A review by amandaquotidianbooks
Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth, Sara Lautman

dark mysterious slow-paced
  • 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? Yes

3.5

I wanted to love this and the first few chapters were compelling. But the plot dragged on through the entire book. I don’t know if delaying the climax of the historical timeline worked well in amping up the tension in the modern timeline. And that tension of the modern timeline fizzled for me. I think I came to this looking for more horror than the book ever wanted to give me. The book did an excellent job of exploring the characters and relationships of diverse queer women. The atmosphere was also palpable and continuous. I found the overabundance of yellow jacket appearances and metaphor became hokey with its increasing prevalence. But my interest on the characters never waned. I’d say pick this up for a sprawling, sapphic character exploration rather than a tense mystery plot.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings