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thatchickengirl23's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, and Classism
Minor: Homophobia and Sexual content
stephanieheld's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Death, Misogyny, and Murder
fifteenthjessica's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The novel is dark but can also be witty and amusing. The seventh chapter (the first of two exclusively told through Bliss's investigation notes, possibly to provide some distance between readers and the more disturbing aspects of the two victims examined there) was particularly fun with lines like "Cutter pronounced [this death certificate] unsatisfactory...remarking further that it might be put to an unmentionable sanitary purpose" and "NOTES RESUME FOLLOWING A BRIEF LAPSE OF CONSCIOUSNESS ON THE PART OF THE PRESENT OFFER." The cast is great, and I enjoy the three protagonists as well as several supporting characters such as Ada, Georgie, and Elf.
The book is not perfect. The pacing is OK. We get a prologue that opens on the final moments of Esther Tull (the seamstress), but then it takes a while for the other main characters to get to this aspect. I also found it odd that Octavia doesn't meet either Cutter or Bliss until right around the climax. A more minor quibble is that there are a lot of butterfly and moth imagery, but I have no idea what the meaning behind it is.
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Child death, Drug use, Homophobia, Slavery, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Colonisation
magic_multicolored_miracle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Body horror and Suicide
Minor: Homophobia and Sexual harassment
eve_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
⁕ A combination of Victorian language, overly descriptive passages, and limited action makes the plot DRAG. This was a tough one to get through.
⁕ I stan the grumpy/sunshine trope that the two main characters fall into. The humorous moments between them broke up what would have been an otherwise monotonous read.. plus it was very Sherlock and Watson.
⁕ [spoiler] The answer to the "mystery" was explained away by vague, underdeveloped paranormal activity that was not at all built up to. It was nonsensical and completely unrewarding after slugging through the the first several hundred pages.
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Moderate: Death, Gore, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, and Classism
elisabethmnc's review against another edition
Graphic: Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Death and Murder
janeycanuck's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Also, I'm officially adding "competent detectives with bumbling amateur sidekicks" to my reader wheelhouse.
Moderate: Death and Suicide