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arcanaemia's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
I didn't enjoy this book as much as I have other books by this author. Some of the similes were just strange and jarring, and read like they were trying too hard to be poetic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, and Trafficking
Moderate: Slavery
morrigan_squeaks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse
Minor: Rape
fictionlostandfound's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
In Charlie N. Holmberg's fantasy fiction book; Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet, Maire's baked goods have the ability to inspire emotions or abilities without any recollection of how or why she has this power. You follow her on the turbulent and sometimes violent journey of the discovery of her true self and purpose.
It seems the story is set in medieval times, but is hard to determine due to lack of world building and descriptions of surroundings. The author's focus was on the main character's inability to remember anything of her past, which in turn caused me to feel rather lost through the whole story.
I picked up this book with the expectation that it would be similar to Chocolat - magical and whimsical. It was plenty magical, but the storyline dug much deeper into the discovery of Maire's own existence and purpose. This was a dark and complex read with a slower pace than I enjoy. I nearly DNF'd this book, but was determined to finish to satisfy my own questions as I struggled to piece things together with only the little bits of information or memories being delivered sporadically through the story.
I recommend reading this book if you enjoy not knowing fully what is happening until the very end of the book.
It seems the story is set in medieval times, but is hard to determine due to lack of world building and descriptions of surroundings. The author's focus was on the main character's inability to remember anything of her past, which in turn caused me to feel rather lost through the whole story.
I picked up this book with the expectation that it would be similar to Chocolat - magical and whimsical. It was plenty magical, but the storyline dug much deeper into the discovery of Maire's own existence and purpose. This was a dark and complex read with a slower pace than I enjoy. I nearly DNF'd this book, but was determined to finish to satisfy my own questions as I struggled to piece things together with only the little bits of information or memories being delivered sporadically through the story.
I recommend reading this book if you enjoy not knowing fully what is happening until the very end of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Torture, and Kidnapping
mortonsspoon's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This book was just... so weird. I honestly don't know what to say about it. The only thought I feel I can land on is this: pretty uncool the way slavery is handled in this book. It's kind of implied that she "deserved" the abuse she suffered at the hands of her captor because I guess she created him? Because she's some kind of demigod actually??? Just...so weird. And left a really bad taste in my mouth (to keep with the theme).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Confinement, Infertility, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Slavery, Trafficking, and Violence
Minor: Rape
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