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clarabooksit's review
adventurous
dark
medium-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Death, Chronic illness, Body horror, Child abuse, and Abandonment
Moderate: Torture, Mental illness, Classism, Kidnapping, and Animal death
harperphillips96's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
My dad spent months begging me to read this, with the caveat that the first 35% is an oppressive slog but then it’s a great found family story. This is very funny, because I liked the first half of the story a lot, lost some interest between 50-75%, and then mostly longed to be put out of my misery for the last 25%. Everyone’s different, I guess!
The beginning was certainly dark, establishing the traumatic history you’re dealing with in these characters, but it also rang emotionally true in a way I think got lost as the book progressed. The choices made in the first half of the book made SENSE to me.
But then… Lanie just kind of turns out to be stupid? I cannot stand incompetent characters and she makes constant, predictable, inexcusable “mistakes” and everything gets really tedious. There’s ZERO sense of urgency, ever, even in VERY URGENT situations. The Bad Guys also have this weird absence of agita and do you know how hard it is to get into a book where no one seems to think any of the stuff going on is high stakes?
And the last chunk… well. There’s a scene around the 75% mark that was supposed to be an exciting, fast paced, emotional action scene and… I think it literally took 2 hours to listen to on the audiobook?? I was literally lying in bed bellowing “GET IT OVER WITH ALREADY” because the scene just WOULD. NOT. WRAP. UP. The same thing happens again at the 85% mark! I was so done and bored and it dragged endlessly.
Anyway, to sum up, Cooney needs a new editor. Bad. This book was a solid 25% longer than it should have been and the tone was wildly inconsistent and in all, I simply wasn’t especially compelled by any of it. It couldn’t decide what it wanted to be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child abuse, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, and Kidnapping
Minor: Animal cruelty and Vomit
smileyblue's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
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
4.0
Within twenty pages, I fell in love with Miscellaneous ("Lanie") Stones and was entranced by the world that CSE Cooney had crafted. In sharp contrast with gothic, edgy tone adopted by other books with necromancer main characters, the energy of Saint Death's Daughter was bright, loving, and hopeful. The author's prose, reminiscent of parlor room period novels, held down the wondering tone throughout.
I was impressed by how deeply character-driven the plot was given that "new" magical properties are introduced at intervals. Despite some involvement of the world's twelve gods, at no point did it ever feel nauseatingly deus-ex-machina. Character deaths, too, felt in line with the story, not chosen to pluck at the reader's heartstrings.For example, after being so horrible to Lanie, Nita's gruesome death struck me as cathartic in a Roald Dahl sort of way.
All this praise aside, I found myself hungering for more of the first part of the book. In some ways, it felt like the heart of the story was with fifteen-year-old Lanie. Cooney's voice truly sparkled off the page when working with young Lanie's voice, reminding me of the whimsy of Terry Pratchett's Discworld. Perhaps this glittering nostalgia helped underpin the pain and nostalgia of the later portions of the book, but I wished to have had a bit more.
I was impressed by how deeply character-driven the plot was given that "new" magical properties are introduced at intervals. Despite some involvement of the world's twelve gods, at no point did it ever feel nauseatingly deus-ex-machina. Character deaths, too, felt in line with the story, not chosen to pluck at the reader's heartstrings.
All this praise aside, I found myself hungering for more of the first part of the book. In some ways, it felt like the heart of the story was with fifteen-year-old Lanie. Cooney's voice truly sparkled off the page when working with young Lanie's voice, reminding me of the whimsy of Terry Pratchett's Discworld. Perhaps this glittering nostalgia helped underpin the pain and nostalgia of the later portions of the book, but I wished to have had a bit more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Chronic illness, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Murder, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Death, Physical abuse, and Torture
Moderate: Drug use, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
mariah_storm's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicide attempt, Death, and Kidnapping
nini23's review against another edition
4.75
A treat for logophiles and the very original tale about necromancy outstanding. Goody is my fav character but the dynamics of the relationships between the characters was also a treat.
Amal El-Mohtar's (she blurbed the front cover) recs have never steered me wrong.
Amal El-Mohtar's (she blurbed the front cover) recs have never steered me wrong.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, and Torture
I like everything about this creative book especially the luscious vocabulary except foroutsmartyourshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Laine (Miscellaneous) Stones is the youngest daughter of Unnatural & Abandon Hope Stones (the names are all out-there ridiculous).- a family with a long line of executioners, poisoners, & assassins - usually in the service of their country, Liriat. Laine is different as she is a necromancer & grew up with an allergy to death, & was mainly raised by Goody Graves, the revenant tied to the Stones family by magic. Her older sister, Nita, is away at school when their parents die within days of each other, & when Nita returns she brings with her a captive, Mak, a man who turns into a falcon. The story unfolds as the sisters attempt to stop a creditor from taking all their worldly possessions, including their home. Laine is in love with Canon Lir, a firepriest, but is also courted by the Blackbird Bride - ruler of the Rook Kingdom & enemy of Liriat. Nita agrees to become a paid assassin to the Liriat court whilst Laine is left to bring up Datu, daughter of Nita & Mak, but Laine's powers continue to grow & soon she cannot hide away any longer.
This is not my usual genre of reading material but I was intrigued by the synopsis. The world-building is first class, there's lots of LGBTQA+ & minority representation, & I grew to like Laine, Mak, & even Goody. It should really have been a four star book, but at times the pace was glacial. There's so much detail (there are footnotes!) that it slows down the pace too much - I swear at one point it took almost a full page just to describe how Laine hesitated too long, & I felt a bit impatient with how passive she is at times. I also wasn't keen on any aspect of Mak's captivity, especially as he felt like he had no option but agree to be Nita's lover. If there is another book, I will probably read it as I would like to know what happens after that shocking betrayal at the end.
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Rebellion/Solaris, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.
This is not my usual genre of reading material but I was intrigued by the synopsis. The world-building is first class, there's lots of LGBTQA+ & minority representation, & I grew to like Laine, Mak, & even Goody. It should really have been a four star book, but at times the pace was glacial. There's so much detail (there are footnotes!) that it slows down the pace too much - I swear at one point it took almost a full page just to describe how Laine hesitated too long, & I felt a bit impatient with how passive she is at times. I also wasn't keen on any aspect of Mak's captivity, especially as he felt like he had no option but agree to be Nita's lover. If there is another book, I will probably read it as I would like to know what happens after that shocking betrayal at the end.
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Rebellion/Solaris, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Death, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal death and Kidnapping
rcsreads's review against another edition
Everything had a silly name and it added to the writers struggle to world build without just a dull information dump. It has potential but needed some heavy editing.
Plus 635 pages for part one of a trilogy is too long unless you're Robin Hobb!
Plus 635 pages for part one of a trilogy is too long unless you're Robin Hobb!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Blood
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Death, and Death of parent
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