Slavery, Car accident, Alcohol, Blood, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Sexual assault, and Misogyny
Minor: Xenophobia and Racism
annamorgan27'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
4.5
Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, Grief, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Cursing, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content
lianaet'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
5.0
And weirdly in the nature of this book, that just makes sense.
The unsettling vibes of the writing were amazing and just sucked me right in all the way through. It felt slow to progress but never in a bad way. And Opal as a flawed woman protagonist was an amazing character.
Graphic: Death of parent and Violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Death, and Slavery
Minor: Vomit and Incest
tspice24's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gore, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Death
aseel_reads'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? It's complicated
4.25
Moderate: Violence, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Police brutality
Minor: Homophobia, Incest, and Racism
lue_moon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It also is not a perfect book and I'm sure not for everyone. It does have a slow build, some characters that I viciously hated (rightfully so), some potential plot holes, and a couple things left unanswered or that I wish got to be expanded upon. And still something about it struck a chord with me.
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Classism and Racism
Minor: Incest and Slavery
mpbookreviews's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Death of parent, Sexual content, Death, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Slavery
gardens_and_dragons'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content and Suicidal thoughts
Very brief mention of incest by way of marriage in 1800s. Nothing graphic.livlamentloathe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I also wanted more of the book to touch on the racism Jasper faced in Eden. I wanted Jasper to better scold Opal for the way she ignored about that part of him. She made a comment later on that alluded to her getting it in part. But she also definitely was very forgetful of his race. The book itself barely even acknowledged his race. It took until the middle of the book for me to determine his ethnicity - maybe that's my bad and I missed an early tell. But I think overall, this book wanted to hide details and it didn't always handle that well. It would be evasive and add extra page time instead of being a bit more upfront about things. Maybe that was purposeful too with Opal's personality. But it felt like it was just trying too hard.
The premise felt like a cross between The Hazel Wood and Book of Night. I thought it was meant to be horror, but it wasn't horror so much as gothic. More of a magical realism/low fantasy romance. This book could've been great but I think it needed further editing and less evasive plot points. I get it. Most details were meant for "reveals" later but it became excessive when I got lost wondering what the point of the book was. Or what was going on period.
P.S. I'd have loved more of a violent ending for the Gravely family and Elizabeth Bane.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Blood, and Classism
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Car accident, Stalking, Slavery, Racism, Sexism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Violence, Grief, and Police brutality
Minor: Homophobia, Hate crime, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Incest, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Animal death
frawst_disasta_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
While the main characters are morally grey, I couldn’t help but root for them, for their ‘will they won’t they’ and for the house itself.
This book is exactly what I needed/wanted the book to be. And I do love a book with some footnotes and illustrations. I will most likely re-read and annotate in the future.
Graphic: Classism, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Abandonment
Moderate: Blood