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sebnia_05's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore, Incest, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and War
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Racism
kindra_demi's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
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
3.0
This was an alright story and I did like the premise of the story, the way each sister represented a different elemental aspects in the story, and the writing (for the most part) is really good. You are slowly introduced to the world and atmosphere. You are slowly given each piece of the story for the characters to build the puzzle. But there are some aspects I really struggled with.
One of the biggest things I struggled with was how many different perspectives there were (and that may be because I chose to listen to the book as an audiobook). Between having to remember what part of the timeline I was in + who's perspective I was in, I found myself several times needing to pause and take a moment.
This is not the story for someone who wants action packed/fast paced stories. It was definitely all just a build up to one moment with not a lot of little moments. A lot of the story was just world building, and it wasn't necessarily bad, but it did loose my attention a few times (which also contributed to me being lost in the storyline). And the action towards the end of the book is wrapped up quickly in a bow. Like yes there is sorrow and pain, but it feels like we spent all of the book building up to the ultimate ending, for it to just feel like it happened and that's that.
One of the biggest things I struggled with was how many different perspectives there were (and that may be because I chose to listen to the book as an audiobook). Between having to remember what part of the timeline I was in + who's perspective I was in, I found myself several times needing to pause and take a moment.
This is not the story for someone who wants action packed/fast paced stories. It was definitely all just a build up to one moment with not a lot of little moments. A lot of the story was just world building, and it wasn't necessarily bad, but it did loose my attention a few times (which also contributed to me being lost in the storyline). And the action towards the end of the book is wrapped up quickly in a bow. Like yes there is sorrow and pain, but it feels like we spent all of the book building up to the ultimate ending, for it to just feel like it happened and that's that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Violence, Death of parent, and Abandonment
beldaran1224's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
There were so many things wrong with this book. Let's start with something objective: there are five main POVs in the story, and they swap approximately every half page to page and a half. They are all labelled...but the labels were sometimes wrong, or the POV of the passage would literally shift from one sentence to the next. It was very frustrating.
The plot is very slow, and I kept hoping for a good payoff, but frankly felt it wasn't worth it.
The diversity was shallow, especially in regards to Bea. With Liyana, there is at least one running theme that felt more than a little racist, especially because it was rooted in the family's immigration story. The book explicitly positions itself as feminist, but has nothing of interest to say about feminism, womanhood, or any related topic. Several of our characters experience economic hardship, but any opportunity to say interesting things about them is left by the wayside.
Folklore is used throughout, but in a kind of ham-fisted way. Three of the four girls clearly fit folklore archetypes or are meant to. One is left out for no apparent reason. The folklore didn't particularly enhance the story.
There are quite a number of horrible things that happen to these girls, and it really seems to just be checking tragedies off a list without delving into them or exploring them or how they shape the character of the girls. Check the trigger warnings, because there are a LOT of triggering things. It's meant to be a character driven book, but between the many POVs and the hopping around in time, its hard to get invested in any of them. Both the past sections and the present frequently lacked anything of real interest.
What does this book do well? The ending was interesting. Not amazing, but solid. It doesn't really deliver on any of the elements the blurb sells. All in all, if you're looking for a book that integrates folklore, has themes of anger, feminism, sisterhood, etc., read the Once & Future Witches instead.
The plot is very slow, and I kept hoping for a good payoff, but frankly felt it wasn't worth it.
The diversity was shallow, especially in regards to Bea. With Liyana, there is at least one running theme that felt more than a little racist, especially because it was rooted in the family's immigration story. The book explicitly positions itself as feminist, but has nothing of interest to say about feminism, womanhood, or any related topic. Several of our characters experience economic hardship, but any opportunity to say interesting things about them is left by the wayside.
Folklore is used throughout, but in a kind of ham-fisted way. Three of the four girls clearly fit folklore archetypes or are meant to. One is left out for no apparent reason. The folklore didn't particularly enhance the story.
There are quite a number of horrible things that happen to these girls, and it really seems to just be checking tragedies off a list without delving into them or exploring them or how they shape the character of the girls. Check the trigger warnings, because there are a LOT of triggering things. It's meant to be a character driven book, but between the many POVs and the hopping around in time, its hard to get invested in any of them. Both the past sections and the present frequently lacked anything of real interest.
What does this book do well? The ending was interesting. Not amazing, but solid. It doesn't really deliver on any of the elements the blurb sells. All in all, if you're looking for a book that integrates folklore, has themes of anger, feminism, sisterhood, etc., read the Once & Future Witches instead.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Racism, Self harm, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, and Suicide attempt
georgeeporge's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
An unfortunate miss for me. I love a bit of magical realism, but its of so poorly executed.
Its a story of daughters, of girls becoming women, discovering their true powers and where their morales really lie when faced with a terrible choice. Pick the side of evil and live, pick the side of good and die.
The formatting was off, with five main protagonists and short chapters that insisted in covering all their stories, some in first person and others in third person, it made it horribly jumpy and repetitive.
I also don't understand why the author was obsessed with adultifying these 17 years old?! How is one at uni sleeping with a professor, two should've been in care with one was running a cafe living with her Gran who had alzheimer's and another without any living legal guardian at all. Only one had any form of a realistic living situation at all!
It is a hard no from me.
Its a story of daughters, of girls becoming women, discovering their true powers and where their morales really lie when faced with a terrible choice. Pick the side of evil and live, pick the side of good and die.
The formatting was off, with five main protagonists and short chapters that insisted in covering all their stories, some in first person and others in third person, it made it horribly jumpy and repetitive.
I also don't understand why the author was obsessed with adultifying these 17 years old?! How is one at uni sleeping with a professor, two should've been in care with one was running a cafe living with her Gran who had alzheimer's and another without any living legal guardian at all. Only one had any form of a realistic living situation at all!
It is a hard no from me.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
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