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elixierbroth's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Intriguing. Read because of the covers intriguing me enough to look up the writer, who intrigued me, and the plot, which was intriguing, and the number of reviews I read that could be summerized as 'Came to the series for the supernatural elements, stayed for the family drama!', which I found intriguing and rather appealing.
For the amount of times I used 'intriguing' in that paragraph, the book is joyfully un-mysterious. And you know what, I think I prefer it this way!
in short, something fucked up lives in the Perdido river, decides to use the cover of a flood to crawl into town and join a fucked up Perdido family, and...things just go on from there? Sometimes one even forgets there's something supernatural going on because you know what??? ELINOR SEEMS AS INVESTED IN THE PETTY FAMILY DRAMA AS EVERYONE ELSE!!
I will give the next book a go too. I like how McDowell writes, and it was a fast read, and mainly because, there are no heroes. Everyone in town's got their little thoughts and feelings that drive them to act in certain wayssome eat the neighbourhood kids when they're spotted using the local whirlpool like its a teacup ride, others decide their sons can't take their baby daughter to his own house! and many other better reviews have gone into the family dynamics, but it's left up to you to decide who's the real monster here. Or to not! I preferred sitting back and just following along. Because, in the way of hearing about your crazy neighbours that you never talk to...I do still want to know what Mary-Love, and Elinor, and Oscar, and Zaddie, and Grace, and James, and Bray, and sister....are all gonna do next.
It's fucked up, that's what.
A final thought based on my own special folklorist interests...I could actually see my way to an essay arguing that Blackwater is a retelling of the story of Melusine. But I will have to come back to that thought a couple of books later!
For the amount of times I used 'intriguing' in that paragraph, the book is joyfully un-mysterious. And you know what, I think I prefer it this way!
I will give the next book a go too. I like how McDowell writes, and it was a fast read, and mainly because, there are no heroes. Everyone in town's got their little thoughts and feelings that drive them to act in certain ways
It's fucked up, that's what.
A final thought based on my own special folklorist interests...I could actually see my way to an essay arguing that Blackwater is a retelling of the story of Melusine. But I will have to come back to that thought a couple of books later!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Car accident, and Pregnancy
Minor: Abandonment
a_random_fangirl's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
fonteya's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Buen principio de saga, buena mezcla de fantasía y chungo con un personaje muy ambiguo como es Elinor y unos personajes femeninos muyyyy interesantes.
Qué ganas de seguir 👀
Qué ganas de seguir 👀
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Gore, Racism, Violence, and Pregnancy
jelenwalker's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Primer llibre de la saga Blackwater, és bàsicament una presentació de la situació, però és molt interessant i atrapa des de les primeres pàgines!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Racism, Grief, Alcohol, and Classism
atalea's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Gaslighting
Moderate: Child death, Death, Racism, and Classism
Minor: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
whatathymeitwas's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
5.0
I've always been a big fan of other things it somewhat reminds me of at times— two of them being VC Andrews' spooky family epics which tended to be comprised of five books trailing different members of the families, only this contains more of a spelt creeping horror slant; as well as Dark Shadows at times, like someone else mentioned, with its plodding plot rolled around this family.
In this novel (novella?), we get a TON of character development, and some expectations have been set as far as the pacing. While there's only a handful of spooky things that happen in it, they're all relatively impactful. So far everything can just about be reasoned away, aside from a particular happening in one of the houses. Some of the characters seem to have a bit of a catching doubt about Elinor, or they realize something is just a bit off, but things are ramping up slowly enough that she doesn't necessarily draw undue attention. Very interested in seeing where the other five books take me.
I don't often choose to read things that are this long, my reading statistics on Storygraph tend to lean more towards middle sized books, with the most typical being around 300-400 pages, but I specifically picked this one out due to its length— as a whole, obviously, I think the six novels combined makes for something between 800-900 pages. But I was so enthralled with McDowell's writing, and I had glanced over this before choosing The Elementals, that I couldn't stop myself from picking it up immediately.
In this novel (novella?), we get a TON of character development, and some expectations have been set as far as the pacing. While there's only a handful of spooky things that happen in it, they're all relatively impactful. So far everything can just about be reasoned away, aside from a particular happening in one of the houses. Some of the characters seem to have a bit of a catching doubt about Elinor, or they realize something is just a bit off, but things are ramping up slowly enough that she doesn't necessarily draw undue attention. Very interested in seeing where the other five books take me.
I don't often choose to read things that are this long, my reading statistics on Storygraph tend to lean more towards middle sized books, with the most typical being around 300-400 pages, but I specifically picked this one out due to its length— as a whole, obviously, I think the six novels combined makes for something between 800-900 pages. But I was so enthralled with McDowell's writing, and I had glanced over this before choosing The Elementals, that I couldn't stop myself from picking it up immediately.
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Racism, Slavery, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
silverraine's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, Car accident, and Pregnancy
Minor: Alcoholism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent