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avalinahsbooks's review
2.0
I can't really place this book - at first I thought it was YA, but as I read on, I realized that it's much too gory, violent and sexual to be considered YA. And yet, the tone is definitely YA. New Adult maybe?
Regardless of what genre it is, it had a really good premise. It could deliver. But... it didn't. There were a lot of good story threads, but they were either dropped, or just loosely rounded up. There could have been so much more world building as well.
Thing is, when I finished reading, I wasn't quite sure what I'd just read. Was it a young adult story? Was it mainly a dystopian tale? Was it meant to follow the characters, or was it just like a jumble of unfinished short stories? It felt like a lot of story lines were started, and started well, but never quite came to fruition. The idea of people gorging on someone else's shadows and destroying society sounds amazing. The domes and the towns behind moving trains, so nobody could enter? Also great... never went anywhere. The army of women tired of being victims? Also never went anywhere. So many threads that could have been so good! Ultimately, I just feel like it was too short and didn't have a clear direction or a clear audience in mind.
Love that cover though!
I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review.
Regardless of what genre it is, it had a really good premise. It could deliver. But... it didn't. There were a lot of good story threads, but they were either dropped, or just loosely rounded up. There could have been so much more world building as well.
Thing is, when I finished reading, I wasn't quite sure what I'd just read. Was it a young adult story? Was it mainly a dystopian tale? Was it meant to follow the characters, or was it just like a jumble of unfinished short stories? It felt like a lot of story lines were started, and started well, but never quite came to fruition. The idea of people gorging on someone else's shadows and destroying society sounds amazing. The domes and the towns behind moving trains, so nobody could enter? Also great... never went anywhere. The army of women tired of being victims? Also never went anywhere. So many threads that could have been so good! Ultimately, I just feel like it was too short and didn't have a clear direction or a clear audience in mind.
Love that cover though!
I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review.
castorstarr's review
4.0
4
My rating for this book fluctuated quite a bit before landing on a solid 4. Here's the thing- this book is well written. I mean, really well written- the character voices were varied but the dialect consistent, the world building was immaculate, the timing was perfect, and it read through in an easy 4 hours. However, I still had issues and as I keep thinking on these issues I can't allow myself going over a 4 on this.
Here are some of my problems with this book. The theme was clear in some places but in others the actions muddled the point. Certain things felt unnecessary, like they were only there to shock, but didn't actually do that either. In some cases this felt like more world building, in others it just felt dismal and otherwise unimportant. This happened too many times for me to give it a pass.
There were also too many questions left unanswered. Some people really like that, I don't. This is the book equivalent of a walking simulator (which I also deeply enjoy), and that would be more than fine if it hadn't teased so many answers. Maybe this will be a selling point for others, but it just frustrated me.
Lastly, let me say to all planning on reading: this is not a horror novel. Absolutely incorrect marketing. This is a world exploration novel of a disturbing world. There is no horror, only revulsion. This is mundane, and the only horror in it at all is that the mundane for this world is so full of death and addiction. There's no monster, there's no tension, there isn't anything expected in a horror novel, so if you want those things and those things alone, skip this novel. Though, you will be missing out.
My rating for this book fluctuated quite a bit before landing on a solid 4. Here's the thing- this book is well written. I mean, really well written- the character voices were varied but the dialect consistent, the world building was immaculate, the timing was perfect, and it read through in an easy 4 hours. However, I still had issues and as I keep thinking on these issues I can't allow myself going over a 4 on this.
Here are some of my problems with this book. The theme was clear in some places but in others the actions muddled the point. Certain things felt unnecessary, like they were only there to shock, but didn't actually do that either. In some cases this felt like more world building, in others it just felt dismal and otherwise unimportant. This happened too many times for me to give it a pass.
There were also too many questions left unanswered. Some people really like that, I don't. This is the book equivalent of a walking simulator (which I also deeply enjoy), and that would be more than fine if it hadn't teased so many answers. Maybe this will be a selling point for others, but it just frustrated me.
Lastly, let me say to all planning on reading: this is not a horror novel. Absolutely incorrect marketing. This is a world exploration novel of a disturbing world. There is no horror, only revulsion. This is mundane, and the only horror in it at all is that the mundane for this world is so full of death and addiction. There's no monster, there's no tension, there isn't anything expected in a horror novel, so if you want those things and those things alone, skip this novel. Though, you will be missing out.
tatianawrites's review
5.0
Intensely strange and beautiful - a mix of gritty western post-apocalyptic and light fantasy. Unforgettable in its premise and remarkable for its structure.