Reviews

Sundial by Catriona Ward

Only show reviews with written explanations

ellekiriel's review

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.75

Content Warnings

5 stars, Engrossing

SUNDIAL
by Catriona Ward

I was engrossed in this book. The characters were real. The story was surprising. I will indubitably recommend #sundial to my friends.

I didn't care for the snake on the cover of the book, I abhor snakes, but the snake theme worked well with the book.

Thankful to #nightfire and #torbooks @torpublishing for the complimentary copy I was under no obligation to post a review. #horror #girls #sisters #childhood #murders #family #strongfemaleprotagonist #captive #suburbs #desert

jessica_l_fasano's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.25

I should have DNF this book. It was so long and drawn out with the most despicable characters. Rob is a whiny, delusional, desperate women clinging to her pathetic version of her marriage while hiding from her past. The chapters with Irving are stomach churning because he is such a piece of sh** human being. Overall it was an awful, long drawn out book that lead up the basically nothing. Really disappointing.

sooky's review

Go to review page

3.0

Sundial was one of those stories that got me hooked right away, and I was intrigued for the first 90% of it, then it took a sudden turn and went all downhill. The last few chapters seemed somehow disconnected from the rest. Plot twists are good, but only if they actually make sense, and some of the supposedly "gasp worthy" moments here just fell flat, because all I could think of was "ok, how was that even meant to work?". There were also hints at things that seemed important, only to never be mentioned again, no conclusion there. What was the point? Characters all of a sudden having a 180 turn and be completely different people in the matter or minutes, then trying to explain it away, but failing miserably.

I did enjoy the writing style a lot, and the creepy, eerie vibes were right up my alley. The ending did feel slightly disconnected though and I'm not a huge fan of too vague endings in most cases.

I'm certainly open to try the author's other books, despite this being my first encounter, because I had fun with most of Sundial.

torrie_reads's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Thoughts

Ward just became an auto-buy author for me. I loved The Last House On Needless Street and bought this shortly after reading it because I wanted to read more by her. But of course, I am just getting to it.

This was really good. Like, pull me out of a slump good. I was fully invested. I was finding things to do so I could listen to it.

I love books with sister relationships even when they are messed up. And also, mother-daughter relationships and this had both.

With different POVs, it keeps you wondering who is the villain of this story. Because the mother and the daughter are scared of each other.

If you haven't picked up a book by her yet, you are missing out. I know I need to move her others up my list.

curtisshmurtis's review

Go to review page

2.0

2.5 stars. I REALLY wanted to enjoy this one. Near the ending chapters I realized how everything was going to tie together and that it would not be fully satisfying for me. Elements of the supernatural and science fiction are haphazardly a part of this world without being fleshed out. I also had no care for any of the characters. This one has many interesting topics introduced but just can’t follow through in anyway. It’s just a flat out mess to me.