Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Among the Beasts & Briars

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Among the Beasts & Briars by Ashley Poston

26 reviews

miblette's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

I really loved parts of this book... The fox, bear, and whatever crumbs of lore we were given. But that's the issue. It was just crumbs, and the conflict resolved so simply and quickly. There were also parts that were so predictable, but then other parts seemed to come out of left field? Not everything was fully fleshed out, and I feel like I'm missing something.

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quiet_reader's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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penguinuser's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

This is a fun, lovely read. I found the ending incredibly weak. It didn't like, ruin my day or anything (we've all had those endings), but I felt like it came quickly, changed direction, and left some loose ends. Even if questions are left unanswered, I would prefer a story still carve out a section where lingering questions are explicitly given space to clarify why/how they are still a mystery. I guess maybe that would have helped?

Anyways, read it for the journey, not the sum. It's a very enjoyable read throughout

If you love the idea of a dark but wholesome fairy tale, this one is for you. I also find it stunning how things like gore are used to tell the darkness of the story without feeling like they are there to carry the story or add shock or be edgy. I rarely see that. There is some gore that is in it but it just felt like a natural part of the story.

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maregred's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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tinkeringcheck's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

A fantastic concept with lovely fairy tale-esque descriptions and a very fun main character in Fox. I found his voice delightful and his perspective as - well - a fox very well thought through in how it affected his narration. I also found his internal struggles felt real and oddly relatable. It was nice to see characters in fantasy who struggle with fear and anxiety still feel scared and anxious while trying to do the right thing anyway. Overall, I really enjoyed my time with this book!

However, it was younger YA than I was expecting and mechanically there were some things that would've lowered my overall opinion if they hadn't been surrounded by such an enjoyable package. The other main character POV - Cerys - felt underdeveloped and one-note next to Fox. The plot twists are walloped over your head well in advance and, personally, I felt they were a bit of a downgrade for plotting and characterization as well. There's also a climax-to-epilogue time skip that will probably leave some feeling like too much denouement was left off the page.

I still feel that the sparkling characters, fairy tale setting, and the lovely but fast-flowing prose made this a fun and worthwhile read. But I wish I'd have known to adjust my expectations to younger YA plotting and character depth going into it.

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