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A review by gnomely
The Goddess and the Thief by Essie Fox
4.0
Essie Fox uses words really well, the writing itself and language used was gorgeous, evocative and dreamlike, the author definitely knows how to set the perfect gothic mood (complete with ghosts and ). also the setting is rich and beautiful and vivid.
that said i didn't really enjoy reading this book for a few reasons.
•i found all the characters very horrible and unlikeable
•alice had no power or agency of her own
•alice and tilsbury's relationship was very disturbing to me
•the plot was incredibly slow-moving
these four points are are pretty typical of gothic novels, though, so perhaps that's what the author was going for? i didn't enjoy reading it, though. also i hate reading about pregnancy it makes me nauseous YUCK GOODBYE.
despite all that, im glad i picked it up, because Essie Fox's writing is beautiful, and the history and mythology is very intriguing. im torn lol
anyway yea its a good book just not for me
—
Updated rating after thinking about it some more. I actually really like this book I decided lmao
I think alices lack of agency made the book work on a suspense level... I was explaining this book to some friends, and as I was describing it I realised it’s a very well written story, actually. Just took me a while to see it. Might give it a reread someday.
Spoiler
housefiresthat said i didn't really enjoy reading this book for a few reasons.
•i found all the characters very horrible and unlikeable
•alice had no power or agency of her own
•alice and tilsbury's relationship was very disturbing to me
•the plot was incredibly slow-moving
these four points are are pretty typical of gothic novels, though, so perhaps that's what the author was going for? i didn't enjoy reading it, though. also i hate reading about pregnancy it makes me nauseous YUCK GOODBYE.
despite all that, im glad i picked it up, because Essie Fox's writing is beautiful, and the history and mythology is very intriguing. im torn lol
anyway yea its a good book just not for me
—
Updated rating after thinking about it some more. I actually really like this book I decided lmao
I think alices lack of agency made the book work on a suspense level... I was explaining this book to some friends, and as I was describing it I realised it’s a very well written story, actually. Just took me a while to see it. Might give it a reread someday.