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unklekrinkle's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
scoads's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
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
5.0
God, this was a good book. A perfect standalone with themes about religion, self-awareness, and morality. Worth reading many times over. Incredible characters and an incredible plot hook, and a very, very unique magic system. Brilliant world building.
thewitchykitty's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars for this uniquely written novel!
I have to agree with some other reviewers when they stated that this book and writing are not for everyone. It is slower paced, the story and mystery slowly unfolding, but I enjoyed that. Not everything needs to be fast paced.
The dual perspectives were wonderfully written and executed. I especially appreciated how both Christophor and Alexsander were very different but also the same. The conclusion between the two near the end was a nice touch too.
I do feel that the ending was rushed. I would have liked to have seen it fleshed out more, but I still found it okay. I’m definitely going to keep an eye out for more of Towsey’s work! The cover illustration is beautiful and is what first drew me to the novel. This is one that I’ll keep on my bookshelf for a long time to come.
I have to agree with some other reviewers when they stated that this book and writing are not for everyone. It is slower paced, the story and mystery slowly unfolding, but I enjoyed that. Not everything needs to be fast paced.
The dual perspectives were wonderfully written and executed. I especially appreciated how both Christophor and Alexsander were very different but also the same. The conclusion between the two near the end was a nice touch too.
I do feel that the ending was rushed. I would have liked to have seen it fleshed out more, but I still found it okay. I’m definitely going to keep an eye out for more of Towsey’s work! The cover illustration is beautiful and is what first drew me to the novel. This is one that I’ll keep on my bookshelf for a long time to come.
megily's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.25
firefox's review against another edition
3.0
(Gifted ARC)
I really didn't understand the plot until like 58% into the book.
I really didn't understand the plot until like 58% into the book.
xavierdebecker's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
I picked this up at a bookstore in Australia on a whim, as the cover seemed pretty and the description on the back sounded interesting. As I mostly read books I have heard at least some people's opinions about, it is refreshing to let a tale unfold without the slightest idea what it is about, or what people think of it.
Now, the book itself is quite good, although it could have been a bit longer to fully delve into all the phylosophical questions it raises. For context, this book is set in a world where each body is inhabitated by two people. Each day-person just carries out their daily activities as normal, but when night falls, they go to sleep and their night-brother or night-sister wakes up in their body. There are a lot of interesting questions raised about how that would impact the relationship between two people who share a body without ever interacting, not to mention the complications of relationships, children, travel for work etc. A really interesting read for people who like to read 5 pages and then think for fifteen minutes about the implications.
Now, the book itself is quite good, although it could have been a bit longer to fully delve into all the phylosophical questions it raises. For context, this book is set in a world where each body is inhabitated by two people. Each day-person just carries out their daily activities as normal, but when night falls, they go to sleep and their night-brother or night-sister wakes up in their body. There are a lot of interesting questions raised about how that would impact the relationship between two people who share a body without ever interacting, not to mention the complications of relationships, children, travel for work etc. A really interesting read for people who like to read 5 pages and then think for fifteen minutes about the implications.
ellasbookishwonderland's review against another edition
3.0
3.5*
I received a free ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The world of Equinox, in which two people share the same body, one during the day and one at night, is super fascinating. I really enjoyed following witch hunter Christophor and his day-brother Alexsander as they try to solve the mystery and find the witch, and I think their relationship and their disagreements added an interesting, unique aspect to the story, especially since every other character also is two different people in the same body. Aside from this, there is also more magic to this world (hence the witch hunter profession), that ended up being more dark and horror-fairytale-esque than I expected, but I ended up having a really fun time reading it.
As for the plot, I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of it, especially with the witches and demons and war as an added bonus. The plot started out a bit shallow, in my opinion, I was afraid it was going to be too easy to figure out the mystery, but it was not, and towards the end I was very stressed and very concerned for everyone's well being. I did find it to be a bit inconsistent at times, for example in how a whole bunch of people died from some sort of plague that was over after like a week (post covid I feel like that's not how it works), and how someone dies and the very next day he's buried, complete with a headstone (shouldn't those be taking ages to make, especially in this preindustrial world?). Things are being glanced over, and it made the story feel lacking in depth. I think that even though the concept is very interesting, the book as a whole didn't reach its full potential.
Another minor issue I had was that the writing was confusing at times. I would have liked more information, first of all, I felt like I was lacking information I could have had, and there were too many things I was supposed to figure out on my own. Like the opposite of info dumps, if that makes any sense. Also, the language was sometimes weirdly poetic, and I found it difficult to tell whether certain sentences were meant to be literal or metaphorical. Could just be me being stupid, but I also can't remember ever having that issue before. Overall, these things didn't affect my enjoyment of the book too much, though.
I had a lot of fun reading Equinox, and although I didn't think it went all the way for me personally, I can imagine fans of horror fantasy or dark fairytales would really enjoy this!
I received a free ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The world of Equinox, in which two people share the same body, one during the day and one at night, is super fascinating. I really enjoyed following witch hunter Christophor and his day-brother Alexsander as they try to solve the mystery and find the witch, and I think their relationship and their disagreements added an interesting, unique aspect to the story, especially since every other character also is two different people in the same body. Aside from this, there is also more magic to this world (hence the witch hunter profession), that ended up being more dark and horror-fairytale-esque than I expected, but I ended up having a really fun time reading it.
As for the plot, I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of it, especially with the witches and demons and war as an added bonus. The plot started out a bit shallow, in my opinion, I was afraid it was going to be too easy to figure out the mystery, but it was not, and towards the end I was very stressed and very concerned for everyone's well being. I did find it to be a bit inconsistent at times, for example in how a whole bunch of people died from some sort of plague that was over after like a week (post covid I feel like that's not how it works), and how someone dies and the very next day he's buried, complete with a headstone (shouldn't those be taking ages to make, especially in this preindustrial world?). Things are being glanced over, and it made the story feel lacking in depth. I think that even though the concept is very interesting, the book as a whole didn't reach its full potential.
Another minor issue I had was that the writing was confusing at times. I would have liked more information, first of all, I felt like I was lacking information I could have had, and there were too many things I was supposed to figure out on my own. Like the opposite of info dumps, if that makes any sense. Also, the language was sometimes weirdly poetic, and I found it difficult to tell whether certain sentences were meant to be literal or metaphorical. Could just be me being stupid, but I also can't remember ever having that issue before. Overall, these things didn't affect my enjoyment of the book too much, though.
I had a lot of fun reading Equinox, and although I didn't think it went all the way for me personally, I can imagine fans of horror fantasy or dark fairytales would really enjoy this!
readingcrow's review
2.0
This was a really interesting book, but also very confusing. It's starts very slow even though it's not hard to read. But somewhere around the middle it's starts to pick up and then it just ends. Many things I'm still very confused about and even though I do wish to know more I thought some parts where so insignificant it could have been shorter.
mmacey1's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5