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connorrooke's review
3.0
Just genre-savvy enough to be an irritant, not genre-savvy enough to be interesting
quokkaboba's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
“They played a game to call up the dead from their rest. Except they didn't have to. The house already knew they were there.”
oliviabakke's review
dark
tense
fast-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
2.5
r4tgod's review
dark
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
rereader33's review
2.0
What could have been an atmospheric and haunting horror story instead turned out to be a too short and unnecessarily prose-y disappointment. This should have been at least another 50-100 pages to flush out the characters and add dimension to each of the relationships, but instead everything was rushed and even at the end I STILL didn't know exactly what happened between everyone. It didn't help that all of the characters were unlikable, thus I didn't particularly care whether they died or not. Not good for a horror story.
But without a doubt, the most egregious sin this novel committed was its prose. I swear, students should be forced to read this book for school so they can be taught how NOT to write and how overly written prose can hinder a story. No joke, there were multiple times when I couldn't even grasp what Khaw was trying to describe or show because she added 10 more words than was required. There's nothing wrong with wanting to spruce up your writing with some clever word choice or adjectives, but when you drown EVERY SINGLE SENTENCE in unnecessary adjectives, metaphors, and/or similes, it becomes a chore to read and takes me out of the scene.
This could have been SO much better; the location was creepy, the lore was interesting, and the set up was solid. But Khaw drowned everything that could have worked in obnoxiously pretentious prose and blitzed through the story so quickly that the ending was rushed and completely unsatisfying. Maybe others will enjoy it and appreciate it more than me, but this was a crushing disappointment.
But without a doubt, the most egregious sin this novel committed was its prose. I swear, students should be forced to read this book for school so they can be taught how NOT to write and how overly written prose can hinder a story. No joke, there were multiple times when I couldn't even grasp what Khaw was trying to describe or show because she added 10 more words than was required. There's nothing wrong with wanting to spruce up your writing with some clever word choice or adjectives, but when you drown EVERY SINGLE SENTENCE in unnecessary adjectives, metaphors, and/or similes, it becomes a chore to read and takes me out of the scene.
This could have been SO much better; the location was creepy, the lore was interesting, and the set up was solid. But Khaw drowned everything that could have worked in obnoxiously pretentious prose and blitzed through the story so quickly that the ending was rushed and completely unsatisfying. Maybe others will enjoy it and appreciate it more than me, but this was a crushing disappointment.
mallorieluna's review
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
v_j0n3s's review
2.0
Honest: 2.5
I mostly just loved the author’s writing. But the story, predictable and anticlimactic. If you need a quick read to get you out of a reading slump as in, motivates you to read a better book, this is the one for you. I don’t regret reading it, just didn’t tickle my fancy.
I mostly just loved the author’s writing. But the story, predictable and anticlimactic. If you need a quick read to get you out of a reading slump as in, motivates you to read a better book, this is the one for you. I don’t regret reading it, just didn’t tickle my fancy.
charlotteprt's review against another edition
dark
fast-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
raynbowbright's review
3.0
I’m unsure what to write about this book it was fast paced and alot happened but there was so much going on so quickly I didn’t really have time to be disturbed or scared.