joygarcialim's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The settings used in the book are stunningly described and Delia Owens has a way of weaving words into art. However, this is overused throughout the book, although it gets less as the plot thickened. I do wish that there were points where things were more direct. While the places were so serene and heavily embossed with tales of nature, this is a thriller too and it almost loses the seat-gripping effect.
Kya starts out as a curious little thing and she just gets curiouser and curiouser. It was hard not to feel whilst her story unravelled. Whatever she has grown into, albeit debatable(though Tarzan was a thing so why not), made her an enchanting protagonist and it was undeniably hard not to root for her.
The romances are the parts of the story which I had the most problem with. Especially with Tate, because Chase was obviously a creep. Tate was kinda creepy too tbh.
Graphic: Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Classism, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Racial slurs
Minor: Infertility and Suicidal thoughts
loona0's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Violence
empathreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, and War
olaa's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death of parent, Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape
jamiedark10's review against another edition
Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Adult/minor relationship
kkulhannie's review against another edition
0.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexism, Racial slurs, Pedophilia, Murder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Death
saraellenme's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Alcoholism, War, Child abuse, Murder, and Pedophilia
support_lesbian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Ok actual review: Fuck this book. Fuck this book for romanticizing pedophilia and having the main character Kya fall in love with her abuser who prayed and isolated and groomed her when she was a child, who faces no consequences at all this book for his disgusting actions and the views then getting together as a happy end for this book. What the fuck is wrong with this author. Fuck Kya's other abuser in this book too but he gets some semblance of punishment at least. I wish Kya was in a better book because her character could be salvaged then and she wouldn't have gone through abuse just for the sake of it.
The abuse/pedophilia mentioned takes up the majority of the book premise, but also I didn't appreciate the scene where a Black man gets assaulted and hate-crimed just so the author can say the main white character is good and not racist and bad like the other townspeople, its having a racist scene just for having it and it's stupid.
Everything else about this book just sucks. I hated how short the chapters were, some of them averaged 1-3 pages long and didn't go anything for the story. I hated how the book kept ripping you from different time periods just when you were getting settled into the setting. I hated the sheriff chapters that did nothing interesting for the plot and was just boring and a by-the-numbers investigative scenes . I hated the trial scenes where everything just got spelled out for you. I hate how god damn slow this book is.
Don't buy this book. It's slow and boring and miserable and disgusting for romanticizing pedophilia and fuck this author putting it in a positive and condoning light.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Rape
nothingrhymeswithrachel's review against another edition
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Violence