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A review by divinemaddy
The Girl from Rawblood by Catriona Ward
3.0
I have many opinions and mixed feelings about this book.
At first, it was hard to get into as the first protagonist Iris kind of speaks in riddles. The book then follows several other narrators as the book progresses, and you will see why.
To explain the plot with the least amount of spoilers possible, Rawblood is the house where people go to die. Anyone that marries into the Villacra family or even falls in love with one will soon die. It is a literary gothic horror novel, with a non-linear timeline and an undeniable potential.
Many other narrators speak in riddles, and this coupled with the intense imagery and vivid illustrations made the book hard to comprehend. I got the big picture, but half the time I wasn’t sure what was going on and half the dialogue felt pointless.
I was very interested 50 pages into the book and by the end the suspicion fell flat and the ending was quite anticlimactic. The ending was somewhat predictable, and for what it’s worth, not scary at all.
This novel feels like something I would have had to read in my advanced high school english class as the entire book is basically it’s own allegory with a lot of room for interpretation and analyzation.
Overall, I think this book was average and could have done more. It put me into a reading slump. That being said, I powered through. I also think it would translate well to the big screen. 3.5 if goodreads allowed.
*Somewhat spoiler ahead*
The novel has the slightest hint of queer characters that inevitably die, killing your spirit with you. I am rooting for Charles and Alonso in the afterlife.
At first, it was hard to get into as the first protagonist Iris kind of speaks in riddles. The book then follows several other narrators as the book progresses, and you will see why.
To explain the plot with the least amount of spoilers possible, Rawblood is the house where people go to die. Anyone that marries into the Villacra family or even falls in love with one will soon die. It is a literary gothic horror novel, with a non-linear timeline and an undeniable potential.
Many other narrators speak in riddles, and this coupled with the intense imagery and vivid illustrations made the book hard to comprehend. I got the big picture, but half the time I wasn’t sure what was going on and half the dialogue felt pointless.
I was very interested 50 pages into the book and by the end the suspicion fell flat and the ending was quite anticlimactic. The ending was somewhat predictable, and for what it’s worth, not scary at all.
This novel feels like something I would have had to read in my advanced high school english class as the entire book is basically it’s own allegory with a lot of room for interpretation and analyzation.
Overall, I think this book was average and could have done more. It put me into a reading slump. That being said, I powered through. I also think it would translate well to the big screen. 3.5 if goodreads allowed.
*Somewhat spoiler ahead*
The novel has the slightest hint of queer characters that inevitably die, killing your spirit with you. I am rooting for Charles and Alonso in the afterlife.