Reviews

Repentie by Margot Douaihy

dave_el's review against another edition

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3.0

10/10 concept 5/10 execution

gcreed13's review against another edition

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3.0

Thank you to NetGalley, Zando Projects, and Gillian Flynn Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Sister Holiday left behind her life in Brooklyn after a string of personal tragedies, fleeing to the only place that would take her, the Sisters of the Sublime Blood at Saint Sebastian's Catholic boarding school in New Orleans. Sister Holiday threw herself into her vows and her work as the music teacher at Sait Sebastian's. Everything was going well until the school was struck with a string of arsons. Sister Holiday, perhaps due to her own past, takes it upon herself to find the arsonist and stop their path of destruction.

When I heard that this book was about a tattooed, punk rock, queer nun I had to pick it up. Margot Douaihy did a great job of creating a complex, dynamic character in her creation of Sister Holiday. The diametrically opposing pieces of her life as a queer punk rocker and as a nun made for a very interesting dynamic. The interesting characters kept the story compelling even when the plot was suffering.

I found the book's atmosphere to be a bit one-dimensional. Historic Catholic boarding schools offer a lot of ambiance and symbolism that wasn't quite tapped into. The bones were there, but severely underutilized.

The mystery portion of discovering the arsonist fell completely flat in my opinion. Sister Holiday's actions in her "investigation" (if you can call it that) were misguided at best and completely irrational at worst. The motivations of the arson perpetrator were also completely devoid of logic and not appropriately woven into the story. That made the ah-ha moment in the book's final pages extremely unsatisfying despite the dramatics involved.

Scorched Grace was a really interesting concept, but I wish it would have been executed a bit better. It had a lot of potential, but some of the pieces of an engaging mystery were missing. The unique characterization of Sister Holiday saved an otherwise mediocre mystery.

kaylandeanne's review against another edition

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funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

sybelhechicera's review against another edition

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4.0

Totalmente dentro. Si esto va a ser una serie de libros, quiero más de sor Holiday.

annainthedark's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

ag_berry's review against another edition

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funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

erikasmindfulshelf's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5 stars.
Interesting premise. The beginning was a bit slow, but towards the end it picked up.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

panther_teeth's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

So little happens in this book, the attempt to build tension feels more like a slog than anything. Not one single likable or sympathetic character. The protagonist does not seem to evolve or learn anything, which is very frustrating. Really corny depictions of queerness and alt culture. A totally unsurprising ending. 

brittbat's review against another edition

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Wow, people on this site will really read noir and then complain that bad things happen to the characters, huh?

Scorched Grace came to me via a recommendation from someone in my book club, who had me at “this gay nun book made me think of you.” It’s a character-driven, voicey, stylized whodunnit set against the sweltering backdrop of New Orleans. All of that sounds great, right?

Unfortunately, I feel that the potential here outstrips the execution. The mystery doesn’t hold together that well, the reveal seemed to drop out of nowhere, and there’s not much sleuthing. Some important elements, especially the setting, feel superficial. I kept reading because it’s not bad, but it also wasn’t as good as I expected.

It kept me reading during some stressful hours in the hospital, though, so points for an engaging first hundred pages!

peepington's review against another edition

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4.0

i really struggled to get into this but once i settled i got REALLY into it and im kinda obsessed with it… immediately wanna read the second book