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temymm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Blood, Antisemitism, and Religious bigotry
cpratreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I enjoyed Nethercott's writing and look forward to reading more of her work
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Xenophobia and Blood
heytaytay12's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I had a hard time with the main characters. They needed to just sit down and talk to each other, but in a classic communication trope they didn’t till the end. Also, they needed to work through their issues and instead they just avoided them. Finally, the side characters didn’t seem very fleshed out, more like plot tools. The stakes were fairly low, and there was a lot more gore than I was expecting outside of the Pogram history.
Parts were really beautifully done, but overall the story fell flat for me. I can see why people love it though!
Graphic: Child death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
uranaishi's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Torture, Xenophobia, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War
tamara_joy's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Self harm and Sexual content
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Alcohol
tiernanhunter's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Self harm, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
liv_easton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.75
In either case, halfway through the story was a bit long to finally drop the curtain on what we needed to know about magic in the novel. Couple that with a POV that is often unappealing to read and also refuses to give the reader any information for a couple hundred pages (I'm looking mostly at you, Isaac, but occasionally at Bellatine), and I didn't think that this book would ever become a novel I was actually invested in. However, I'm happy to say that I was wrong on that count—once Bellatine's magic was revealed, the story and characters seemed to open up and get me invested in the story enough that I would have given the story a 3.5 stars (the last .25 coming from my affection for the type of ending the story ends up having).
The major highlight that kept me reading was every chapter the house told, as the house was by far and away the most compelling character and also the best storyteller of the lot by far. On the whole, I think this is a super worthwhile book to read, and if you need to skim some of the first 20 or so chapters to get through it, I get it.
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Violence, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Moderate: Blood
imds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
thehobbitbarbie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Antisemitism, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Alcohol
therainbowshelf's review against another edition
- 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
As an odd coincidence, the same day I started reading this book, a journalist I was working with told me about his family heritage. One side of his family came to the U.S. to escape the pogroms in the early 1900s. It was the first time I’d heard of the pogroms in Russia, and then this book centers them.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Death of baby, death of family member, graphic Reanimation of dead animal