anomieus 's review for:

This Vicious Hunger by Francesca May

2.5

dark slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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So much lost potential… A forbidden gothic sapphic love story set in a poison garden in a slightly alternate 19th century academic world where female independence and science struggle to overcome the staid and restrained male-centric society.

The lyrical and lurking botanical horror is gorgeous and lovely, but the book is overlong by half and meanders with its tone. The bare wisp of a plot gets lost in the repetitive musings of the main character, Thora, as she pines for the mysterious young woman, Olea, who is locked away in the forbidden poison garden. As she struggles to unravel the mystery, weaving a little bit of hazy science into the plot, it gets mired down in the endlessly circling thoughts of Thora, going nowhere. None of the characters are likeable or interesting.

It also wasn’t terribly difficult to tell where the barely-there plot was going… but oh it took So. Very. Long. to get there that I was truly grateful that the book finally ended. Again, a disappointing outing that could do with some serious editing/trimming…

My thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the ARC. All opinions are my own.