displacedcactus'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
Moderate: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Child abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Animal death, Blood, and Death of parent
The toxic friendship crosses over to abusive territory, IMHO.moonchild_cos's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Animal death
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Child death, Pedophilia, and Terminal illness
Minor: Death of parent, Medical content, and Sexual content
prairieraven's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body horror, Sexual content, Bullying, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Pedophilia, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, and Rape
ctara2123's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Violence and Animal death
Moderate: Child death, Death, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Minor: Murder
acogna's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Spoiler
Like, that twist. Damn.However, its quality is extremely held back by the prose. It was my main struggle; it attempts to write in that poetic, lyrical style of magical realism. But I could clearly tell that this is Roshani Choski's first foray into writing like this. Where at times the prose is lilting and beautiful, there are more instances where it's jarring, repetitive for no reason, nonsensical with its metaphors, clunky, obstructive, meandering, pretentious. It does not feel nice to read.
Spoiler
The House of Dreams, for instance, is characterised simply in its personification as a house: it sleeps, it favours people, it hates guests, it listens. It doesn't feel like a character, but it tries to be by way of being given personification. In comparison to the houses of Jackson, who are barely even personified in prose, but their foreboding presence, their dominance over the story, their Voyeuristic ghosts and cruel angles, are what make them characters.The author sees how prose like this should work (it's obvious from the novel she's been inspired by a lot of good Gothic fiction, and it shows) but she doesn't seem to understand how to apply the prose in the way that best fits it. And it's a shame because of how good the story it's telling is.
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Pedophilia, Child abuse, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal death
katmystery's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Death, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Blood, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Murder, Gaslighting, and Animal death
Moderate: Grief and Pedophilia
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Gaslighting, Grief, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, and Violence
uncreativeoops's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, and Toxic friendship
melodyseestrees's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Death, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, and Sexual content
Minor: Abandonment, Terminal illness, and Pedophilia
There is implication that Azure's mom's partner has or wants to get sexual with Azure but few explicit details are given. It is mostly subtextual so those who get it get it and those who don't will probably just find the character super creepy.salie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
4.5
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Gore, Gaslighting, Death, Child death, Classism, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Grief, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Classism, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Gore, Torture, Violence, and Death of parent