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caitlin_123a's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Death, Confinement, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Torture, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, and Gore
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Grief, Murder, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, and Cancer
Minor: Animal death and Animal cruelty
elizabethwebb's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Cancer, Car accident, Chronic illness, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Death, Alcohol, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Murder, Rape, Sexual harassment, Torture, and Vomit
gowlstick's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
The mystery of the lighthouse, witches and wildlings was decent at first but I found the last third of the book to be pretty dissatisfying.
The POVs were managed well enough imo, but I felt that clarification that it was a Grimoire section would've been nice (despite the italics). I did find that particularly with chapters written in Luna's POV, the segments dedicated to her memory or flashbacks were unclear and I did find myself confused a few times in those instances.
I generally did not like any of the characters and found some of their building to be a bit weak, and throwaway.
Somehow this entire book felt like a man trying to write 'strong women' or a 14yo girl writing fanfiction. As mentioned previously I have not read anything from Cooke before, and won't be against it. But I will be more careful to read a chapter or two before investing. And I'd be hesitant to recommend this to people who have similar tastes to mine.
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Blood, Rape, Gore, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, and Death of parent
Minor: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Pregnancy
pollyhall's review
- 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? No
4.0
At the being it was a little confusing with all the points of views. I had to go back and look at the heading of the sections do see who was speaking.
Moderate: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Deportation, Gore, Infertility, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexism, Abandonment, Cancer, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence
jrkinyak's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, and Confinement
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
lilifane's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The story is told from multiple points of view in 3 different timelines.
In 1662 several women on a small Scottish island are accused of being witches and executed. Before dying, one of these women curses the island and its inhabitants.
In 1998 Liv and her 3 daughters Clover (7), Luna (9) and Sapphire (15) come to the island, where Liv is hired to paint a mural inside the Longing, the 100 years old lighthouse built at the spot where the witches were imprisoned during their trial. Soon after their arrival, strange things begin to happen and Liv's children start disappearing.
In 2021 Luna is still searching for her 2 lost sisters, when she gets the message that Clover has been found...
I really enjoyed the atmosphere on the island, it's history and the mystery. But there were some really dark themes here, and a lot of scenes were very hard to read, even for me. So definitely check trigger warnings beforehand.
There were aspects of the story I did not expect at first but was pleasantly surprised by them. I think they are handled really well and lead to a satisfying conclusion. I liked how the story is plottet, and how you slowly realize what is happening. But it's heartbreaking. I think I cried straight through the last 20-30% of the book just thinking about it.
This story shows perfectly how the irrational fear of something you don't understand can cause a lot of pain for a lot of people, even generations.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Cancer, Confinement, Medical content, and Terminal illness
Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual content, Drug use, and Murder
mondovertigo's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Violence, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, and Pregnancy
Minor: Alcohol, Miscarriage, Confinement, and Vomit