eggplantia5's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A creepy and tense exploration into families and sisterhood mixed with a little spookiness and science. A perfect read near Halloween.
Everyone is kind of the villain, (except Callie), but everyone is also trying their best. You don't really get to know Irving and find out why he's so terrible, although maybe just being a white male from a rich family is enough characterization?
The story unfolds well, even when I thought I figured out the twists in advance, there was additional color that made the payoff satisfying.
Borrowed from library, could see myself buying in the future.
Spoiler
Everyone is kind of the villain, (except Callie), but everyone is also trying their best. You don't really get to know Irving and find out why he's so terrible, although maybe just being a white male from a rich family is enough characterization?
The story unfolds well, even when I thought I figured out the twists in advance, there was additional color that made the payoff satisfying.
Borrowed from library, could see myself buying in the future.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Blood, Death, Gore, and Violence
bxnnny's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
another crazy ass book by catriona ward that i will be thinking about for a long time. if you've read the last house on needless street, you know how nutty her writing is, but it's such a ride. this book goes back and forth between the past and the present, slowly piecing everything together. it becomes pretty clear at a certain point the major, key details but how it all came to be might not be what you expect. i couldn't tear myself away from this one, i was just truly enthralled in this story. the ending will leave you much like how you might have felt at the end of inception. please keep in mind there are A LOT of heavy trigger warnings in this (mainly animal cruelty/abuse/death and domestic abuse but there's many more so please check them all). i likely wouldn't have read this if i didn't already know catriona ward's writing previously to prepare myself mentally or hadn't been so interested in the story to be willing to push through.
Graphic: Confinement, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Trafficking, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Violence, and Pregnancy
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