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jodar's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? No
3.5
I enjoyed the writing style, which evoked the Victorian gothic, creepy and putrid atmosphere very effectively, even poetically at times. The MC is an attractive personality: decisive, intelligent, prepared to put herself at risk for others’ sake. She doesn’t get everything right, but acts reasonably in light of what she knows or suspects.
As I expected with this type of novel, there’s little nuance in the characterisation: the good are good, the bad are bad. But one character struck me as silly and absurd: the MC’s ghost friend cum love interest. I’m bemused by some British authors’ fondness for this sort of fatuous supernaturalism. The MC–ghost–policeman love triangle felt puerile and ridiculous.
At the end I came away feeling that overall this is a great, well-told story with a satisfying conclusion, but with one major flaw.
As I expected with this type of novel, there’s little nuance in the characterisation: the good are good, the bad are bad. But one character struck me as silly and absurd: the MC’s ghost friend cum love interest. I’m bemused by some British authors’ fondness for this sort of fatuous supernaturalism. The MC–ghost–policeman love triangle felt puerile and ridiculous.
At the end I came away feeling that overall this is a great, well-told story with a satisfying conclusion, but with one major flaw.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Bullying, Gore, Sexual assault, and Murder
foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This book gave me Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries meets Alias Grace and The Quick. Much darker and more gruesome than I expected, definitely further on the Dickensian spectrum of the Victorian era. Loved the different storytelling perspectives throughout and I found the is or isn’t elements of magical realism kept me pretty engaged. So happy to have done this book as a buddy read with my mom @kirstensviews as I probably would’ve DNF’d this book without her as it took me about 1/3 of the book to get into the story and find my footing in Bridie’s world. But once I did, I was hooked! Just a heads up though—check the storygraph content warnings as there are many of them!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
mandkips's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Kidnapping
paolina's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I don't know how to feel about this book. Some parts were great! Others confusing. The writing style was lyrical! Also, sometimes confusing. Some characters left off the page! Others I couldn't tell why they were there. Overall, more positives than negatives. So, 4 stars.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Blood, and Kidnapping