Reviews

Not Good for Maidens by Tori Bovalino

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skyhigh97's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

icaruss_silly's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious fast-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

5.0

books_nyx's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I have such bad luck choosing horror books, I always seem to choose the gory ones. Aside from the mutilation and human eating, the romantic couple didn’t click. Their relationship was too disconnected for me 🤷🏽‍♀️

As for Lou, her character also fell flat. Her ‘unbelonging’ and her random ‘negotiating skills’ weren’t fleshed out enough to give her character depth. The ending was lackluster.

Do not recommend 👎🏼

lelandco's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

nimue_black's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

2.5

catbewks's review

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2.0

2.5 stars

Goddamnit, I feel like this author has so much potential but I've yet to be sold on one of her stories. Her writing is extremely addictive and I love the premises of her books, but it feels like she takes a lot of inspiration from other sources, and so they never feel very original to me. And yes, I know this is a retelling, but I mean in general. Besides, there were a few things here that bothered me, like some things just happening for plot convenience, the insta-love, the magic not being explained, and the repetition of themes (like yes, I get it that Lou doesn't feel like she belongs anywhere, but it was never properly explained, just repeated).

I liked how gory this was, I liked the writing, and I can tell Tori Bovalino knows how to structure a novel. I just want more from her stories, more from her characters.