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annaonthepage's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Grief
Moderate: Sexism, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Ableism, Child death, Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Classism
daisyas's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I absolutely loved the writing but not sure on the story as a whole. It felt like two different books, not one thing or another. I wish it was more obviously fantasy the whole way through or that the supernatural element had been left a complete mystery for the reader to guess.
soaphest's review against another edition
3.25
incredibly writing style but the story itself didnt really get me invested. kind of reminded me of “our wives under the sea” but this lacked the depth of character and relationships that drew me to that book. for example, mary and esther were arguably the most plot-relevant characters, but it was hard to get invested in their roles as the book went very little into their viewpoints and experience so to say, so they came across as a bit flat and uninteresting to me. i did really enjoy the ending though, probably the best way the story as it was going could have concluded.
app17's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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
5.0
Deliciously descriptive
saffron_chalfont's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
eiion's review against another edition
2.0
I went into this book with very high hopes, but unfortunately, it just didn't deliver.
The Leviathan had a really great concept.
Toying with the idea of witchcraft accusations and a God-defying main character in the 1600's caught my attention. For the entirety of Part 1 I was really excited to see where it would be taken, I thought that the setup was interesting & the atmosphere was done really well. I found it really interesting the switch in time settings, so we were reading what was happening in 1643 alongside the story that was unfolding in 1703. While the bulk of the story took place in 1643, getting small hints and glimpses of the aftermath of those actions and the subsequent future was enough to keep me engaged. I truly believed that we'd be getting a more witchcraft focused plot, which we unfortunately did not.
-- SPOILERS AHEAD, SPOILER FREE BLURB AT THE BOTTOM --
It started to fall apart a lot in Part 2.
This was where we were introduced to Esther's demon-self or possession arc. It was weird, I'll admit, but I did stick with it because it was interesting & I wanted to see where it would go. Was Esther the witch? Was Chrissa cursing her? What was going on? I was also asking questions related to the blurb - we had been promised a sea monster of some kind, where was that? None of these questions were ultimately answered. Thomas & Chrissa/Mary began to sort of work things out which was, in and of itself, kind of interesting, but I really didn't care. None of the characters gripped me.
Part 2 was also where the writing really started to drag on & I found myself forcing through it hoping it'd get better. The atmosphere was still okay, but I wasn't scared by it so much as I was bored.
By the time we got to Part 3, I was just waiting for it to be over. I figured that this was where we'd wrap everything up & start exploring the consequences, the story, and actually get down to the root of what had happened and where we were going from here. But nope! With maybe 100 pages left, we introduce the concept that Esther is some demon foundling child that's probably not human, and we get introduced to the sea monster, which apparently attacked Thomas' father's ship once. It had literally no purpose to the story other than to insinuate that it was made from the devil & might have contributed to Esther being found in the cargo hold by Thomas' father. The whole twist of her not being human and bringing in this sea creature felt so cheap, especially when Thomas went back out into the ocean to save Henry after Esther kidnapped him. And I know that when I summarize it, it sounds super exciting, but it wasn't. It was so boring. I was hoping for something more, a bit more nuance, something to actually warrant how boring Parts 2 & 3 were.
Even with the part that then takes place in 1703, how we finish up the book, I didn't care what happened or why they were doing it. Again: NONE OF IT MATTERED! It was so cheap, and clearly trying to make the reader feel scared or emotional, but the only thing I could think the entire time was "Why do I care?"
-- SPOILERS END --
Overall, the book was boring. I didn't particularly enjoy reading it, and apart from a pretty well done atmosphere, I think a lot of the book fell really flat. There were too many concepts here and it felt sloppy and rushed, giving the reader this feeling of being completely unsatisfied. Each part felt like a completely different book plot, and where it lacked that cohesiveness, it didn't make up for it in excitement or interest.
Just a bit disappointing, because I was looking forward to this read.
The Leviathan had a really great concept.
Toying with the idea of witchcraft accusations and a God-defying main character in the 1600's caught my attention. For the entirety of Part 1 I was really excited to see where it would be taken, I thought that the setup was interesting & the atmosphere was done really well. I found it really interesting the switch in time settings, so we were reading what was happening in 1643 alongside the story that was unfolding in 1703. While the bulk of the story took place in 1643, getting small hints and glimpses of the aftermath of those actions and the subsequent future was enough to keep me engaged. I truly believed that we'd be getting a more witchcraft focused plot, which we unfortunately did not.
-- SPOILERS AHEAD, SPOILER FREE BLURB AT THE BOTTOM --
This was where we were introduced to Esther's demon-self or possession arc. It was weird, I'll admit, but I did stick with it because it was interesting & I wanted to see where it would go. Was Esther the witch? Was Chrissa cursing her? What was going on? I was also asking questions related to the blurb - we had been promised a sea monster of some kind, where was that? None of these questions were ultimately answered. Thomas & Chrissa/Mary began to sort of work things out which was, in and of itself, kind of interesting, but I really didn't care. None of the characters gripped me.
Part 2 was also where the writing really started to drag on & I found myself forcing through it hoping it'd get better. The atmosphere was still okay, but I wasn't scared by it so much as I was bored.
By the time we got to Part 3, I was just waiting for it to be over. I figured that this was where we'd wrap everything up & start exploring the consequences, the story, and actually get down to the root of what had happened and where we were going from here. But nope! With maybe 100 pages left, we introduce the concept that Esther is some demon foundling child that's probably not human, and we get introduced to the sea monster, which apparently attacked Thomas' father's ship once. It had literally no purpose to the story other than to insinuate that it was made from the devil & might have contributed to Esther being found in the cargo hold by Thomas' father. The whole twist of her not being human and bringing in this sea creature felt so cheap, especially when Thomas went back out into the ocean to save Henry after Esther kidnapped him. And I know that when I summarize it, it sounds super exciting, but it wasn't. It was so boring. I was hoping for something more, a bit more nuance, something to actually warrant how boring Parts 2 & 3 were.
Even with the part that then takes place in 1703, how we finish up the book, I didn't care what happened or why they were doing it. Again: NONE OF IT MATTERED! It was so cheap, and clearly trying to make the reader feel scared or emotional, but the only thing I could think the entire time was "Why do I care?"
-- SPOILERS END --
Overall, the book was boring. I didn't particularly enjoy reading it, and apart from a pretty well done atmosphere, I think a lot of the book fell really flat. There were too many concepts here and it felt sloppy and rushed, giving the reader this feeling of being completely unsatisfied. Each part felt like a completely different book plot, and where it lacked that cohesiveness, it didn't make up for it in excitement or interest.
Just a bit disappointing, because I was looking forward to this read.
elkboy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
shannandavey's review against another edition
2.0
2.5. i really wanted to like this more and what kept me reading this at many points during the story was the writing, i thought it was super atmospheric and quite beautiful.
however, i think the problem with this book for me was that i just didn’t care about anything after the 20%ish mark, but i still wanted to read the book?!? it was an odd feeling…
i would be interested in picking up the next novel written by this author as i’m not quite sure what it was that i didn’t love but im also not sure what it was that i did like.
however, i think the problem with this book for me was that i just didn’t care about anything after the 20%ish mark, but i still wanted to read the book?!? it was an odd feeling…
i would be interested in picking up the next novel written by this author as i’m not quite sure what it was that i didn’t love but im also not sure what it was that i did like.
yorkshirecath's review against another edition
3.0
Boring. Some great chapters but just far too drawn out and sometimes complicated to read
elisahec's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0