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simplyelohooreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
tiffanynoel's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5
This is my first book by this author and I’m intrigued. The story was good. Creepy enough without being terrifying.
Alon is a mysterious islander who volunteers to help a movie crew film on this cursed island. A lot of crazy things start happening (because duh, it’s cursed) and the filming crew is split between trying to keep filming all the craziness or getting the heck off the island. And of course, don’t get snatched by a balete tree!
The good:
The history/mythology was really interesting and fun to learn about!
I got close but never really guessed the whole “surprise” moment.
The creepy was pretty fun, not gonna lie.
I liked the pace of the story! It never dragged.
What didn’t work for me:
There was a lot of swearing and I just don’t like that very much.
I feel like there wasn’t much character development. The characters were all kinda just.. there. I didn’t particularly care for any of them.
I listened to the audiobook and sometimes that makes a difference so.. do with that what you will haha.
This is my first book by this author and I’m intrigued. The story was good. Creepy enough without being terrifying.
Alon is a mysterious islander who volunteers to help a movie crew film on this cursed island. A lot of crazy things start happening (because duh, it’s cursed) and the filming crew is split between trying to keep filming all the craziness or getting the heck off the island. And of course, don’t get snatched by a balete tree!
The good:
The history/mythology was really interesting and fun to learn about!
I got close but never really guessed the whole “surprise” moment.
The creepy was pretty fun, not gonna lie.
I liked the pace of the story! It never dragged.
What didn’t work for me:
There was a lot of swearing and I just don’t like that very much.
I feel like there wasn’t much character development. The characters were all kinda just.. there. I didn’t particularly care for any of them.
I listened to the audiobook and sometimes that makes a difference so.. do with that what you will haha.
osisubis's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
hookerkitty's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Usually when you hear the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover” it’s bc the cover is crappy, but the writing is good. However in this case it’s the exact opposite.
This story had the potential to be amazing, but definitely needed (basically everything) to be fully fleshed out and heavily edited. It was full of caricatures and tropes which induced many eye rolls. Plus I found several grammatical/spelling errors (including usage of the wrong word or incomplete/nonsensical sentences). Parts of it were really interesting, while others were a slog to get through. I had to go back and re-read several parts because I had no idea what was going on (and unfortunately re-reading them didn’t usually help).
Basically this was a confusing and disappointing read. I don’t remember how I came across this since it wasn’t in my TBR, but I don’t think I’d read other works by this author. From the reviews I’ve read it seems like her books are really hit or miss, so I don’t want to waste (more) time on books that I don’t like.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Minor: Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, and Car accident
readinginmtl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
smugsnail's review against another edition
5.0
I bought this book to bring with me on a weeklong vacation and...forgot it at home. I'm sad that I did because a bookabout a cursed island would have been fitting for my time away. I enjoyed the build-up and the story and the message woven throughout that is not just an indictment on colonialism, but Hollywood and how the rich and powerful get away with things. Until they don't. There were a few copy errors (Chase is mistakingly referred to as "her" at one point and the main character, Alon, is referred to by their dog's name), but it didn't impede my enjoyment. Funnily enough, considering its comedown on Hollywood elites, the book felt like a movie in its pacing. Something I really and especially appreciate about stories is when everything is tied and connects to one another, and this book--much like the ever present Balete roots--had quite a bit of it.
businesswife's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
THIS BOOK SLAPS. This is a book about a very very cursed/ haunted island in the Philippines. The island is discovered by Hollywood execs and they come to the island to make a series ghost hunting and more. They also find Alon, the only local who is not scared of the island, and is even paid by the government as a protector.
The viewpoint of the book is Alon who is so used to the island and is not phased by anything that happens throughout the book. The Hollywood execs are idiots and do everything you would expect while Alon just tries to keep them alive the best he can.
Spoilers for the romance:Alon also has a very sweet budding romance with Chase, one of the producers sons, this does not go all the way and they don't really go through with anything. But they are adorable and Alon protects him through the book
The viewpoint of the book is Alon who is so used to the island and is not phased by anything that happens throughout the book. The Hollywood execs are idiots and do everything you would expect while Alon just tries to keep them alive the best he can.
Spoilers for the romance:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Car accident
Minor: Racism, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
alexisestevens's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
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
3.75
brancrisp's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
krennthief's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Super fun and cool concept, especially as someone who is of Filipino descent not having much familiarity with Filipino folklore. Also, I was extremely pleased with Alon explicitly stating they had never thought about their gender in the text. Queer Filipino rep is a huge plus for me!!!
As for the book itself, I think it was an unfortunate mess with regard to intertwining the extremely interesting horror elements with the sort of sanitized queer romance I've seen quite a bit of in YA fiction. And don't get me wrong--I'm ecstatic that there was queer romance at all! It's just, to me, the writing took a noticeable dip in quality when any moment of attraction between Alon and Chase was explored. It felt like a completely different book and took me out of the otherwise viscerally dreadful and spooky situation.
Also,the way the romance tied to the monster's behavior made it much less scary to me?? Like, suddenly it's no longer a situation where Alon, being a demigod of sorts, is the only bridge between the spirit world and the human world, is interesting anymore because the monster is now acting like a parent putting their child's potential romantic partner on a trial period. It cheapened the effect for me a lot and ultimately made me like the book less.
Despite these gripes, the characters were really vibrant and interesting. I loved how awful and irredeemable Hemslock was, and how Melissa brought a cool-girl sapphic energy to the cast. Chase was fun even when the romance felt particularly on the nose. I will say that his friends were irritating, and it felt a little weird when the audiobook narrator adopted a "Black accent" for one of them.
Anyway, definitely worth checking out, but narratively very imbalanced, especially when assessing its fantastic folklore horror elements against its cheesy YA romance trappings.
As for the book itself, I think it was an unfortunate mess with regard to intertwining the extremely interesting horror elements with the sort of sanitized queer romance I've seen quite a bit of in YA fiction. And don't get me wrong--I'm ecstatic that there was queer romance at all! It's just, to me, the writing took a noticeable dip in quality when any moment of attraction between Alon and Chase was explored. It felt like a completely different book and took me out of the otherwise viscerally dreadful and spooky situation.
Also,
Despite these gripes, the characters were really vibrant and interesting. I loved how awful and irredeemable Hemslock was, and how Melissa brought a cool-girl sapphic energy to the cast. Chase was fun even when the romance felt particularly on the nose. I will say that his friends were irritating, and it felt a little weird when the audiobook narrator adopted a "Black accent" for one of them.
Anyway, definitely worth checking out, but narratively very imbalanced, especially when assessing its fantastic folklore horror elements against its cheesy YA romance trappings.