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A review by avidreaderandgeekgirl
A Step Past Darkness by Vera Kurian
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
A group of students stumble upon the truth about the local Mega Church and its mysterious pastor. The book takes place over three decades, jumping back and forth between the 90s and 2010s.
I enjoyed the book a lot and it had plenty of twists and turns. I knew something was up with the pastor and partially guessed what it was, but it was much more complicated than I had thought. I did see the romance coming, it was super obvious.
I found a lot of the characters loveable but a few less so! All of the characters whose POVs you get were lovable or at least likable, but a lot of other characters, all from the church weren't likable.
Narrator Rating: 5 stars
Between the plot and the narrator, this book was easy to follow and kept me engaged so my mind was not wandering while I listened. I was glad for the chapters having the character name though since it was only one narrator for six POVs.
Elemental Levels: Fluff-NA Heartfelt-4/5 Horror-1/5 Love aka Romance-1.74/5 Mystery-3.75/5 Predictability-1.5/5 Spice-1/5 Suspense-5/5 Tear- 3/5 Thrill-5/5
I enjoyed the book a lot and it had plenty of twists and turns. I knew something was up with the pastor and partially guessed what it was, but it was much more complicated than I had thought. I did see the romance coming, it was super obvious.
I found a lot of the characters loveable but a few less so! All of the characters whose POVs you get were lovable or at least likable, but a lot of other characters, all from the church weren't likable.
Narrator Rating: 5 stars
Between the plot and the narrator, this book was easy to follow and kept me engaged so my mind was not wandering while I listened. I was glad for the chapters having the character name though since it was only one narrator for six POVs.
Elemental Levels: Fluff-NA Heartfelt-4/5 Horror-1/5 Love aka Romance-1.74/5 Mystery-3.75/5 Predictability-1.5/5 Spice-1/5 Suspense-5/5 Tear- 3/5 Thrill-5/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Blood, Bullying, Racism, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Classism, Death, Violence, Domestic abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Child abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Child death, Police brutality, Confinement, Dementia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, and Murder
Minor: Infertility, Cancer, Car accident, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy
The child death was that of some teenagers, not any young children.