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snowblu3's review
1.0
I got bored and quit listening, which is a little sad because it was only a three-hour audiobook.
bookbrowsingblog's review
3.0
It was okay, didn't blow me away! Characters just didn't captivate me and I couldn't really tell them apart! It was an okay read but nothing too special!
lattelibrarian's review
3.0
“Flog them, hang them, drown them like rats. It won’t change the facts: we are the ones who poured our sweat and souls into your looms. We have rights to expect a little loyalty.”
In Lowell, Mass, witches are on strike. Factory girls upset with their wages--watching their friends suffer disease and malnutrition, unable to send much home to their families--decide to take matters into their own hands. They're the ones who do the work, so they can get the looms to do their bidding. Right? But a strike, just like the spell they cast, can only work if everyone is on board. If even one person decides to renege, what they have worked for will be lost.
A short, sweet novella that's lovely for the autumn.
In Lowell, Mass, witches are on strike. Factory girls upset with their wages--watching their friends suffer disease and malnutrition, unable to send much home to their families--decide to take matters into their own hands. They're the ones who do the work, so they can get the looms to do their bidding. Right? But a strike, just like the spell they cast, can only work if everyone is on board. If even one person decides to renege, what they have worked for will be lost.
A short, sweet novella that's lovely for the autumn.
charlottejones952's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
tense
fast-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? No
4.0
bookish_whispers's review
4.0
This was one of those I saw at the library and added it to my already towering stack of books, finds. Novellas have been a great way to pull me out of my reading slumps this year, and The Factory Witches of Lowell didn't let me down.
This was a fast-paced story that kept you turning pages and made it hard to put down. It was also very well researched. Even though this was a novella we did get a quick history of the town and how the mills became to be. We even got a quick rundown on how the factors girls did and the dangers involved with those jobs. All of these things were told in a way that fits well into the story and didn't leave me lost or confused, or felt like an information dump. These facts blended in with the story to explain the magic or the demands of the striking factory girls.
I liked the magic system that Malerich introduced in this story. It was one familiar that I'd seen before in other mediums, so I didn't need to be explained away more than how their spell was going to work. In my opinion, this allowed the story to flow without stopping to explain the way the system works, pulling away from the story itself.
Judith and Hannah were also amazing main characters. Both of them were very different, but in a way that made it easy for them to work together to lead this strike. More so than just with Hannah's sight. I felt the two complemented each other nicely. It also meant their slow-burning relationship wasn't that much of a leap. It was clear that Judith cared for Hannah from the start of the book, and that was the base theme that carried across the whole novella. Their ending made the slow burn worth it in the end.
My favorite bit about this book is that it left me torn. Apart from I really liked how short the story was and how open the end of the story was. While it ended on a happy note, you left questioning how long that happiness would last. Because something was coming. On the other hand, I also wish the book would have been a little longer to see more of what led up to the strike, maybe learn more about Judith's past, and get to know the rest of the cast of characters.
Because one issue with this book was that so many characters were introduced so quickly that I kept getting the side characters flipped around. I would have to stop and remember which character was which, and how they tied into the story.
All-in-all this was a fun book and I'm glad I added it to my library TBR pile.
This and other bookish posts can be found on my blog, Bookish Whispers!
This was a fast-paced story that kept you turning pages and made it hard to put down. It was also very well researched. Even though this was a novella we did get a quick history of the town and how the mills became to be. We even got a quick rundown on how the factors girls did and the dangers involved with those jobs. All of these things were told in a way that fits well into the story and didn't leave me lost or confused, or felt like an information dump. These facts blended in with the story to explain the magic or the demands of the striking factory girls.
I liked the magic system that Malerich introduced in this story. It was one familiar that I'd seen before in other mediums, so I didn't need to be explained away more than how their spell was going to work. In my opinion, this allowed the story to flow without stopping to explain the way the system works, pulling away from the story itself.
Judith and Hannah were also amazing main characters. Both of them were very different, but in a way that made it easy for them to work together to lead this strike. More so than just with Hannah's sight. I felt the two complemented each other nicely. It also meant their slow-burning relationship wasn't that much of a leap. It was clear that Judith cared for Hannah from the start of the book, and that was the base theme that carried across the whole novella. Their ending made the slow burn worth it in the end.
My favorite bit about this book is that it left me torn. Apart from I really liked how short the story was and how open the end of the story was. While it ended on a happy note, you left questioning how long that happiness would last. Because something was coming. On the other hand, I also wish the book would have been a little longer to see more of what led up to the strike, maybe learn more about Judith's past, and get to know the rest of the cast of characters.
Because one issue with this book was that so many characters were introduced so quickly that I kept getting the side characters flipped around. I would have to stop and remember which character was which, and how they tied into the story.
All-in-all this was a fun book and I'm glad I added it to my library TBR pile.
This and other bookish posts can be found on my blog, Bookish Whispers!
moki's review
hopeful
mysterious
fast-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
2.5
Fundamentlaly, it's fine. I respect a novella and realise that writing a tightly-written one is as difficult, if not moreso, than writing a good short story. Unfortunately, while the first half of the book is reasonably paced, the second half stumbles over itself and has many things happen in very quick and sudden sequence. Due to the length, characterisation is weak at best.
I think the concept is good; it's just that the plot and characterisation fails to adquately live up to the concept.
I think the concept is good; it's just that the plot and characterisation fails to adquately live up to the concept.