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A review by gillian0231
The Bone Orchard by Sara A. Mueller
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
2 stars is probably the lowest rating I'll give a book, because the author clearly worked hard on their book, but god this was bad. I was confused the entire book, nothing made sense and there didn't seem to be a clear plot line. There was this overarching goal, but we were jumping from one thing to the next with very loose connections. It never flowed very well and even the characters' personalities seemed to change from one scene to the next. The writing was also just strange. I honestly even looked up the author to see if English was her first language, because some of the writing style was just so strange that it wasn't natural.
And there was just so much of the book/plot that I didn't like or understand. It was so weird how much trust is placed in the emperor’s concubine. I don’t understand how a whore has such high standings and is so well regarded. Like everyone loves her and her ghosts for some reason but she keeps saying they’re looked down upon and forced to live secluded in orchard house. And all of the relationships were so pedophilic. Obviously there were the bad ones that were condemned, but even the good ones felt creepy and uncomfortable. I don't know if it was just because the ages of the characters were so unclear, but it was just so bad I wanted to stop reading. There were so much other small plot points I could go into, but I just want to be done with this book.
Overall, the world and the plot just didn't make sense and I really wish this was better. There was so much potential with this world and "magic" system, that it was just disappointing.
And there was just so much of the book/plot that I didn't like or understand. It was so weird how much trust is placed in the emperor’s concubine. I don’t understand how a whore has such high standings and is so well regarded. Like everyone loves her and her ghosts for some reason but she keeps saying they’re looked down upon and forced to live secluded in orchard house. And all of the relationships were so pedophilic. Obviously there were the bad ones that were condemned, but even the good ones felt creepy and uncomfortable. I don't know if it was just because the ages of the characters were so unclear, but it was just so bad I wanted to stop reading. There were so much other small plot points I could go into, but I just want to be done with this book.
Overall, the world and the plot just didn't make sense and I really wish this was better. There was so much potential with this world and "magic" system, that it was just disappointing.