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beforeviolets's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Thank you so much to Levine Querido for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I heard “Jewish historical fantasy about a disabled demon and a genderless angel” and had high hopes this book would give me Jewish Good Omens vibes. And it absolutely delivered. At times, its charm felt manufactured (due to perhaps an attempt to mimic the voice of Good Omens), but was charming nonetheless, and eventually found its way into a shape of its own and wormed its way into my heart. It was cozy, it was whimsical, it was adventurous, and it was unapologetically queer and Jewish. How could you not fall in love?
CW/TW: death, grief, gun violence, violence, blood, injury, fire, antisemitism, confinement
I heard “Jewish historical fantasy about a disabled demon and a genderless angel” and had high hopes this book would give me Jewish Good Omens vibes. And it absolutely delivered. At times, its charm felt manufactured (due to perhaps an attempt to mimic the voice of Good Omens), but was charming nonetheless, and eventually found its way into a shape of its own and wormed its way into my heart. It was cozy, it was whimsical, it was adventurous, and it was unapologetically queer and Jewish. How could you not fall in love?
CW/TW: death, grief, gun violence, violence, blood, injury, fire, antisemitism, confinement
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Grief
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement and Antisemitism
shaipanda's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thank you so much to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
I genuinely absolutely loved this book just as much, if not more, than I expected to. As someone who grew up deeply entrenched in my Jewish culture and community, it was so amazing and such a special experience to be able to read a book with so many references I recognized. This book was so clearly deeply deeply rooted in Jewish (specifically Ashkenazi) culture and mythology which was really amazing to read.
Additionally, all of the characters are so loveable and I absolutely loved seeing the characters grow, whether they were teenage girls or immortal beings. This was especially true given the queer Jewish representation in this which is just so important and I have not come acros nearly enough of. I do wish we got to see more of Rivke as she essentially disappears from the story once they leave Ellis Island and I really liked her character and would’ve loved to see more of her.
One other thing I noticed is while I’m very glad there’s a glossary at least in the back, this book has so so many very specific references in it that it could benefit from having footnotes. This was because some of the references I’d actually never even heard of some of them before such as sheydim and ibburim, and I've spent a significant amount of time in Jewish spaces and constantly expanding my knowledge of Judaism. I feel like because of this, having footnotes would make it significantly more accessible for the general public since how it is now, I’m slightly worried people will put the book down because they don’t understand all of the terms and Jewish context and don’t want to keep Googling or flipping back and forth to the glossary.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Hate crime, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Misogyny, Grief, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Deportation