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beckyg1016's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
vigil's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
it adequately met my low expectations. i’ll add a longer review eventually.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
maregred's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
ekmook's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Car accident
shelfofunread's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
As far as Chloe is concerned, the little church of Small Angels and the nearby Tithe Barn, nestled on the edge of Mockbegger Woods, are the perfect place for a wedding. Sure, the place needs a little tidying up but, with the aid of her fiancé Sam, his sister Kate, and a week of hard work, Chloe is certain that she can can pull off her dream ceremony and reception.
As for the whispers about Small Angels – the ones that tell of an old wrong, a terrible curse, and strange happenings in the woods – well, it makes for a nice fireside tale down the local pub but surely that’s just folklore. Right?
Lauren Owen is back with another deliciously dark delight in Small Angels, her second novel following 2014’s The Quick. Rather than the Victorian Gothic delights of its predecessor, however, Small Angelscombines folklore and horror to provide a haunting tale of family intrigue, heartbreak, and revenge.
Alternating between the perspectives of blissfully oblivious bride-to-be Chloe, her soon-to-be-sister-in-law Kate, and various members of the cryptic Gonne family, Small Angels draws the reader into a world of whispered folktales, old traditions, crackling firesides, and things that go bump in the night. Although set largely in what seems to be the present day (although this is never specified), the village of Mockbegger is a place out-of-time and, in a way, out of reality. The rules, as Chloe soon comes to learn, are different here and what appears to be an idle fireside tale or a quaint superstition is, for the villagers of Mockbegger, serious. Deadly serious, some might say. And, as Lucia Gonne can tell you, idle curiosity is a dangerous business when the woods are listening to every word you say.
I don’t want to say any more about the plot of Small Angels because it unravels in the way that all the best tales do. What I will say is that, although the plot twists, turns and meanders at a somewhat stately pace, I was never anything other than hooked by this book. Sitting down with it felt like being invited to the fireside at The Albatross to listen to one of Brian’s stories. Mockbegger practically drips from the pages: it drew me in completely and, before I knew it, I was lighting the beacons with Selina Gonne, standing in the yard of the deserted Blanch Farm with Kate, or listening, enraptured, as Chloe finally realises why “leave it to the Gonnes” is all that the inhabitants of Mockbegger will say about Harry Child, Small Angels, and the events of one fateful night several centuries before.
For anyone thinking all of this sounds a little creepy, there’s definitely a heavy dose of folk horror in Small Angels. But, for the most part, it’s the kind that sends shivers down your spine rather than than the sort that has you screaming in your sleep. Think classic English ghost story in the vein of M R James and you’re on the right track. Content warnings for child neglect, murder, psychological and physical trauma, and some very restless ghosts however.
I also really loved the LGBTQ+ representation in Small Angels. There are several love stories at the heart of the novel and, without giving anything away, only one of them is Chloe and Sam’s (and arguably, their wedding serves as a plot device more than a romantic subplot). Seeing positive representation on the page – especially in a genre where it would have been very easy and ‘dramatic’ to kill off a love interest – is heartening, as is reading a modern Gothic novel that fully embraces the ways in which the genre traditionally pushed at the boundaries of the heteronormative.
The novel also embraces the Gothic’s love of interconnectivity: of people, places, and events. In Mockbegger, the past resonates into the present, the woods invade the village, the people and the landscape are connected, and the stories told about people are as pertinent as their reality. But do the stories told about us define who we are? Or is it possible to change an ending? Rewrite a narrative? Remember the past without risk of re-living it?
As you can probably tell, I loved Small Angels in all it’s delicious darkly gothic glory. Whilst the pace might be a little meandering for some, it was absolute catnip to my folklore-loving heart. Whether you’re a fan of traditional Gothic such as Hugh Walpole or Ann Radcliffe, or of modern purveyors of the genre such as Catriona Ward and C J Cooke, Small Angels will make for the perfect autumnal read as the nights start to draw in and All Hallows Eve draws closer.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Murder
bookedandbusy's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved this book! Such a spooky, atmospheric read, and I absolutely loved the characters!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, and Death
lexie_simons's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The kind of book that grabs you from the first sentence and never let’s go.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Grief, and Murder
sdunn13's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief
jaynekernodle's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I feel very conflicted about this book. I loved the bones of the story - the eerily romantic atmosphere of the Mockbeggar woods, the mystery of the Gonne family, the tangled threads all coming together. But something about it felt like a draft, like it wasn't quite polished yet. There were a lot of small errors (missing or erroneously added quotations, unclear italic words or sections, etc.) that took my perfectionist brain out of the story.
Despite the rough edges of the publication, Owen's writing is right up my alley and the story was certainly intriguing. Generally a good read, just left me wanting more - and not in the way I like.
Despite the rough edges of the publication, Owen's writing is right up my alley and the story was certainly intriguing. Generally a good read, just left me wanting more - and not in the way I like.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Murder
michelles_book_nook's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
⚠️ TW: death ⚠️ If you're looking for an eerily gothic folk horror then this book is for you! This book follows Chloe and her soon to be husband, Sam, as they begin to look forward to their wedding day in the seemingly quaint little church known as Small Angels nestled at the edge of Mockbeggar Woods in the tiny close knit village that Sam grew up in and Chloe now calls her home. Amongst the cobwebs and dust of the ancient relic of the church she expects to find love and good blessings for their nuptials but what she didn't expect are the villagers concerned faces, her fiancé's remoteness or the nagging voice in her head whispering to her of fears she didn't even know she had. Something in the woods is beginning to stir, to creep closer to the sleeping houses. Something that should have been banished long ago. Whatever it is, it's getting stronger and pretending it isn't there won't keep the wedding, the village or Chloe safe. Wow this is one of those books that is so hard to review without spoilers but I absolutely loved it! It is such a bewitchingly written tale of ominous darkness that is so creepy and gripping that you won't want to put it down. The different pov's really hooked me and the intertwined story was just so haunting right up until the end. We all know that feeling of being watched or knowing someone or something is around you and this really gave me those chilling feels. And despite loving it the only reason I've dropped it down a star is because I did feel that it could have been a bit shorter as at just over 460 pages its a chonk and personally I don't think it would have negatively impacted the story if it were shorter. Overall though, this book would be perfect as a spooky ghost story at Halloween. This beauty is out on 2nd August 2022 and I highly recommend reading it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death