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wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Medical content, Car accident, Body horror, Grief, Toxic relationship, Child death, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Alcohol, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Death, Gore, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Mental illness, and Vomit
blackthornfaery's review
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Alcohol and Vomit
two instances of cruelty towards cats leading to cat deathbookish_paws's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Death, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Mental illness, and Death of parent
Minor: Violence and Stalking
sk_x's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Grief, and Mental illness
Moderate: Vomit, Murder, Violence, and Stalking
sophieamreacher's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Only thing I wished more of was more scene building to really bring the gothic horror of the house together.
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, Vomit, Blood, Violence, and Sexual content
gorejoyous's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
The first half begins with creepy or unsettling occurances around the house but after we find out the cause in the second half—that's when the true horror begins (and where the story really hooked me). The relationship that blooms between Marin and Evie is touching and you really understand how deeply they care for each other. The writing is a little boring and clunky at times (not unexpected given that it's YA), but then you also get lines like:
"The way Marin's arms formed parenthesis around her. When Evier sighed against her neck, it was an apostrophe—in the possessive. And Marin knew all the words. She had been memorizing them for months."
Which is just *chef's kiss* the kind of romance perfect for the gothic horror genre. Aside from some pacing issues, I found the story compelling—it had me, in equal parts, on the edge of my seat and sighing forlornly, wishing that I too lived in a giant weird house full of dead things.
Thanks to HarperCollins Children's Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC!
Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Animal death, Body horror, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Stalking, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Child death