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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Fun, but I hope that, in the intervening 20-something years since this was published, Anne Rice has grown out of the habit of all the fucked-up colonialist language contained herein. Making sure every black character is denoted as black (all tertiary, all slaves or servants, none with interior lives beyond superstition or fleeting opinion about the Mayfairs), and failing to do so with white characters, insisting slave-owning characters who are supposed to be sympathetic were “good” to their slaves, etc. It’s not what the book was about but it was so incidental and careless that it really made it hard to believe in any of the moral backbone of the story.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
⭐️: 2.5
The good parts of this book are fantastic! The atmosphere is spot on, ranging from California to New Orleans, Anne Rice knows how to paint a vivid picture of where we are not just geographically but also in time. Michael is perfect 🥰
However, I hated the middle 1/3 of the book. It knocked the pacing entirely off from what was being developed. This section also introduces an unnecessary amount of insect is written into the story. To make matters worse, I absolutely hated the ending. Without delving into details I found it to be overall just absurd and unsatisfying.
I mainly read this before watching the show and I can only hope the show made some edits.
The good parts of this book are fantastic! The atmosphere is spot on, ranging from California to New Orleans, Anne Rice knows how to paint a vivid picture of where we are not just geographically but also in time. Michael is perfect 🥰
However, I hated the middle 1/3 of the book. It knocked the pacing entirely off from what was being developed. This section also introduces an unnecessary amount of insect is written into the story. To make matters worse, I absolutely hated the ending. Without delving into details I found it to be overall just absurd and unsatisfying.
I mainly read this before watching the show and I can only hope the show made some edits.
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is absolutely not for the casual horror reader. In many ways I wouldn’t even categorize it as horror since for about 1/2 of the book it read more like a fantistical historical fiction novel; dealing more in magical realism than anything else. I agree with others who said this easily could’ve been two books, one that dealt with the history of the Mayfair witches, and one that centered on the “present day” characters, but I also understand why the author may have chosen to organize the book the way that she did. Ann did a great job creating an entirely immersive history of her characters that felt real, and knowledge of the family tree was relevant in the end, but it created a dense narrative. I think if this book were rewritten today an editor might encourage the use of flashbacks or some other device instead of completely diverting from the main characters for 19 whole chapters. I can see why many DNF this book, but once we got past all of the backstory and back to the present day characters, I could not stop listening. That being said, I had to listen at 2x speed because 50 hours is insane and listening at 1x was like sleeping potion.
On the whole, I could have done without the bit of pedophilia, it didn’t seem like a necessary plot device AT ALL. The way she wrote about sex and made her FMC and MMC essentially have a rape kink was not for me, so TW everybody. There was also a shit ton of incest as well, but that at least served a purpose in the narrative similar to Game of Thrones. So, do with that what you will.
I want to know what happens next and yet I’m hesitant to pick up the next book in the series.
On the whole, I could have done without the bit of pedophilia, it didn’t seem like a necessary plot device AT ALL. The way she wrote about sex and made her FMC and MMC essentially have a rape kink was not for me, so TW everybody. There was also a shit ton of incest as well, but that at least served a purpose in the narrative similar to Game of Thrones. So, do with that what you will.
I want to know what happens next and yet I’m hesitant to pick up the next book in the series.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Trigger warning regarding mentions of incest and rape. If you enjoy dark fiction, witches, and the occult, highly recommend. Rated as 4.75/5 because I LOVE Anne Rice and all of her novels but it’s been so long since I read one though that I forgot how much time she spends on character development. There’s less action and more history/world-building. But it is the 1st of 3 novels in this series. Did not end nicely wrapped up so I have to go read more!
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is really odd. There is a lot of incest and complicated sexual themes and are honestly kind of uncomfortable to read. The story is interesting, and I loved the indepth use of background information to further the plot. Many of the characters are tragically lovable. I also loved how the author uses and describes magic, it feels genuine, making the plot creepier.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual assault
I really, really tried to get into this book. It was way too wordy in regards to the family history. Plus, trying to keep track of the characters in regards to who is a descendent of whom is frankly exhausting. Way too much incest. I'm sorry, I really did try to give this book a chance
I greatly enjoyed this book. It did take me some time to read it, seeing as I have been very busy with work. I even enjoyed reading about the history of the Mayfair witches. That's one of the great things about Anne Rice, she's always historically accurate about time periods and she enjoys writing historically. If you don't enjoy reading things like that, this book is not for you.
It seems that many people were disappointed with the ending of the book, and one of the main characters actions. I actually enjoyed the ending and watching the character shift because of the pressures.
Totally a great read, super recommend this book to any Anne Rice fan.
It seems that many people were disappointed with the ending of the book, and one of the main characters actions. I actually enjoyed the ending and watching the character shift because of the pressures.
Totally a great read, super recommend this book to any Anne Rice fan.