dereadergal's review against another edition
2.0
I found this book to be written well, the descriptions of the settings and characters were impressive, and made me want to learn more about Salem lace reading, the surroundings, and it's history (even travel there), but there were some serious flaws that made this book quite unlikable. For one, it was hard to follow because of the flip flopping between characters, a few narrators, and the the biggest part, the self confessed unreliable main narrator, Towner, so I was having troubles believing what was going on, and definitely not connecting with, or liking any one particular character. Not to mention that critical questions were not answered at the end and left readers dangling, particularly the death of Eva, did she die by accident, suicide, or is she really even dead, or is it all fantasy? There was a great mix of action, devastating domestic abuse, persecutions, mental illness, magic/witchcraft that could have made several great stories, but all smashed together made it confusing, disjointed, even slow moving at times, and basically not a very solid good read.
nglofile's review against another edition
2.0
This was better than OK, but I can't quite commit to liking it. After an irresistible opening paragraph, the first two-thirds of the book were more or less involving, but too much was thrown into the last. This is one of a growing number of books that loses my good opinion as I near the climax. Too bad.
audiobook note: Steady, well-nuanced narration by Alyssa Bresnahan.
audiobook note: Steady, well-nuanced narration by Alyssa Bresnahan.
lakecake's review against another edition
4.0
For the majority of this book, I was a little confused about where it was heading. Then it all clicked--Barry gives just enough of a hint that you kind of see the twist coming, but it's elegantly done nonetheless. Highly enjoyable.
trudecal's review against another edition
4.0
This just got better and better. Absolutely love how the story unfolded, unexpected twists and turns. Her subtle writing style really grew on me. Definitely going to look for more by Barry!
littlelovelybooks's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not sure how to describe this book because to be honest I'm not sure I understand what happened. It had a twist at the end. The pace was slow to begin with but towards the middle it picked up and I really wanted to find out what happened. I don't normally enjoy books about witches or magic or drugs or mental patients and though this had all those I thought that the author did a good job of infusing reality at those points where I couldn't take the crazies anymore.
thewestphillypurl's review against another edition
3.0
I found this on my library's community shelf. So far, it's a little confusing but intriguing. I'm looking forward to discovering exactly what happened in this family.
readbooks_fightpatriarchy's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't like it to start, I enjoyed it in the the middle, and I hated the ending. But, I plan on reading the sequel.
wayfaring_witch's review against another edition
2.0
Didn't get into this one, was mostly bored and by the end confused.