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cuteasamuntin's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I’m not sure I particularly liked this book. It isn’t a particularly fun or nice read, but I can already tell that it’s going to really stick with me. While it’s slow enough that I was at times impatient for Rice to get on with it, the narrative was still very compelling.
I really enjoyed the family chronology and learning more about the Talamasca. My favorite parts were 1) the deep and pure expressions of familial and romantic love dappled throughout an otherwise grim and haunting story and 2) Michaelin a joyous frenzy over restoring the house, to the point that I was hanging onto every word about his historically accurate and thoughtful renovations , but the latter is probably just a hazard of my day job.
Funnily enough, I just didn’t care at all about the spirit Lasher, to the point that I found myself actively bored whenhe is finally present in the narrative and begins interacting directly with Rowan . I think this may have been a stronger story without that aspect being so explicitly present. This may, of course, be in part to already knowing the general principles of how spirits/“demons” work in the Anne Rice universe due to being a dedicated admirer of Maharat and her Great Family™ from The Vampire Chronicles.
For audiobook listeners, the talented Kate Reading really makes this heavy tome a lot less of a slog.
I really enjoyed the family chronology and learning more about the Talamasca. My favorite parts were 1) the deep and pure expressions of familial and romantic love dappled throughout an otherwise grim and haunting story and 2) Michael
Funnily enough, I just didn’t care at all about the spirit Lasher, to the point that I found myself actively bored when
For audiobook listeners, the talented Kate Reading really makes this heavy tome a lot less of a slog.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Blood, Death of parent, Ableism, Abandonment, Death, Incest, Bullying, Gore, Grief, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Rape, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Confinement, Body horror, Mental illness, Medical content, Pregnancy, Stalking, and Torture
Moderate: Classism, Confinement, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Dementia, Medical content, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual content
Minor: Drug use, Abortion, Body shaming, Cultural appropriation, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Colonisation, Dementia, Kidnapping, and Car accident
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