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ohsunnyaa's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
Female rage isn't the same as anger issues, but this book seems to think they're synonymous.
I get what the author was trying to do, but she should have done more research than watching girlboss-feminism tiktoks.
Alice was just an asshole. She was mean to Lottie the second they met, because "she looked similar to her bullies" -the bullies we only see mentioned once as a poor excuse for her behavior. She yelled at a school administrator, because her papers were missing (something that maybe even wasn't that woman's fault). Only once does she get angry at a person who really deserves it.
Then she does a spell to make her anger disappear and it backfires.
Lottie was described as a "sunshine" but to be honest I never thought that about her no matter how many times the author tried to push it onto me. She wanted to uncover the mystery surrounding deaths on her campus. In order to do that she stalked her roommate and went through her things.
The thing that made me hate the book the most was that the conclusion was: let women be angry! #Feminism. The real villains are men so women should never take responsibility for their actions.
I don't even want to defend men. And some men here were terrible people. But not all of women's actions can be blamed on men.
Why was Alice mean to other girls? If a man did something terrible to her And he really didn't. She cheated on her boyfriend with her girl best friend. When he found out she tried to kiss him against his will so he pushed her away and she fell on a table. And now she's so terrified of men and angry at them. why take out your anger on women?
Why did Alice TW ANIMAL ABUSE strangle a cat ?
It's not that I don't believe that living in patriarchal society influences the way women think and the way women's emotions are treated. I just think this book executed that poorly.
I get what the author was trying to do, but she should have done more research than watching girlboss-feminism tiktoks.
Alice was just an asshole. She was mean to Lottie the second they met, because "she looked similar to her bullies" -the bullies we only see mentioned once as a poor excuse for her behavior. She yelled at a school administrator, because her papers were missing (something that maybe even wasn't that woman's fault). Only once does she get angry at a person who really deserves it.
Then she does a spell to make her anger disappear and it backfires.
Lottie was described as a "sunshine" but to be honest I never thought that about her no matter how many times the author tried to push it onto me. She wanted to uncover the mystery surrounding deaths on her campus. In order to do that she stalked her roommate and went through her things.
The thing that made me hate the book the most was that the conclusion was: let women be angry! #Feminism. The real villains are men so women should never take responsibility for their actions.
I don't even want to defend men. And some men here were terrible people. But not all of women's actions can be blamed on men.
Why was Alice mean to other girls? If a man did something terrible to her
Why did Alice TW ANIMAL ABUSE
It's not that I don't believe that living in patriarchal society influences the way women think and the way women's emotions are treated. I just think this book executed that poorly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty
librarianloading's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I really wanted to love this book. I love sapphic romance, I love classic retellings... I really thought it would be right up my alley. The underlying themes of generational rage in women and taking back power were enough to keep me reading until the end. The throat rubies felt very weird and unnecessary but the rest of the supernatural elements were engaging. I almost DNFed at the vivid description of Alice killing Salem . I was not prepared for on-page animal cruelty. Overall, I think this would be a good read for its intended audience; however, as an adult reading YA, it fell short for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
peppermintz's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The start was pretty slow and then the book just kept speeding up. I loved how the girls described each other, like sunshine and a dark forest respectively . The mention of asexuality was weird thought and it made me feel as if they didn't do enough research - basically, she said that asexuality fit perfectly until . It's like, demi or gray sexuality exists. Also, I am so glad they finally got therapy would have saved alot time/stress if it had happened earlier.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Suicide, Violence, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia
mconant's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Domestic abuse
cecilie26's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Okay, this is the first time that I have tried to read something in this kind of genre. I have read murder mysteries but this is a whole other genre than that in my opinion.
It was nice to try something new, but this book was really not something for me.
I’m gonna make some pros and cons, because that the only way that I can make this kind of shot and not write something that doesn’t make sense.
Let’s start with the pros:
- liked the generational women rage and what it represents
- did like the girl kinda fight club vibe.
The cons:
- the animal cruelty(could not for the life of me see the reason for that even thoughthe cat lived.
I know the authors perspective was to show how far she would go, but that could have been done another way. I just really don’t like animals being hurt to further the stories cruelness.
- the romance was a bit weird. It didn’t feel like it came naturally.
It was nice to try something new, but this book was really not something for me.
I’m gonna make some pros and cons, because that the only way that I can make this kind of shot and not write something that doesn’t make sense.
Let’s start with the pros:
- liked the generational women rage and what it represents
- did like the girl kinda fight club vibe.
The cons:
- the animal cruelty(could not for the life of me see the reason for that even though
I know the authors perspective was to show how far she would go, but that could have been done another way. I just really don’t like animals being hurt to further the stories cruelness.
- the romance was a bit weird. It didn’t feel like it came naturally.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Violence, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Misogyny, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Death
samanthaxjean's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
2.25
I wanted to like this more so badly. I listened to the audiobook and I think the narrators were not for me. The story was okay, kinda slow and confusing. Ending was disappointing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Murder, Animal cruelty, and Blood
hollyeabner's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
emmataylor173's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Animal death, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Violence, and Suicide
Minor: Sexual harassment
sinnybuns's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
An incredible depiction of female rage and how easy it is to fall into the trap of believing that in order to be accepted by society, you need to be “nice” and “sweet”. I love that Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was incorporated into the story. I also particularly loved that being in love with someone of the same sex was completely normalised. No huge coming out moments or internalised homophobia like you so often find in sapphic romance, especially YA sapphic romances.
This book is a slow burn in terms of romance but the plot itself moves quickly. If you’re looking to read this for the romance only, don’t. You will be disappointed. The love story shared between the two main characters is a sub-plot and not a main focus in this book.
This book is a slow burn in terms of romance but the plot itself moves quickly. If you’re looking to read this for the romance only, don’t. You will be disappointed. The love story shared between the two main characters is a sub-plot and not a main focus in this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Murder, Animal death, Death, Self harm, Suicide, Sexual harassment, and Suicide attempt
gen_wolfhailstorm's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Details:
Narrated by Farrah Cave and Beth Easdown
Unabridged
Absolutely adored Every Exquisite Thing, so was excited to see that Steven's debut was available through my library app.
This is a sapphic, modern gothic retelling of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
I'm not sure if it wad the share name of Lottie combined with the sapphic grumpy x sunshine, but it at first had a wholesome likness to The Rosewood Chronicles. It also reminded me of Claire and Elise from The Coldest Touch.
This was such a good story!
I definitely see improvements in storytelling and writing style in the delivery of the modern gothic/dark academia genre, going back to this after reading Every Exquisite Thing, but it wasn't off putting.
The conversations did feel a little more juvenile than I'd expected but it was easily overlooked once I connected to the characters and got really invested in the story.
This inspiration of the classic has made me appreciate the themes of mental health that the original introduces.
I hope there are more in to come from these retellings, as I see these as becoming very beloved.
Narrated by Farrah Cave and Beth Easdown
Unabridged
Absolutely adored Every Exquisite Thing, so was excited to see that Steven's debut was available through my library app.
This is a sapphic, modern gothic retelling of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
I'm not sure if it wad the share name of Lottie combined with the sapphic grumpy x sunshine, but it at first had a wholesome likness to The Rosewood Chronicles. It also reminded me of Claire and Elise from The Coldest Touch.
This was such a good story!
I definitely see improvements in storytelling and writing style in the delivery of the modern gothic/dark academia genre, going back to this after reading Every Exquisite Thing, but it wasn't off putting.
The conversations did feel a little more juvenile than I'd expected but it was easily overlooked once I connected to the characters and got really invested in the story.
This inspiration of the classic has made me appreciate the themes of mental health that the original introduces.
I hope there are more in to come from these retellings, as I see these as becoming very beloved.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual harassment, Murder, Sexual content, Bullying, Child death, Toxic relationship, Gore, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual assault, Violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship