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shaw_g's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This is my first book after a long reading slump, so take this with a grain of salt I suppose.
That being said, I really loved how this horror unfolded. Kingfisher’s writing really grabbed me at the start, and the memoir-style of writing amplifies the creepiness of the story. I also particularly appreciated how Kingfisher represented the themes of family trauma in this work (I’ve also seen that some of her other horror works follow a similar vein, I’m excited to read those as well), and how she mapped this onto the horror; it was very satisfying to solve parts of the mystery as it unfolded, and connect them to what was going on in Mouse’s familial life.
Other than that the monsters that were described did cause me to conjure up quite some spooky scenes in my head. It did wane near the run up to the climax, but the ending left my heart pounding a fair amount. I absolutely loved all the characters too, Foxy being the favorite of course.
So, if you’re looking for a horror that really goes beyond surface-level scary, this might be for you!
That being said, I really loved how this horror unfolded. Kingfisher’s writing really grabbed me at the start, and the memoir-style of writing amplifies the creepiness of the story. I also particularly appreciated how Kingfisher represented the themes of family trauma in this work (I’ve also seen that some of her other horror works follow a similar vein, I’m excited to read those as well), and how she mapped this onto the horror; it was very satisfying to solve parts of the mystery as it unfolded, and connect them to what was going on in Mouse’s familial life.
Other than that the monsters that were described did cause me to conjure up quite some spooky scenes in my head. It did wane near the run up to the climax, but the ending left my heart pounding a fair amount. I absolutely loved all the characters too, Foxy being the favorite of course.
So, if you’re looking for a horror that really goes beyond surface-level scary, this might be for you!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Sexual content
Moderate: Pregnancy
aidareads's review
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
a solid 4 stars because it wasn’t bad, but i think i wanted to be creeped out and i wasn’t for the most part. still, it has very engaging writing style, and i loved foxy’s characterization. and i adored bongo. there was a lot of comic relief and fantasy tropes, so maybe that’s why it wasn’t extremely creepy. i still liked it tho! definitely an upgrade from the last books i’ve read lmao
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Dementia
Moderate: Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, and Racism
traa's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Slavery, and Violence
Minor: Car accident
elly29's review
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Satisfyingly creepy and well-plotted. It's about a woman who cares for her dog, and wants to help folks when they ask for help. I loved Foxey, and that it was a woman and an older woman who get to have the adventure. And this novel. Is. Out. There.
A but slow at the beginning, and bit fast at the end. Creepy all the way through. Seriously: Cotgrave and everything surrounding his death is sooo twisted.
A but slow at the beginning, and bit fast at the end. Creepy all the way through. Seriously: Cotgrave and everything surrounding his death is sooo twisted.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Death
Minor: Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Animal death
kimberlyswalters's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-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? No
4.0
I started off reading about 60 pages and then finished the rest of the book the following evening, so it is pretty fast paced and fun to read. It gets pretty wild and outlandish, but it doesn't make the story seem dumb or unbelievable. Mouse even talks about how the trauma of the experience is causing issues and that her Aunt has even mentioned that she may need therapy, but Mouse can't talk to a therapist about how she wondered into another world with creatures made of roadkill, earth, and garbage and was almost trapped there to breed for an eternity, so y'know.... It builds up the crazy at a good pace and the characters are written well, so it's fun to imagine them going through this scenerio in heeled boots and pink lipstick like Foxy does.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Miscarriage, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, and Infertility
Minor: Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, and Body horror
There isn't a tag for stillbirth that I see, so I did tag miscarriages as a content warning instead, but they were likely stillbirths. It doesn't go into explicit detail about the births, but the deaths are mentioned briefly.madarauchiha's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙 💜 my about / byf / CW info carrd: uchiha-madara 💜 💙 💚 💛 🧡 ❤️
I didn't like the tone of it. It was very quirky white girl with the ramona flowers hair who only exists in r/STDH forums. I had no idea it was supposed to feel tense or horrific until I read other reviews. I thought the MC was pretty much a character out of the Scooby Doo universe.
It didn't feel like much happened. MC cleaned the house, went on a hike or two,read a diary, lost a dog, found the dog, and uhh got kidnapped? And then everything was resolved within a day. I think more could've been added like investigative scenes of going to the local library to study missing people near her grandmother's home. Or have a few chapters edited out because it was a bit repetitive. The eldritch horrors didn't feature that much to me.
The surrounding characters just kinda... exist. The writing was passable. It's rather dry horror. It's a slow build, that's for sure. Ok so it turns out it's based off Arther Machen's story 'The White People' which explains the slow building, I think. Those ye olde fuckers sure like taking the long of writing stories.
I think what kinda irritates me is that Foxy gets a name but the Black barista doesn't. Granted the goth barista doesn't either but hm. Suspect to me. ... fake edit: ok so goth barista gets a name. Enid. still waiting on a name for the one Black character. Literally before they even appear the cop gets named but the Black character doesn't. ok... Spoilers he is immediately forgotten after that one scene. Well.
content warnings:
Minor: ableist c slur, animal hunting, anti indigenous racism, burns fire death, child abuse, eating disorders, insects, menstruation, murder, pregnancy, q slur in historical context multiple times, sexual content, snakes, spiders, stillbirth, vomit
Medium: toxic relationships, religion catholicism,
Major: unsanitary hoarding situation, animal death, gore, police, body horror, confinement, prison, murder, fire, arson, demolition, dogs,
I didn't like the tone of it. It was very quirky white girl with the ramona flowers hair who only exists in r/STDH forums. I had no idea it was supposed to feel tense or horrific until I read other reviews. I thought the MC was pretty much a character out of the Scooby Doo universe.
It didn't feel like much happened. MC cleaned the house, went on a hike or two,
The surrounding characters just kinda... exist. The writing was passable. It's rather dry horror. It's a slow build, that's for sure. Ok so it turns out it's based off Arther Machen's story 'The White People' which explains the slow building, I think. Those ye olde fuckers sure like taking the long of writing stories.
I think what kinda irritates me is that Foxy gets a name but the Black barista doesn't. Granted the goth barista doesn't either but hm. Suspect to me. ... fake edit: ok so goth barista gets a name. Enid. still waiting on a name for the one Black character. Literally before they even appear the cop gets named but the Black character doesn't. ok... Spoilers he is immediately forgotten after that one scene. Well.
content warnings:
Minor: ableist c slur, animal hunting, anti indigenous racism, burns fire death, child abuse, eating disorders, insects, menstruation, murder, pregnancy, q slur in historical context multiple times, sexual content, snakes, spiders, stillbirth, vomit
Medium: toxic relationships, religion catholicism,
Major: unsanitary hoarding situation, animal death, gore, police, body horror, confinement, prison, murder, fire, arson, demolition, dogs,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Body horror, Confinement, Infertility, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Vomit, and Rape
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