charlottx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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? No
3.25
I wasn’t too fond of our protagonist in the beginning but I greatly enjoyed all of the side characters/ villains! I look forward to reading more of Schwabs works and hopefully I can find some that have more horror elements as that’s what I thought I was missing in this book!
Loved Matthew <3
Loved Matthew <3
Content Warnings
Minor: Abandonment, Body horror, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
alexlynx's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Oh man how I loved the first 2/3 of this book. The writing is so good, bury me in her words honestly. The story started and it took me less than 5 pages to be completely drawn into this world. The main character has that kind of grinning, deserved revenge thirsty personality that I really like and the mysterious, creepy elements were not too intense but still made me shiver.
But then I feel like the story suddenly revolves around itself for way too long before any kind of official explanation is given, and when there is finally one it's not very surprising, which maybe wasn't the intention anyway but the absence of said explanation was so loud that it felt like there should have been some new element. That also extents to the plot twists, most of them were pretty obvious.
And the last pages, the finale one could say, felt very very rushed as if there wasn't enough time and frankly not enough ideas on how to resolve it.
I still stand by the fact that the foundation of the story was really great and I haven't had my imagination run that wild in a long while. I will definitely check out other books by Schwab but I think I'll also be hunting for a book with a similar vibe and a more fitting ending to feel a little more closure.
But then I feel like the story suddenly revolves around itself for way too long before any kind of official explanation is given, and when there is finally one it's not very surprising, which maybe wasn't the intention anyway but the absence of said explanation was so loud that it felt like there should have been some new element. That also extents to the plot twists,
Spoiler
except for the fact that her father was actually made by the monster,And the last pages, the finale one could say, felt very very rushed as if there wasn't enough time and frankly not enough ideas on how to resolve it.
Spoiler
With the vibe of this book starting of so dark and lonely, I would maybe even have preferred a more tragic rather than a happy ending.I still stand by the fact that the foundation of the story was really great and I haven't had my imagination run that wild in a long while. I will definitely check out other books by Schwab but I think I'll also be hunting for a book with a similar vibe and a more fitting ending to feel a little more closure.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Blood, Suicide, and Violence
iane_reads's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Bullying, Death of parent, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Suicide, Murder, and Blood
Minor: Gore and Physical abuse
katvou's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death and Grief
Minor: Blood, Mental illness, Child death, Gaslighting, Gun violence, and Medical content
baearles's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
fast-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? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Child death, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Suicide
Minor: Pregnancy
binreads's review
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The kind of dark that tricks the eye. Makes you see things where ther are none. Or miss things when they are there. The dark that lives in spaces you know you should not look, lest you catch sight other eyes, staring back.
I loooooved this. The story was extremely detailed and immersive that I could picture it all in my mind as vividly as if I was watching a movie. Not only is the cover beautiful but the illustrations within the book are gorgeous and are a great addition.
Very much gave Coraline vibes with the themes of the a girl finding a portal to this other world..
Spoiler
And the Other Mother is basically Death. Feeding off of their victims.The beginning was a bit slow but once I got to the halfway point then banged it out in one night. Would not recommend reading in the dark in the middle of the night because I started to spook myself out, unless you're into that then go for it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Bullying, Confinement, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Suicide
tspice24's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
keya_caivalur's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
A beautifully written haunting story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Abandonment, Child death, Death, and Mental illness
Moderate: Violence and Gaslighting
singalana's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-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
2.75
I accidentally picked two very similar books to read at the same time: this and the audiobook In the Shadow of Spindrift House by Mira Grant. Both have young protagonists trying to figure out the mystery of a weird house. The main character of this story is a girl called Olivia - a girl with no voice. At the beginning of the story she lives in an orphanage, and the only thing she has from her family is her mother’s journal. She receives a letter from her uncle, inviting her to return to their family home - a house called Gallant. When Olivia arrives at the house, she realises there is much she doesn’t know about her family and the house.
The book has an interesting layout: spread throughout the book are illustrations and pages from her mother's journal. And the cover design and the end sheets are absolutely gorgeous. The content, however… I don’t know whether I was somehow distracted or if the writing style was not for me, but I noticed that I had to constantly reread pages and parts of the text because I realised my mind had just drifted and I hadn’t internalized anything I had read.
The reading experience felt heavy, I didn’t much care for the main character and the plot raised a lot of questions.
Spoiler
I didn’t feel too connected to the characters, and somehow the mystery of the house was not explored enough for my taste. I didn’t understand the logic behind the plot: why were the Priors so determined to guard the secret? Why was the big bad dying? What would have happened if all of the Priors were to disappear? And my biggest pet peeve of them all: the main character falls into a trap that causes the death of another character. I don’t like this trope at all.
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism, Death of parent, Death, Blood, Child death, Animal death, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
alibrarymouse's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Beautifully written with gorgeous aesthetics, but the characters weren’t much and I have to admit I wasn’t too fond of any of them. We weren’t really given too much to be fond of, and with Olivia there was a lot of potential that doesn’t get fully realized. Everything I wanted, I didn’t get, but maybe my expectations were too high?
It’s modern gothic, catharsis in its own way, but—at the same time—fantasy offers a twist I think would have made for a better ending. Schwab has realism going for her at least.
It’s modern gothic, catharsis in its own way, but—at the same time—fantasy offers a twist I think would have made for a better ending. Schwab has realism going for her at least.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Child death, Murder, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood