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A review by stargoddess
The Sacrifice by Rin Chupeco
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I loved the atmosphere the author creates. I got a deep sense of place from this book. The monsters and jump scares were also highly effective - some of the images will stay with me for a long time! However, this book is targeted at a YA audience, and as such, there is nothing that I would consider over the top as far as horror. There is also a lovely slow burn romance subplot that I really enjoyed as a counterpoint to the darkness of the main story. I also did not see the ending coming, and found it very effective, if a bit oddly paced.
My one complaint - and this may have been partially a function of listening to the audio book - was that some characters had names and others had descriptors (Hawaiian Shirt, Goatee, etc.) but at some points, the characters who had previously been identified by descriptors started having names and if you missed the connection, you would have no idea who someone was or if they were an already identified character. I also felt the villain’s motivations were a bit mustache-twirling, I’m evil to be evil, but again I think that was a function of the genre, so I don’t fault the book too much for that. Well worth a read if you enjoy horror and/or folklore inspired own voices stories.
My one complaint - and this may have been partially a function of listening to the audio book - was that some characters had names and others had descriptors (Hawaiian Shirt, Goatee, etc.) but at some points, the characters who had previously been identified by descriptors started having names and if you missed the connection, you would have no idea who someone was or if they were an already identified character. I also felt the villain’s motivations were a bit mustache-twirling, I’m evil to be evil, but again I think that was a function of the genre, so I don’t fault the book too much for that. Well worth a read if you enjoy horror and/or folklore inspired own voices stories.