purplesapphire's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I also have to say I appreciated this version of a strong female MC and women in general. They were strong, vindictive, greedy, sly, soft, smart, kind, and feminine all in one without it being forced or badly written. They were just written as real people. Then you add the witch parts, and the ghouls parts and it makes for a great tale.
Graphic: Death of parent, Child death, and Incest
Moderate: Misogyny, Gaslighting, Murder, Blood, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Confinement
Minor: Sexual assault and Toxic relationship
xeniba's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
zenalth’s review captures pretty much exactly how I felt about this book.
Moderate: Murder, Sexual content, and Physical abuse
arielkahn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Sexual content
imaginaryalchemist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I loved the stories within the story that helped unravel the mystery of Miren's family. (They're apparently all in a collection AG Slatter wrote, and I'd love to read it if I can get my hands on a copy.)
I love stories with magical and supernatural elements, so I enjoyed the inclusion of mythical and folkloric creatures. Mer feature very heavily in the story, and it also has creatures such as selkies and kelpies.
I also enjoyed the way the story's many mysteries unravelled. It kept me engaged. I wanted to see Miren solve them and learn all her family's secrets.
Slatter's prose drew me in immediately. It helped paint the picture of the world Miren lives in.
Overall I greatly enjoyed this book! I highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in dark, gothic fantasy and folklore.
Moderate: Incest, Murder, and Child death
Minor: Domestic abuse and Sexual content
There are a couple scenes with sexual content but it doesn't get graphic. There are also mentions of the abuse Miren experiences at the hands of her cousin Aidan. There are, however, a lot of mentions of incest, child sacrifice, child death, and murder.readwithbells's review against another edition
4.75
There is a certain rhythm to this prose, a cadence that really adds to the fairytale quality. Almost like you dug around in an attic and happened upon a fairytale you’ve never heard of before. I loved that the opening chapter had a narrator setting the scene and then the rest of the book was in first-person. I loved the kelpie and Delphine the automaton was so sad.
The one thing that stops this from being a five star book is some of the language really pulled me out of the story. Every time Miren meets a male fairytale creature she goes “he - for he was obviously male” like 🤦🏻♀️ . How are we supposed to know what genders look like for fairytale creatures? (Side note: gender dynamics are a huge part of this book so I understand this was in theming). But it did pull me out of the story. Also there was some weird fatphobia throughout; like Miren early on describes a girl who used to be her closest friend and, in her mind, feels like she’s better than her because she’s skinny which was weird and I didn’t like that very much.
As a whole, though, this was a wonderful fairytale romp and I will absolutely be reading the short stories to round out this world.
Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, and Child death
Minor: Fatphobia
skrulls's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Confinement, Incest, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcohol, Stalking, and Alcoholism
story_goblin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Alcohol, Child death, Murder, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Alcoholism, and Confinement
bethsiekierawalker's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Death, Blood, Violence, and Confinement
Moderate: Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, and Abandonment
Minor: Animal death, Alcohol, and Pregnancy
bre_hoeppner's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
ashleynewman's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Incest, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, and Sexism
Minor: Pregnancy