franzys_whip's review
- 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? Yes
5.0
A teeny tiny bit slow in the beginning. Just a little. Coming from a person who reads pretty fast-paced books most of the time though, it's really not that bad.
Spoiler
#edward addington needs to choke on a bag of rotten horse dicks #olivia did nothing wrong #fuck manifest destiny and all of its consequencesGraphic: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Grief, and Gun violence
Minor: Death of parent
uchihas's review
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Violence, Death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Confinement, Vomit, Slavery, Abandonment, Classism, and Colonisation
casmith512's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Violence, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Abandonment, and Fire/Fire injury
cait's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gaslighting, Gore, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Colonisation, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Physical abuse, Vomit, Cultural appropriation, Kidnapping, Murder, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Genocide, Gun violence, Self harm, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Violence
thewellbitch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Murder, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Torture
Minor: Abandonment and Death of parent
monsterofidaho's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Winterset Hollow clearly takes inspiration from Watership Down. Despite the story itself being set in the Pacific Northwest and the fact that the author himself is not British, it seems as though he's trying to fully imitate that style of narration and it does not work. It's clunky and it detracts from what parts of the story actually work. Bits of prose feel somewhat pretentious at times and Durham does a lot of preemptive thinking for the reader, as though he wants to be positively sure that the reader will come to the same conclusion as him no matter what.
That said, the actual story of Winterset Hollow is beautiful, wild, and devastating. As someone who grew up with Watership Down and Grimms' fairy tales, this story means a lot. The four antagonists are usually more interesting than the other characters--with the exception of Eamon, who also has a lot going on--and the way that Runny, Flackwell, Finn, and Bing all try to cope with their traumas and seek vindication are treated as complexly as they should be.
Spoiler
Finn's rage and his inability to stop hunting Eamon to the death no matter how his friends try to reason with him is bittersweet with an emphasis on the bitter. He's a terrible person but there's also something to relate to with never wanting to forgive your abusers.Graphic: Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Animal death, Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Slavery, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment and Confinement
irenemarie's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, and Slavery
Minor: Death of parent, Vomit, Abandonment, and Gun violence
tkatt20's review
5.0
Graphic: Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Self harm, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, and Animal death
Minor: Death of parent, Slavery, Colonisation, Abandonment, and Genocide
itsrachsimpson's review
4.5
I loved this book so much more than I expected to and I’m so glad I agreed to read it. When emailing me Durham said ‘tone-wise it lives somewhere between the wonder of Roald Dahl’s more grounded works and the ‘things fall apart’ chaos of a good Michael Crichton thriller. Oh, and there’s a liiiiitle Stephen King thrown in there for good measure, but just a pinch.’ and if you know me you know this ticks so many of my boxes when it comes to books. I jumped down the rabbit hole and just kept falling. I feel like even now weeks after finishing it I haven’t hit the bottom yet.
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Self harm and Abandonment