kaitlynnnng's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Something I enjoyed about this book was that, when I started a chapter, I never knew how I would feel by the end of it. There was a mix of regular small-town living, the supernatural and fantastical, and mystery. I don’t think there was too much of one thing.
Some of the twists were easy to see coming once other twists were introduced.
I appreciate the themes of the story.
Some of the twists were easy to see coming once other twists were introduced.
Spoiler
For example, I knew “Uncle Ezra” and Whitaker were both suspicious, but once we learned who “Uncle Ezra” really was, it was easy to see that Whitaker was the Dark Watcher.I appreciate the themes of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Murder, and Death of parent
Minor: Abandonment, Vomit, and Religious bigotry
immovabletype's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Grief, and Xenophobia
Minor: Misogyny
jwhitlow91's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Pregnancy, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Gun violence, Medical content, and Alcoholism
Minor: Vomit, Miscarriage, and Suicide
kaitlinm1678's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Moderate: Mental illness, Vomit, and Violence
magellen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- 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
4.5
Hooray for a sophomore success! This book is much more cohesive than House of Salt and Sorrows- that said, it still takes a *long long* time to set things up. 3/8ths of the way in felt like the inciting moments, the plot finally showing up to the party.
Once it's in motion, the plot carries along on its own. The nebulous setting flounders through the front half, making it hard to tell just when and where we are, which winds up making it feel like The Village for a stretch. Though it lacks much flavor for voice, the moments of tension/horror are well built and sustained on a razor wire, satisfying to squirm over - there is a lot of blood in this book and talk of the smell of blood so heads up.
Overall, it's a stellar follow up that leans into the fear and reality more than the frothy illusion of S&S. It runs long, or slow, depending how you consider the word count load but it does eventually find uses for most of those words. With yet again a large cast, there's a lot of threads to tie at the end and only a handful of them stay knotted.
Once it's in motion, the plot carries along on its own. The nebulous setting flounders through the front half, making it hard to tell just when and where we are, which winds up making it feel like The Village for a stretch. Though it lacks much flavor for voice, the moments of tension/horror are well built and sustained on a razor wire, satisfying to squirm over - there is a lot of blood in this book and talk of the smell of blood so heads up.
Overall, it's a stellar follow up that leans into the fear and reality more than the frothy illusion of S&S. It runs long, or slow, depending how you consider the word count load but it does eventually find uses for most of those words. With yet again a large cast, there's a lot of threads to tie at the end and only a handful of them stay knotted.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Stalking, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Violence, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Pregnancy
andromeda_1998's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Small favors took me by surprise. I really enjoyed myself while reading it and I’m not sure if I will ever be able to find something like that again. I hope that the writer will someday decide to write a second book because some things are left unanswered but I like it as a stand-alone. The books has some dark and tense elements that I loved but I would have enjoyed it more if we had seen even more of this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Violence, Vomit, Animal death, Chronic illness, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, and Misogyny
tkatt20's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Small Favors was everything I had hoped it would be and more. This book had the perfect amount of suspense and untrustworthy characters, I found myself completely unable to put it down. Every character had a story and role to play and different motives, it plays masterfully into the human condition and how some people will do anything in their power to help themselves or the ones they love. It makes you think twice about trusting anyone you meet or even your family. This was definitely more of a slow burn thriller with a lot of suspense leading up to the ending, but its so well written I never felt it was boring. There was always some sort of action or event going on, and I loved the descriptions of the bees added in between and how it weaves in with the darker aspects of the story.
While I did truly love this book, I do believe it could have used an extra chapter right at the end or an epilogue. Open-ended books can work in many cases, but I dont usually favor them, and there was one very glaring question I was left with that would have been resolved by this addition and would have made this book perfect for me. Any books by Erin A. Craig have been added to my must buy list and I'm looking forward to any future novels by her!
While I did truly love this book, I do believe it could have used an extra chapter right at the end or an epilogue. Open-ended books can work in many cases, but I dont usually favor them, and there was one very glaring question I was left with that would have been resolved by this addition and would have made this book perfect for me. Any books by Erin A. Craig have been added to my must buy list and I'm looking forward to any future novels by her!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Pregnancy
Minor: Religious bigotry, Vomit, and Suicide
reading_ali's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I came into this book with very different expectations of what the world building would look like. But was not disappointed with what the actual story is about. This is historical with a touch of creepy/fantastical creatures. Not a fantasy world with some historical setting.
The characters were fine, but there was absolutely no diversity, and quite a lot of patriarchal ideas that were supposedly being challenged. But again, I came in thinking this would be a very different world, not an actually somewhat accurate depiction of 1800s americana life. So beware some misogyny
There were also aspects that frustrated me, simply because clues about the
Also still don't see how she knew that Lyra was the Queen’s name, because Whitaker never hinted that that was her name….just wish thr author wouldve dived in a bit deeper into that and developed the name bit so it wouldnt seem so out of nowhere
Overall I enjoyed having so many characters and things happening. Read the book in two sittings and it was creepy and wonderfully rural and atmospheric. Super fun.Just wish the romance was also developed a bit more, it also felt :/ flat and a tad too normal.
The characters were fine, but there was absolutely no diversity, and quite a lot of patriarchal ideas that were supposedly being challenged. But again, I came in thinking this would be a very different world, not an actually somewhat accurate depiction of 1800s americana life. So beware some misogyny
There were also aspects that frustrated me, simply because clues about the
Spoiler
romantic interest being one of the forest creatures were quite obvious. I understand that a love struck teenage girl wouldnt want to think of the worst, but still it was weird to me she wouldnt see certain obvious clues as to Whitaker not being all that he claims to be. Specially form day number 1, he would refuse to tell his name, which quite frankly is such an obvious clue to something being wrong. Also the fact that she trusted a stranger so easily felt unrealistic. And the ending was simply flat and :-/ like ok… too fast, too good to be true.Also still don't see how she knew that Lyra was the Queen’s name, because Whitaker never hinted that that was her name….just wish thr author wouldve dived in a bit deeper into that and developed the name bit so it wouldnt seem so out of nowhere
Overall I enjoyed having so many characters and things happening. Read the book in two sittings and it was creepy and wonderfully rural and atmospheric. Super fun.Just wish the romance was also developed a bit more, it also felt :/ flat and a tad too normal.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Pregnancy and Body horror
Minor: Vomit
nytephoenyx's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Disclaimer: I received this book for free from NetGalley and Delacorte in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I sat down to read a couple of chapters of Small Favors and ended up reading the entire book.
Erin A. Craig has a way of doing that, a way of weaving her spell around her readers so throughly with her compelling worlds and duplicitous characters that one more chapter becomes two, then ten, and then you’re reading the acknowledgements and wondering where the day went. The same thing happened to me when reading House of Salt and Sorrows and I’m not sorry to see she’s done it again.
If you enjoyed her debut, Small Favors takes the storytelling up a notch. Craig still paints the world with a fairytale feeling, but it’s far more Grimm Brothers than Disney. She knows when to focus on the details and she knows when it’s time to jump forward. I adore her storytelling because I fall into it effortlessly. There were shades of The Grace Year in Small Favors, but it’s also Rumpelstiltskin and Little House on the Prairie gone awry, with just a pinch of The Crucible. I love, love, loved it.
The characters as well are interesting and … shadowed. I spent most the book trying to figure out who the true villain was. Sometimes I was right, at least a little, but I certainly didn’t guess the whole thing. Siblings Ellerie, Samuel, Merry, and Sadie paint an interesting quartet – each one compelling but each one flawed. Small Favors is more than the story of a family – it’s the story of a town. Be prepared to meet a lot of people and learn a lot of names. This may be off-putting for some, but for me it made the game more interesting. Some characters are developed better than others, but the ones we need to know the best… we do. Then there’s the mythology, the edge of Van Helsing… ah. You must read this. You simply must.
I know this may be controversial, but I so very much loved the ending. It’s the sort of ending I think a lot of readers will be annoyed with – I’m sorry! But I think it made perfect sense and was clever and honest. Too may YA books wrap everything up with a lovely ribbon tied in a bow and that was not the case with Small Favors. I’ve probably said too much already, but know that this is the sort of ending you have to appreciate and rage over all at once.
Would I recommend Small Favors? Absolutely. With her sophomore novel coming hot on the heels of her first, not only would I recommend Erin A. Criag’s books, but she’s become an insta-buy author for me. Small Favors is compelling and leaves you guessing about the darkness in everyone’s hearts. I eagerly await her next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Vomit
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