jolee97's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
larrythelatypus's review against another edition
4.0
the ending was kinda meh, but I still really enjoyed the series regardless.
read on Kindle, would love to own it or the omnibus one day!
read on Kindle, would love to own it or the omnibus one day!
sewcialist_librarian's review against another edition
2.0
No better, no worse than the first two. Ends pretty strangely.
steggellettea94's review against another edition
4.0
Wow. I did not remember that ending. Well, I remembered there was a fire and flashback, but not the whole thing with Jeanie and Amber. The use of the paranormal, specifically an entity not common in literature, was interesting and I loved the depictions of it, especially from the paintings. I was still left with a couple questions, though.
1. Why was Mary able to paint the story? This isn’t a question of her ability, more of how she got the visions. Was it the creature infecting her mind? Or was she always open to the paranormal? I guess there doesn’t need to be an answer; it’s just something I was left wondering.
2. Her last words. I’m not saying I agree/disagree with Beatrice, but what did Mary mean by them? More specifically, what did that smile mean? Did she think her sister would kill her to survive? Was her understanding of Mary shattered and she couldn’t be with her? It also leads me to wonder if she walked into the bush - she must have, right? - or if the creature came and got her. Again, I think it’s okay to not know the answer; it puts us in a similar headspace as Beatrice, forever wondering what her sister was thinking. I’m just curious.
3. Finally, my biggest critique: why was someone from a sanatorium allowed to run a school? Her dad died and left her the building, okay. But was she medically cleared to go? She clearly had PTSD along with issues of abandonment and feeling unworthy. I know therapy wasn’t the best back then, but did they really expect a person who spent most of their life in a sanatorium to be able to go out on their own and be totally fine? I mean, I guess she was able to mask it pretty well, until shit started happening again. And like I said, I know psychology was wild back then. It just blows my mind that she was able to run a school with no support.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story. It’s haunting and sad, and the mystery keeps you going. It wasn’t quite like I remembered it, but, then again, I read it first when u was around 12. The series is a bit of a pain to find, but I’d definitely recommend it to manga fans of the paranormal and crime/mystery.
1. Why was Mary able to paint the story? This isn’t a question of her ability, more of how she got the visions. Was it the creature infecting her mind? Or was she always open to the paranormal? I guess there doesn’t need to be an answer; it’s just something I was left wondering.
2. Her last words. I’m not saying I agree/disagree with Beatrice, but what did Mary mean by them? More specifically, what did that smile mean? Did she think her sister would kill her to survive? Was her understanding of Mary shattered and she couldn’t be with her? It also leads me to wonder if she walked into the bush - she must have, right? - or if the creature came and got her. Again, I think it’s okay to not know the answer; it puts us in a similar headspace as Beatrice, forever wondering what her sister was thinking. I’m just curious.
3. Finally, my biggest critique: why was someone from a sanatorium allowed to run a school? Her dad died and left her the building, okay. But was she medically cleared to go? She clearly had PTSD along with issues of abandonment and feeling unworthy. I know therapy wasn’t the best back then, but did they really expect a person who spent most of their life in a sanatorium to be able to go out on their own and be totally fine? I mean, I guess she was able to mask it pretty well, until shit started happening again. And like I said, I know psychology was wild back then. It just blows my mind that she was able to run a school with no support.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story. It’s haunting and sad, and the mystery keeps you going. It wasn’t quite like I remembered it, but, then again, I read it first when u was around 12. The series is a bit of a pain to find, but I’d definitely recommend it to manga fans of the paranormal and crime/mystery.
bananacats's review
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
thewoodlandbookshelf's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Murder, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
julia___'s review against another edition
4.0
I was going to read just the first volume tonight. I fell into the story and finished all three before I knew it. Definite recommendation, very strange, with beautiful artwork.