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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-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
Adelaide Henry and the other lone women, you are the third type of person.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow. What an amazing, vivid, fiercely original novel. One that starts out as a tale of one woman's struggle to survive her past and the harsh world of early 20th century Montana, then morphs into one of the craziest horror novels I've ever stumbled into. It is a horror novel, but it isn't. LaValle surpasses even King in drawing such vivid landscapes and characters, drawing out such emotion from them, and makes you wonder sometimes what is metaphor, and what isn't. But there is a horror element, no doubt. Riveting all the way to the end. Loved this book.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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
HUGE spoilers-don't read if you haven't read the book.
This was a good quick read. I did enjoy reading it.
I will start with the great. The story was compelling and had interesting characters. LaValle is a great writer and there are great descriptive moments in the book that were creepy and surprising. The scene where Bertie, Adelaide, and Fiona are riding out and the creature snatches Adelaide off her horse was wonderful. I loved the cemetery scene with the 5 cowboys. That was definitely startling. The Reeds were an absolutely chilling couple. The writing is absolutely beautiful. Great world building.
However, there are some things that have me scratching my head a bit. I'm still a bit unclear as to what Elizabeth exactly is. It's a monster. I get that, but how did it come to be? What is its connection to the baby/creature that was born to the Reeds? Then there was the scene when Elizabeth is hiding in a cave in the mountains and is revered by a small couple who recognize her as a deity.
Another head-scratcher is Sam. I understand that the character is a female. This is a great topic to explore, I just wish there would have been more of it. It feels like it was just thrown in as a device to move the story along instead of exploring. It is such a deep issue that I don't feel as though it was given justice. It could have been a great learning opportunity about understanding the social issues behind this community and the need for inclusion and understanding. Also, I don't think I quite understood why Grace killed her husband/Sam's father.
There are a few more, but I'll stop with those two as examples of things that should have been explored further or completely left out. Otherwise, they feel contrived to move the story along.
Long story short, I would have loved a more in-depth backstory of the characters. Though there were characters I enjoyed, I would have loved to know more about them. I really could have connected more to them and understood them more. The Mudges are so compelling it would have been amazing to have had a closer look at the family to help explain his character development. There were so many great moments and opportunities to flesh things out, I'm kind of disappointed that a lot of the topics and characters were kind of "skimmed over." There was a lot of telling and now showing and I feel as though the book could have been longer. An epilogue would have been a great way of explaining what happened to the characters as opposed to giving future events in the text of the book. Such as what becomes of Joab Munch and what became of the women.
The ending was wrapped up very quickly and tied up in too pretty of a bow. It would have been a more compelling ending had Elizabeth not become so benevolent. Things between her and Adelaide worked out way too easily and quickly for a relationship that was a curse over Adelaide for so long. I might have found it more intriguing for Elizabeth not to have lived in the end. Sometimes you have to kill your darlings. It would have been a great way to show the strength of these women and the sacrifices they made.
All in all, it was a great book. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the potential to make this a very dark yet inspiring story of persevering.
This was a good quick read. I did enjoy reading it.
I will start with the great. The story was compelling and had interesting characters. LaValle is a great writer and there are great descriptive moments in the book that were creepy and surprising. The scene where Bertie, Adelaide, and Fiona are riding out and the creature snatches Adelaide off her horse was wonderful. I loved the cemetery scene with the 5 cowboys. That was definitely startling. The Reeds were an absolutely chilling couple. The writing is absolutely beautiful. Great world building.
However, there are some things that have me scratching my head a bit. I'm still a bit unclear as to what Elizabeth exactly is. It's a monster. I get that, but how did it come to be? What is its connection to the baby/creature that was born to the Reeds? Then there was the scene when Elizabeth is hiding in a cave in the mountains and is revered by a small couple who recognize her as a deity.
Another head-scratcher is Sam. I understand that the character is a female. This is a great topic to explore, I just wish there would have been more of it. It feels like it was just thrown in as a device to move the story along instead of exploring. It is such a deep issue that I don't feel as though it was given justice. It could have been a great learning opportunity about understanding the social issues behind this community and the need for inclusion and understanding. Also, I don't think I quite understood why Grace killed her husband/Sam's father.
There are a few more, but I'll stop with those two as examples of things that should have been explored further or completely left out. Otherwise, they feel contrived to move the story along.
Long story short, I would have loved a more in-depth backstory of the characters. Though there were characters I enjoyed, I would have loved to know more about them. I really could have connected more to them and understood them more. The Mudges are so compelling it would have been amazing to have had a closer look at the family to help explain his character development. There were so many great moments and opportunities to flesh things out, I'm kind of disappointed that a lot of the topics and characters were kind of "skimmed over." There was a lot of telling and now showing and I feel as though the book could have been longer. An epilogue would have been a great way of explaining what happened to the characters as opposed to giving future events in the text of the book. Such as what becomes of Joab Munch and what became of the women.
The ending was wrapped up very quickly and tied up in too pretty of a bow. It would have been a more compelling ending had Elizabeth not become so benevolent. Things between her and Adelaide worked out way too easily and quickly for a relationship that was a curse over Adelaide for so long. I might have found it more intriguing for Elizabeth not to have lived in the end. Sometimes you have to kill your darlings. It would have been a great way to show the strength of these women and the sacrifices they made.
All in all, it was a great book. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the potential to make this a very dark yet inspiring story of persevering.
The prose was well written, but the plot was a little weak towards the end
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Historical fiction meets Rosemary’s baby! We go back to 1915, and follow Adelaide Henry, a woman with a heavy burden literally and emotionally, she keeps a locked steamer trunk hiding a monstrous secret. Escaping the ghosts of her past, Adelaide heads to the remote frontier of Montana to start anew as a homesteader. But being alone and secluded doesn’t mean she’s safe.
This story had supernatural suspense, a terrifying revelation and tenderness you don’t expect. Adelaide battles isolation, prejudice, and a grueling landscape. She has to face the horror she’s keeping secret and the consequences she’s dragging behind her.
The author did a great job of covering themes of guilt, survival, and the fierce resilience of women forging their place in an unforgiving world.
The book isn’t the frontier story you’d expect. It’s dark with rich characters and a delicious plot twist.
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia