laurensalisbury's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Violence
aimee's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I did really enjoy the gothic atmosphere of this book and the elements of mystery. But I felt like the end was a bit anticlimactic and I was left with a few questions that weren’t answered by the time I had finished reading.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Suicide
poisonenvy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Gallant follows Olivia Prior, a young nonverbal girl who's grown up all her life in an orphanage. Among the abusive Mothers and the bullying children, she's never felt like she's found a place where she belongs. All she has is her mother's journal and the ghouls that only she can she -- the ghosts of people who'd once lived and died there.
And then, one day, she recieves a letter from her family, calling her back to her family home where she belongs, and where she's wanted. But when she gets there, it's not what she expects.
This story was very enjoyable. It was an easy read with beautiful prose. I can't say that the story was especially deep -- it sometimes feels more like dressings than a fully realized story -- and the ending was anticlimactic, but I still very much enjoyed myself throughout the entire story.
As an aside, the book itself is beautifully out together too. I had the Illumicrate special edition, which is to be expected for some of the extra flourishes -- the journal pages were designed to look like journal pages and the section dividers were lovely -- but even the regular editions that my friends read had beautiful ink drawings and certain pages were white text on a black background which I thought was an especially nice touch. I'm a big fan of when books put forth just that little bit of extra effort to make their books something special.
And then, one day, she recieves a letter from her family, calling her back to her family home where she belongs, and where she's wanted. But when she gets there, it's not what she expects.
This story was very enjoyable. It was an easy read with beautiful prose. I can't say that the story was especially deep -- it sometimes feels more like dressings than a fully realized story -- and the ending was anticlimactic, but I still very much enjoyed myself throughout the entire story.
As an aside, the book itself is beautifully out together too. I had the Illumicrate special edition, which is to be expected for some of the extra flourishes -- the journal pages were designed to look like journal pages and the section dividers were lovely -- but even the regular editions that my friends read had beautiful ink drawings and certain pages were white text on a black background which I thought was an especially nice touch. I'm a big fan of when books put forth just that little bit of extra effort to make their books something special.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Animal death and Mental illness
_paperserpent's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, Child death, Suicide, Death of parent, and Blood
stormeno's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, and Death
Minor: Death of parent, Suicide, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
underworld's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
scout_jones's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-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
4.5
Really fun read, breezed through it. Easy to read but still with mysteries I didnt guess straight away and a world I still wanted to explore after I did. Romance was very much a sub-plot which I prefer - much more found family centred.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Child death
sapphicsoilscientist's review
adventurous
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Death
lettuce_read's review
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Child death and Bullying
diadoodle's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Death, Blood, and Child abuse