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theobromo's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
societarian's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I found myself unable to be immersed into the book as readily as others. The descriptions of locations seemed surface level and lacking (and I don’t need Tolkien level descriptions haha). The first 2/3 of the book seemed to be a really expository but not particularly interesting lead up to the last 1/3 of the book.
I don’t feel it was poorly written, but perhaps it just wasn’t the kind of book for me.
I don’t feel it was poorly written, but perhaps it just wasn’t the kind of book for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Torture, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
gracescanlon's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury
swalk's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Phoebe is just eight years old when she is in a terrible car accident leaving her in a coma, her devoted mother Ceres never leaves her bedside in hospital, reading to her daily. When Phoebe’s condition does not see any improvement, they are moved to another hospital for palliative care. This is where Ceres discovers an author’s trove of books and begins reading a book of Fairy Tales from the collection to her daughter. Soon Ceres discovers an old house on the hospital grounds, which seems strangely connected to the book and draws her into The Land of Lost Things, perhaps she will find salvation for her daughter there?
I hadn’t listened to the prequel to this initially - The Book of Lost Things, so I went back and listened to that first for context. It was well worth it. That book was really fantastic, so I had high hopes for this. Although The Land of Lost things is separate to the first, I enjoyed all the nods to the characters of the previous book and felt this gave me a greater appreciation for the tale, so I would recommend reading home in order. The use of magic sprinkled throughout the real world gives a credibility to the story making it more immersive. I don’t think I enjoyed it quite as much as the first book, which I was gushing about, but it was still fantastic and a fun read and I will definitely be reading more from this author.
The narrator was great, I was worried I wouldn’t enjoy her rendition as much as Nick Rawlingson who read the prequel, but luckily she was excellent.
I hadn’t listened to the prequel to this initially - The Book of Lost Things, so I went back and listened to that first for context. It was well worth it. That book was really fantastic, so I had high hopes for this. Although The Land of Lost things is separate to the first, I enjoyed all the nods to the characters of the previous book and felt this gave me a greater appreciation for the tale, so I would recommend reading home in order. The use of magic sprinkled throughout the real world gives a credibility to the story making it more immersive. I don’t think I enjoyed it quite as much as the first book, which I was gushing about, but it was still fantastic and a fun read and I will definitely be reading more from this author.
The narrator was great, I was worried I wouldn’t enjoy her rendition as much as Nick Rawlingson who read the prequel, but luckily she was excellent.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
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