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mproper1'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse and Abandonment
bickleyhouse'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
Imagine if your favorite childhood book/story came to life. Imagine if you got a free trip to visit the estate of its author. Imagine if you discovered what your favorite childhood author was really like and it wasn't at all like you imagined. Imagine if Wind in the Willows was a horror story. Or, even better . . . Winnie the Pooh!!
If you can imagine all of those things, you might have a glimpse of what Winterset Hollow is.
John Eamon Buckley is our hero. He and his two best friends, Mark and Caroline, who are a couple, get a chance to travel to the island estate of Edward Addington, author of Eamon's and Caroline's childhood favorite book, Winterset Hollow. Parts of this book are represented by poems throughout the story. I have to say I really enjoy the meter of the poetry, and the way it tells a tale.
Included in the original tale are Runnymeade Rabbit, Phineas the Fox, Binghamton Bear, and Olivia the Owl. And Flackwell the Frog.
The trip goes fine until our trio find a way through the gate in the fence that surrounds the property, and manage to make their way to Addington's house. Unexpectedly, the door of the house opens, and they come face to face with Runnymeade, himself, a larger than life, human-sized rabbit. He's much older, now, and missing a leg, but he is very much alive and talking. Also present in the house is a frog, Flackwell, who happens to be a gourmet cook, and is preparing a feast for them all to celebrate Barley Day, a "holiday" that is featured in the children's tale.
Everyone else that was on their boat trip to the island also winds up at the house, and they all take part in the feast. Everything is just peach keen. Until it's not. And then the terror begins, as the animals begin hunting the humans.
And that's about as much of the plot as I will give up. There is a totally unexpected (at least by me) plot twist on page 214. This book is amazing. The story is engaging and gripping. I didn't want to put it down. Mr. Durham's writing style is also quite engaging and he really knows how to spin a yarn. This world that he has created is both charming and horrifying all at the same time. How can this be? you may ask. That, I cannot answer. You will have to read it for yourself. At one point, I really liked Finn (Phineas) the Fox. Until I didn't. Again. Read it for yourself.
I highly recommend this book for any lovers of dark fantasy and/or horror. If you like Watership Down, The Wind in the Willows (I hope Mr. Durham does not mind me comparing his tale to that book), and other stories like that, with an added twist of some terrifying horror, you simply must read this book! If you might enjoy the thought of Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit, Kanga, and Eeyore hunting humans through the Hundred Acre Wood, this book is definitely for you!
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Violence
confidenterr0r's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I wish the entire middle of the book would’ve been cut down a bit and added more focus on the lore since that’s where the book really seemed to shine. I found the action parts became repetitive and very quickly realized
I do still recommend reading this since the concept itself was unique and the storybook characters were very enjoyable and vibrant. This is definitely an Eamon hate page but I seem to be in the minority so he may not bother you as much lol. The overall story was interesting enough to deal with his mary sue-ness and where Eamon and friends fall flat the storybook characters pick up the slack (ironically).
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Genocide, Violence, Blood, and Colonisation
missdaniellexo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
gabography'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
4.75
what an honestly bonkers concept turned out to be such a dark, fast paced, and surprisingly moving story written in a lovely prose that i can only imagine comes from the very stories that inspired the ensemble of not-so-cuddly creatures (some reviews did not care for that and some even called it pretentious, but i see what the author was going for and i loved it).
truly the only reason why this book doesn't earn a perfect five is due to the human characters, except for the one girl in the group named caroline who i liked a lot. to keep it as spoiler-free as possible because this book should be read blind, i found the main character to be the male equivalent of a mary sue at times, in the sense that you can tell he was the apple of the author's eye and had to be the most specialest lil guy of all the guys in the story, which felt a bit :/ as the story went on. while he was interesting and you feel for him, it all lining up the way it did just made me wish there was more there than just something that felt very "ope, he was special the whole time! surprise everyone!" like... okay. his male friend was also very one-note, left to be nothing more than the bumbling himbo sidekick who makes the main character look ever so clever and special in comparison. if not for his bravery and care for caroline and their relationship tugging at my heart, i would not care for him at all.
other than that, the world, the animal characters and their plight, the theme of trauma and loss and grief, all of it made for such a unique story that i know is going to stay with me. peter rabbit and friends are already looking a little more suspicious.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Self harm, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
ilaxaria's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol
rivercat0338's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
I wish the owls' part was explained better, and how Gene fits in. There's no way he doesn't have some idea of what was going on if
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
ssummar's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Moderate: Racism, Abandonment, and Colonisation
gondorgirl'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
franzys_whip's review against another edition
- 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.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, Grief, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Death of parent