Reviews with content warning for Death - Not Good for Maidens

Reviews tagging 'Death'

Not Good for Maidens by Tori Bovalino

28 reviews

leweylibrary's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective 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

4.5

This was my pick for our book club (yay!) and it seemed like all but one really liked it! Even the two who say they don't like fantasy. Honestly even getting everyone to finish it is an accomplishment lol but I'm also really proud that the person I expected to have issues with it, particularly with the magic system, loved it enough for it to be her favorite we've read this year.

Okay so my feelings lol I do agree partially with the one person who had complaints about the pacing. However I didn't have issues with the pacing of the whole thing, just a chunk towards the end where Lou was at the market for the second time. I kept getting a little foggy on the rules, but I loved that there were like no guys who are major characters in the book and that the queerness was a part of the book but not a main focus. Like I live t so much that Lou is ace and it just came up in one convo to illustrate her relationship with her aunt. Oh and no one seemed to really care that May was in love with a woman,

and a goblin no less lol I mean they cared but not really in a prejudice way, more in your average "dumb teenagers" way

.

I loved the parallels between the two pairs of women in the family, I loved how the time and pov jumping was don't t, and I just devoured it really. Absolutely will be recommending this one to people!

Content Warnings

natashaleighton_'s review

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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

5.0

Having read (and loved) Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti, I never miss the chance to check out a book that takes inspiration from it. And I have to say, Tori Bovalino’s vividly atmospheric, fantasy horror retelling was everything I hoped it would be and more!

Blending eerie and unsettling folk horror elements, with a pacey (action oriented) narrative that delves into themes of self discovery, sacrifice and sisterhood— fans of Holly Black’s grittier Fae books (The Darkest Part of The Forest & The Modern Faerie Tales series) will almost certainly enjoy this.

The attention to detail in the world building and lore was incredible, but it was the depth and complexity we explore in both of our POV characters, Lou and May that really kept me emotionally invested.

Told through two interwoven timelines, we follow present day teen, Lou (finally learning the secrets her mother and aunt have kept from her all her life), and the POV of her aunt, May, eighteen years prior (during the traumatic events that led to her and Lou’s mum moving to the US.)

Alternating between perspectives and timelines, Bovalino has crafted a highly suspenseful and empowering tale that beautifully captures the essence of sisterhood and family.

If you love empowered FMCs then you’ll love Lou, who (like her mother) is fiercely determined and willing to go to any lengths to protect the ones she loves. I also enjoyed exploring the juxtaposing upbringings she and her mum had (one with full knowledge of their witchy heritage and the Goblin Market, and one without) and felt their bond definitely strengthened in the midst of Lou’s discovery.

With only a crash course on Goblins, magic and the precarious pact her family share with the market, Lou feels like the character with the most disadvantages. But her lack of know how and shock from the new revelations, did seem to help in dealing with the Goblins in a more logical manner (plus her throwing a punch at a Goblin whilst half asleep was pretty badass.)

The queer representation was amazing too with Ace, Bi, Pan and Sapphic rep in our cast of characters—including both our MCs! Plus we’re also treated to a (star crossed-esque) sapphic romance involving Goblin, Eitra, that was surprisingly pretty endearing.

The only thing that I wish was included was Lou’s mum’s POV and also maybe Eitra’s POV (who I ended up absolutely loving), but otherwise an evocatively rich and captivating read that YA Horror/ Fae/ Goblin Market fans should really consider checking out. Just check TWs first cause it can get pretty gory.

Content Warnings

vampirequeen's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

celina246's review

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adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

3.0

this was a hard book to rate. on one hand, i really liked the lore, and it had a little bit of everything - horror, adventure, romance, fantasy, and for a YA book (which is NOT usually my top genre), i didn't hate reading it. but i also feel like it could have been so much more and it was hard for me personally to overlook all the editorial mistakes & so many unanswered questions.

i wanted to love it and give it a 4 so badly but i just can't.

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slavic_bookworm's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

Content Warnings

itsheyfay's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

blackthornfaery's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

mattyb's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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? No

4.5

Content Warnings

chilivanilli28's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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? No

4.5

Content Warnings

cozywithraven's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense slow-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

3.5

I feel like the book had really good bones and an interesting premise. Some things could have been described better, a lot of passages were hard to follow. I also kind of felt like there were some threads in the beginning that didn't need to be there that were randomly brought back up in the last 3 pages that just felt random and easily forgettable.

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