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a_dara_ble's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Cursing, Medical content, and Murder
Minor: Grief, Sexual content, and Terminal illness
piperlee's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I really enjoyed this book, despite the weird. The magical high school and variety of characters kept it interesting and added a lot of mystery to the story. However, the ending left me feeling frustrated. It was too unbelievable for me to justify Ivy’s decision at the end with all the horror and trauma the murderer had caused.
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Murder, Terminal illness, Abortion, Cancer, Death of parent, Death, Gore, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, and Grief
sebrittainclark's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Abortion, Murder, Grief, Death of parent, Death, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Alcoholism and Bullying
Minor: Eating disorder
jourdanicus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Cancer, Grief, and Medical trauma
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, and Vomit
katie_the_librarian's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Grief, Medical content, Abortion, Bullying, Cancer, Death of parent, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Sexual content and Terminal illness
Minor: Toxic relationship
lish_reads's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
What follows is a fever dream of an investigation, complete with mad ramblings, a Chosen One, and more nitty-gritty explanations of magic than Ivy knows what to do with. It's a fun, wild, sort of trippy ride, though the ending was a little anticlimactic. This is my second Sarah Gailey book, and I love their casually queer, diverse worlds. I will definitely be reaching for more of their books!
If you like soft SFF à la V.E. Schwab's VICIOUS and VENGEFUL; Tamsyn Muir's methods of explaining magic; or Simone St. James's blend of fantasy and mystery, this book is for you.
CW: Harry Potter reference(s)
Graphic: Grief
Minor: Blood, Cancer, Gore, and Alcoholism
CW for Harry Potter referencesjaymii's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Vomit
Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual content, and Stalking
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Suicide
multiplyoctopi's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Cancer, Medical trauma, Grief, Gore, Bullying, Body horror, Blood, Alcoholism, and Death
Minor: Eating disorder
stormwise's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The main character, Ivy Gamble (PI), doesn't have magic, but she does know how to lie. As the POV character, the reader can see every choice she grapples with as she carefully manipulates the other characters, who all have their own agendas and give the impression of each thinking they are in a different kind of story. In her own way, Ivy reminded me of a stage magician using sleight of hand and misdirection to keep everything in the air - but of course, it doesn't take much before it all comes crashing down.
Halfway through this novel, I thought I would give it a 5 star rating, but the ending felt a bit too abrupt and there were a few characters whose plotlines I would have liked to have seen wrapped up. I can forgive that last complaint somewhat as the story is told through first person narrative but then again, it's established early on that Ivy is narrating from after the events of the book...yeah. Despite these minor grievances, I really enjoyed this book! I found the scenes between Ivy and her twin sister particularly powerful - Gailey does an incredible job depicting their fraught relationship.
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Grief, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Eating disorder
scaluba's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism and Cancer
Minor: Bullying, Eating disorder, Medical trauma, and Panic attacks/disorders
nothing is really graphic save for a brief description of the dead body, but it's about the kind of stuff you would come to expect from a murder mystery novel