A review by mapscitiesandsongs
Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

 “But you’re stronger than me, Margot. You are. You bore what I never could.” And the thing is, I know she means it like praise. Like pride. But it isn’t to me. Because yes, I bore this. I fixed it, but there’s a voice in my head, one I’ve never really heard before, and it says, I shouldn’t have had to.”

Wow, what a book. I have a hard time collecting my thoughts and actually reviewing this book. On one hand I enjoyed my reading experience. The atmosphere was just great and the story was intriguing. The portrayal of emotional abuse and gaslighting was just spectacular. That was the strongest part of the book. It was really hard to keep reading and I had to put the book down a few times. On the other hand, there were a few things that weren't that good. The characters were just mediocre. I really didn't care about any of them. So when
Tess and her family get killed.
I just felt nothing. Tess and Eli were just there but didn't really play a role in the end. It also quite bothered me how Rory Power actually alludes to things that don't ever matter. Like Margot's sexuality and the relationship that could have happened. It's like the author wanted to go down that route but in the end just didn't care and all that's left is a loose thread. Same with the relationship between Eli and Tess. What was the point? It I also thought that
Tess was actually alive when Officer Connors talkd about there being three bodies.
Another thing that felt quite strange was the pacing. The beginning and the end were quite fast-paced but the story just slowed down in the middle. 
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