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aliamagpie's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Fun fact: I put this book down for over a year at only 25% complete, as I couldn't get past the phrase orchestra of cocks . When I finally got around to finishing, however, I found it a very satisfying start to a colonial-era historial thriller series. I did find the central plot somewhat difficult to take seriously at first, as the seriousness with which the characters take the witch trial and accusations of consorting with Satan are preposterous to a modern reader . But the characterizations of each ...character... I found to be engaging and engrossing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Misogyny, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Murder, Sexual content, and Violence
This book does contain accurate racial attitudes for the time period, which are decidedly out of touch with today's values.rachelunabridged's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
!SPOILER ALERT!
i went a little out of order with this series and read cardinal black first. i really liked it so i decided to start from the beginning and give the rest of the series a read.
unfortunately, i wasn't a big fan of this particular book. it took a ridiculously long time for it to really get started. i was dissatisfied with the pacing and plot progression until about the 50% mark, which is pretty ridiculous considering this book is about 800 pages long.
also, i was not a fan of the way it wrapped up. it just felt kinda contrived and rushed to me. for the entirety of the book, matthew plays his cards close to his chest for fear that no one will believe him about his theories, which is fair since almost everyone in town would rather blame the "witch" than consider any other possible theories. also, we're shown that bidwell dislikes our protagonist quite a bit. which is why the sudden shift at the end where matthew decides to go back to the town armed with nothing except a story (johnstone murdered the reverend because he can't speak latin.) made little sense to me. i mean, the story he approached them with was hardly less ridiculous than the one he was ridiculed about earlier in the story. (that johnstone's knee might be fake.) additionally, matthew couldn't have known that bidwell went to see smythe so there was no reason to think that his story would be corroborated by anyone else.
i just feel like all of this was a long stretch considering what the readers are shown throughout the book.
despite all of this, i really enjoyed the setting and the characterization. i'm definitely gonna give the next book a read and hope that it kicks it up a notch.
i went a little out of order with this series and read cardinal black first. i really liked it so i decided to start from the beginning and give the rest of the series a read.
unfortunately, i wasn't a big fan of this particular book. it took a ridiculously long time for it to really get started. i was dissatisfied with the pacing and plot progression until about the 50% mark, which is pretty ridiculous considering this book is about 800 pages long.
also, i was not a fan of the way it wrapped up. it just felt kinda contrived and rushed to me. for the entirety of the book, matthew plays his cards close to his chest for fear that no one will believe him about his theories, which is fair since almost everyone in town would rather blame the "witch" than consider any other possible theories. also, we're shown that bidwell dislikes our protagonist quite a bit. which is why the sudden shift at the end where matthew decides to go back to the town armed with nothing except a story (johnstone murdered the reverend because he can't speak latin.) made little sense to me. i mean, the story he approached them with was hardly less ridiculous than the one he was ridiculed about earlier in the story. (that johnstone's knee might be fake.) additionally, matthew couldn't have known that bidwell went to see smythe so there was no reason to think that his story would be corroborated by anyone else.
i just feel like all of this was a long stretch considering what the readers are shown throughout the book.
despite all of this, i really enjoyed the setting and the characterization. i'm definitely gonna give the next book a read and hope that it kicks it up a notch.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, and Violence
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