booksandchocaholic's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
*2.5 (4.92 CAWPILE)
I loved Rena Rosner's debut <i> Sisters of the Winter Wood <i>. Therefore I went in to this book with high expectations. I didn't necessarily assume I would love it as much as the other book but I did, at least, expect it to be a decent enough book. With atmosphere and immersive writing carrying a character driven plot. That, sadly was not what I got. I got a book of two halves, one of a slightly dysfunctional but believable jewish family, who were magical and happy, living respectably in their quiet community. Another, of a broken down people, who had buried their faith and become disenfranchised with life. That, also could have been a heartbreakingly compelling story. However instead it was merely messy and illogical. The way the events unfolded made sense, yet the way the characters responded to them were so far removed from what we had established of their personalities I didn't recognise the characters form one half to another. - Literally these characters names changed half way and the only way I could recognise them was by a symbol at the beginning of the chapter-.
This book had a very interesting plot going for it to begin with. I liked the conversation it seemed to be having about family and faith and love. I was a little uncomfortable with how young these girls were when marrying though I believe it to be appropriate for the time. They had girlish notions of love and having a family and it was a balance between girlhood and womanhood and I could appreciate that. I had hoped for more sisterly bonds than romance but it was not a deal breaker. The second half of the plot however was a complete nosedive for me. The plot completely lost its way and seemed to be trying to do too many things at once.
The characters seemed to have an irreparable personality transfer from one half to another making them unrecognisable. This meant that any connection I had begun to establish with them in the first half was completely lost in the second half for me.
The writing in this book was peculiar because the protagonists are very young and therefore are (appropriately) acting their age which made it hard for me to connect with them, yet the language and themes of the book seemed to be very much adult. There were also several scenes in here where the writing choices were... peculiar? and didn't land well for me either. Sadly as well these instances were in notable scenes and therefore lessened the impact of the scene. I also found the pacing to be a bit all over the place and the ending rushed compared to the very (overly?) slow and methodical pacing we had had throughout the rest of the book.
This therefore impacted the development making me become less interested in the book as the story went on. I could feel myself slowly but certainly disconnecting from the book and feeling disinclined to pick it up again.
The magic in the book was, though not particularly unique, very beautiful and I liked the way it interconnected with the personalities of the girls. I liked the rawness and the way it was described immensely. The worldbuilding and atmosphere of the story were certainly highlights for me. The book had a lost of whimsy in its vibes, despite the harrowing nature of the story itself.
Pros
* Magic
* Atmosphere
* World descriptions
*Sapphic rep
Cons
*Second half of plot
* Inconsistent characters
* Unnecessary (In my opinion) amounts of harrowing scenes.
* Poor pacing
* Odd writing at times
In conclusion this book was quite a serious let down for me and I am so sad because I was sure it would be an easy win. I hope others love it and get more out of it than I did.
I loved Rena Rosner's debut <i> Sisters of the Winter Wood <i>. Therefore I went in to this book with high expectations. I didn't necessarily assume I would love it as much as the other book but I did, at least, expect it to be a decent enough book. With atmosphere and immersive writing carrying a character driven plot. That, sadly was not what I got. I got a book of two halves, one of a slightly dysfunctional but believable jewish family, who were magical and happy, living respectably in their quiet community. Another, of a broken down people, who had buried their faith and become disenfranchised with life. That, also could have been a heartbreakingly compelling story. However instead it was merely messy and illogical. The way the events unfolded made sense, yet the way the characters responded to them were so far removed from what we had established of their personalities I didn't recognise the characters form one half to another. - Literally these characters names changed half way and the only way I could recognise them was by a symbol at the beginning of the chapter-.
This book had a very interesting plot going for it to begin with. I liked the conversation it seemed to be having about family and faith and love. I was a little uncomfortable with how young these girls were when marrying though I believe it to be appropriate for the time. They had girlish notions of love and having a family and it was a balance between girlhood and womanhood and I could appreciate that. I had hoped for more sisterly bonds than romance but it was not a deal breaker. The second half of the plot however was a complete nosedive for me. The plot completely lost its way and seemed to be trying to do too many things at once.
The characters seemed to have an irreparable personality transfer from one half to another making them unrecognisable. This meant that any connection I had begun to establish with them in the first half was completely lost in the second half for me.
The writing in this book was peculiar because the protagonists are very young and therefore are (appropriately) acting their age which made it hard for me to connect with them, yet the language and themes of the book seemed to be very much adult. There were also several scenes in here where the writing choices were... peculiar? and didn't land well for me either. Sadly as well these instances were in notable scenes and therefore lessened the impact of the scene. I also found the pacing to be a bit all over the place and the ending rushed compared to the very (overly?) slow and methodical pacing we had had throughout the rest of the book.
This therefore impacted the development making me become less interested in the book as the story went on. I could feel myself slowly but certainly disconnecting from the book and feeling disinclined to pick it up again.
The magic in the book was, though not particularly unique, very beautiful and I liked the way it interconnected with the personalities of the girls. I liked the rawness and the way it was described immensely. The worldbuilding and atmosphere of the story were certainly highlights for me. The book had a lost of whimsy in its vibes, despite the harrowing nature of the story itself.
Pros
* Magic
* Atmosphere
* World descriptions
*Sapphic rep
Cons
*Second half of plot
* Inconsistent characters
* Unnecessary (In my opinion) amounts of harrowing scenes.
* Poor pacing
* Odd writing at times
In conclusion this book was quite a serious let down for me and I am so sad because I was sure it would be an easy win. I hope others love it and get more out of it than I did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Grief, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Death, Lesbophobia, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Cursing, Homophobia, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Rape, and Domestic abuse
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