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lisas_novel_idea's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- 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
2.5
This was a difficult book to give a star rating to. The prose was beautiful, poetic, and what magical realism is supposed to be. However, I hated the subject and main plot. The description leaves a lot to be desired.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest
Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, and Abandonment
girlpuck's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- 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
2.75
This was not a winner for me. I didn't hate it, but definitely felt misled by the summary.
Rest of review may contain spoilers.
Right from the start the characters felt like they were lacking nuance, and the variety of toxic and abusive relationships came as no surprise. Based on the summary, the incest came out of left field, although I did see it coming in the text.
Magical realism? Theresa's sleeping sickness and the smell of roses that went with it seemed to be the only magical realism in the book (apart from Harper who could vaguely meet the definition of a hedge witch). And the sleeping sickness (aka probably depression) added very little of value to the story, and no real payoff either.
By the end I was expecting nothing from any of the characters. They had very little growth and most were some degree of hot mess. Supposedly Theresa has 'grown up' and moved on from her past problematic relationships but there was no evidence of this growth, and it felt a very anticlimactic, wish washy ending.
Rest of review may contain spoilers.
Magical realism? Theresa's sleeping sickness and the smell of roses that went with it seemed to be the only magical realism in the book (apart from Harper who could vaguely meet the definition of a hedge witch). And the sleeping sickness (aka probably depression) added very little of value to the story, and no real payoff either.
By the end I was expecting nothing from any of the characters. They had very little growth and most were some degree of hot mess. Supposedly Theresa has 'grown up' and moved on from her past problematic relationships but there was no evidence of this growth, and it felt a very anticlimactic, wish washy ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Toxic relationship, and Murder
naialana's review
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
0.5
Absolute miss for me. I forced myself to finish it, but the extremely problematic relationships in this book were a huge no for me. I truly cannot stand this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest
Moderate: Drug use and Toxic relationship
franniecicero's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is only the second book I’ve read by Alice Hoffman (the other being The Museum of Extraordinary Things) and with both books, I’ve noticed a pattern of starting off strong before the story meanders into anticlimactic territory. The beautiful language and lush sensory details will pull you in, but all the frilly descriptions get old after a while and that’s when you notice that the characters are more or less flat and you don’t really care about them. I was confused by the main character’s motives and her character arc as a whole didn’t really make sense to me. By the end, I was mostly unsatisfied and just glad to be done with it.
Like many other reviews of this book have pointed out, AH tried to inject elements of magical realism into the story, but she never quite pulls it off— references to the main character’s “sleeping sickness” add nothing to the character herself or the story as a whole.
Like many other reviews of this book have pointed out, AH tried to inject elements of magical realism into the story, but she never quite pulls it off— references to the main character’s “sleeping sickness” add nothing to the character herself or the story as a whole.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest
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