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t0ast_and_t3a 's review for:

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher
3.0
dark mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

Maybe it’s because I’ve read Kingfisher’s shorter fiction before this, but I found myself questioning why the book was as long as it was. I thought the horror aspect of it was well done—so creepy at times that I cringed a bit—as it always is with her stories, but there was a bit too much lag and repetitiveness to this one. In retrospect, I know it was to create a contrast with the last 20% of the book, but I felt a big chunk of the middle—
the town visits, the focus on her phone, the overused retrospective warnings from the MC, are just a few examples of what could have been removed.


Some positives were the setting and sensory details. Kingfisher is great at descriptors and brings a scene to life with a seemingly effortless involvement of all the reader’s senses. Almost as well as she is about creating a character that readers feel engaged with—through first person POV and the unique voices she gives all the side characters, in order to make them more realistic.

Overall, I liked the story, just wish the pacing was a bit better.