lillygabriella's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This was an absolutely gripping read from start to finish and I read it in three days. Every time I thought we were at peak WTF moments, it threw another curve ball at me. This is well marked as horror, and anyone considering reading it should definitely pay attention to the warning tags.
If you like dark and post apocalyptic stuff, this is probably right up your alley.
Graphic: Bullying, Cannibalism, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Blood, Gore, and Violence
jokehelldo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Blood, Sexual violence, Murder, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Body horror, and Torture
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent
Minor: Lesbophobia and Homophobia
annamorgan27's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, Physical abuse, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Torture
storykeeper_saga's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Child death, Child abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Gun violence, Misogyny, Body horror, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Blood
ghostlyprince's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Spoiler
I'd rate this higher if it wasn't for the constant sexual content of minor characters :/Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Animal death, Cannibalism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Torture, Body horror, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Confinement, and Self harm
Minor: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
Honestly there is so much heavy stuff in this book it'd be impossible to list it all, this book is not for the feint of heart and if any of the tw's contain a trigger of yours I'd advise to steer clear from the book, it's a good book but it's extremely heavy and disturbingkarenreadsbooks's review
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Misogyny
Moderate: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
sarah984'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? Yes
1.0
First of all I think it's kind of cowardly to set this book in the context it winds up being set in and not explicitly make the cult religion Christianity. The society isn't described particularly well; the book is so long and drags on but so many things are glossed over so there's not much of an idea what their everyday life is like. I kind of wish that Amity had had a few "normal" visitations and other duties as a saint before it all hit the fan.
The characters are all cardboard cutouts (the only one I found mildly interesting was the
Spoiler
second POV characterThe magic system isn't well set up and basically just works however the plot needs it to. The plot itself just does whatever to get to the next point - I never understood why Amity was so set on meeting the devil in the first place.
Also it's annoying going into a book that says it's about revenge and righteous anger and then having the message be that we need to be nice to bigots because maybe they don't know that racism and misogyny are bad. I almost wish racism hadn't come up at all because it's handled so clumsily
Spoiler
- there are like 3 (marginally) important Black characters because the founders of Amity's cult were white supremacists, but of those characters 1 dies and 1 is a villain, and since Amity only even found out Black people existed like last week the cult's racism isn't super plot relevant. Two different revolutions happen basically off page so the author doesn't have to try and explain how they did that without hurting anyone's feelings.Also the sequel hook was stupid.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, and Child death
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Bullying, Cannibalism, Confinement, Grief, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Racism, and Self harm
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Vomit, and War
archaicrobin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Set in a misogynistic utopia of the future called Haven, Amity is a devout follower of God, even allowing herself to be beaten weakly to atone for her womanly sins. However, once she stumbles upon a coven in the woods and her own powers, Amity starts to realize that everything she once believed is a lie.
Extasia does not shy away from the horror in Haven, and at times I had to remind myself that yes even though I just read about someone’s bones being snapped in half this is a YA book! It was genuinely eerie and disturbing, and the characters were not only lovable but diverse! So much representation in this book, and it’s done so well.
I highly recommend this one! Only reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars, is because towards the end the story tends to drag on and I feel like it could have ended much
Graphic: Cursing, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Sexism, Death, Domestic abuse, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Body horror, Sexual violence, Violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse
jednakniekinga's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Violence, Religious bigotry, Torture, Physical abuse, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Death, Child death, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Confinement, and Infidelity
Minor: Homophobia and Sexual harassment
micaelamariem's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Gore, Sexism, Torture, Violence, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Bullying, Cannibalism, Infidelity, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Homophobia, Rape, Child death, and Sexual assault