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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
fast-paced
if she had an ounce of intelligence this would have been a short story. also the ghost thing was not really thought out (why did we spend so long on the ghost house residents and they literally did not matter at all) and why was there a thinly veiled samael/sam hill character for basically no reason?
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I never thought I'd like a book marketed for teens; even as a teen I didn't like books marketed for teens. As an adult, my skepticism has only intensified, and yet Crowley has changed my mind. Let her change yours.
It's tough to write in this genre without being trite, leaning on too many clichés or too hard on your grand point. Here is well balanced, though - scenes are set and characters are polished to a burnished, earnest shine that gilds each page. The author's descriptions are concise and not overly complex, but still visceral and effective ("My whole body feels like room-temperature cherry soft serve, pink and runny in the cold dawn light.") There's an emotional maturity evident in word choice and phrasing. Even if at first glance this seems a book for young adults, anyone who has clawed survival back from neglectful parents and selfish men will see glimpses of themselves that will warm and crack their hearts in equal measure.
I hate being able to sense every move an author makes before they make it, whether they're intentionally leading me with rotten little breadcrumbs or following an old, rote, all-too-familiar recipe. Crowley does not suffer from these afflictions. There is some familiarity here - it is a high-school-girl-murder-mystery, after all - yet it has been smartly recolored and recast anew. I legitimately did not guess each plot point as it progressed, which was refreshing. It didn't end with a fucking cliffhanger to set up a sequel, which was also a relief. Oh, and the book isn't overly horny; just a reasonable amount given the ages of the primary characters that doesn't overtake the plot.
Ignore whatever hot new "witchy" book with a snake or moons on the cover that's being forced down your booktok gullet and pick up HERE LIES A VENGEFUL BITCH instead.
P.S. This is more of a thanks to the publisher, but the content guidance at the start is laid out and framed really well and I wish all books did this in precisely this way.
It's tough to write in this genre without being trite, leaning on too many clichés or too hard on your grand point. Here is well balanced, though - scenes are set and characters are polished to a burnished, earnest shine that gilds each page. The author's descriptions are concise and not overly complex, but still visceral and effective ("My whole body feels like room-temperature cherry soft serve, pink and runny in the cold dawn light.") There's an emotional maturity evident in word choice and phrasing. Even if at first glance this seems a book for young adults, anyone who has clawed survival back from neglectful parents and selfish men will see glimpses of themselves that will warm and crack their hearts in equal measure.
I hate being able to sense every move an author makes before they make it, whether they're intentionally leading me with rotten little breadcrumbs or following an old, rote, all-too-familiar recipe. Crowley does not suffer from these afflictions. There is some familiarity here - it is a high-school-girl-murder-mystery, after all - yet it has been smartly recolored and recast anew. I legitimately did not guess each plot point as it progressed, which was refreshing. It didn't end with a fucking cliffhanger to set up a sequel, which was also a relief. Oh, and the book isn't overly horny; just a reasonable amount given the ages of the primary characters that doesn't overtake the plot.
Ignore whatever hot new "witchy" book with a snake or moons on the cover that's being forced down your booktok gullet and pick up HERE LIES A VENGEFUL BITCH instead.
P.S. This is more of a thanks to the publisher, but the content guidance at the start is laid out and framed really well and I wish all books did this in precisely this way.
A quick read. Not normally what I would grab off the shelf, but had a fun time reading it for book club - campy and quirky. For the context of the book and the underlying message, I appreciate that the author never tried to make Annie more “likable”.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A great unique and well written book
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Codie Crowley perfectly encapsulated what it means to be a young girl and to be taken advantage left and right by people who you believe are supposed to protect you. I rated this four stars because I saw a lot of myself in Annie, making this a little hard to get through, having similar struggles in my youth and when I needed help I had to figure it out on my own. I found myself rooting for Annie’s closure more than I did her vengeance. I would love a second book just to see how Annie and Maura are handling the afterlife and if Grady comes for them on Halloween the same way Annie came for him. I would love to see how she grows more as a ghost. I see a lot of reviews who claim to not care for this book a lot because Annie isn’t relatable and that’s the thing. Most teenagers have a mother and father who are present, that have ✨not expired food✨ in the house, who have siblings who don’t have to play parent. And given the trauma that Annie goes through I’m not surprised that she’s a “bitch” (hell, I was Annie for a long ass time, I get it. I was angry at the world and one day I woke up and was like I don’t want to be a product of my environment) and I decided to change. Annie didn’t get that chance. But that doesn’t make her less deserving of love and closure because she was dealt a bad hand and didn’t know how to deal (she was a child)
I could go on and on and on about this book but it definitely exceeded my expectations. I loved this.
I could go on and on and on about this book but it definitely exceeded my expectations. I loved this.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-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