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shaun_dh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The ending is the only thing stopping this from being 4.5 stars. A not super spoil-y spoiler, just my thoughts about the ending:
Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
joykeya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I didn't like the writing style and everything just felt a bit icky?
Also this book is not a horror or thriller at all, I genuinely don't know why it's marketed like that. It's quite misleading
I only kept reading cus I hated the main characters and wanted them to not get their happy ending.
This book is not what I expected and maybe just wasn't for me but the last 20 pages added an extra star to my rating
Graphic: Infidelity and Sexual content
Moderate: Dementia
Minor: Drug use, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
cosypuck's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Dementia, Murder, and Alcohol
pagesofash'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
3.0
Our FMC, Lily one time author and part time book seller, is a bit of a wet blanket personality wise, as in she doesn't really have a one beyond self pity and longing. Lucas, our MMC, isn't much better beyond being good a dresser and decent in the sack. Together they're a slightly terrible, horny couple. Perhaps I'm judging them a bit too harshly. Lets call them morally grey two dimensional characters and leave it there.
I found myself both curious and bored while reading. Curious about the book our MCs were hunting, its history, its abilities, but bored with the predictability of everything, and I hated the ending.
There were moments when I read a sentence that resonated with me and made me think and then there were paragraphs that had me asking how the editor had let that one slip through. I'm talking about the kind of nonsense stuff student's write to fill word counts in assignments where they don't really say anything, because they don't really know what they're talking about, and yet say the same thing three times in a row. So it's safe to say I found the writing fairly inconsistent and sometimes too contrived. Lily and Lucas waltz in and out of strangers homes, across the States and through Europe without difficulty. How am I suppose to believe that all these rich, famous, powerful people freely open their doors and show off their most prized and expensive possessions to two strangers just for the asking?
So there's character development but I wouldn't call it strong. I didn't dislike our MCs but I didn't like them either. I appreciated the discussion about grief and the ideas surrounding healing. I loved the openness of all the side characters, each one was wholly and unapologetically themselves and I enjoyed the exploration of magic and the idea that old friends, no matter how many years apart, are just a phone call away. So I'm treating this book like a piecemeal Christian and picking and choosing which parts to take away with me and which parts to leave.
Graphic: Sexual content and Murder
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, and Stalking
Further info about the types of sexual content >>archaicrobin's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Despite her hardships Lily is devoted to her husband and finding a way to help him. So when she’s offered over a million dollars for a rare occult book on sex magic, she teams up with a colleague and friend, Lucas, to find the book. What unfolds is a journey across the country to locate the book and find herself.
This book is very slow paced so if you start it, know it’s a crawl and it’s also very disturbing at times. As Lily continues searching for the book her and Lucas begin attempting it’s magic as well, which leads them to many dark and weird places. Hedonist mansions, sec magic, disgustingly rich men, it’s all pretty out there and unsettling but I loved it.
This book is not for everyone, it’s not fast paced or super exciting, it’s an atmospheric and tragic love story with elements of horror that weave together themes of loss, grief, devotion, and finding a reason to live once yours is gone. If you’re up for that, I highly recommend!
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, and Classism
Minor: Rape
cattheteawitchfairy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
There were aspects I would have liked to have seen developed more and things I didn’t see coming because they were out of character etc.
Interesting read, not sure if I would re read it though.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Murder, and Alcohol
thecatconstellation's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
cjblates's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Blood, Dementia, and Murder
babayagaofficial'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? Yes
Graphic: Sexual content, Dementia, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Drug use, Infidelity, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol
I loved this book overall. Occasionally the way that Lily talked about Abel — her husband suffering from dementia who is unable to care for himself and does not respond or communicate — was pretty painful to read. She loves him very much and is devoted to his care, but at a few points there are some ableist sentiments (“burden,” “drooling thing”) that readers who are sensitive to such things should be aware of.kris386's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Blood, Dementia, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Infidelity, and Alcohol