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wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
blackthornfaery's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Vomit and Alcohol
two instances of cruelty towards cats leading to cat deathsophieamreacher's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Only thing I wished more of was more scene building to really bring the gothic horror of the house together.
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Vomit
gorejoyous's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
The first half begins with creepy or unsettling occurances around the house but after we find out the cause in the second half—that's when the true horror begins (and where the story really hooked me). The relationship that blooms between Marin and Evie is touching and you really understand how deeply they care for each other. The writing is a little boring and clunky at times (not unexpected given that it's YA), but then you also get lines like:
"The way Marin's arms formed parenthesis around her. When Evier sighed against her neck, it was an apostrophe—in the possessive. And Marin knew all the words. She had been memorizing them for months."
Which is just *chef's kiss* the kind of romance perfect for the gothic horror genre. Aside from some pacing issues, I found the story compelling—it had me, in equal parts, on the edge of my seat and sighing forlornly, wishing that I too lived in a giant weird house full of dead things.
Thanks to HarperCollins Children's Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC!
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Stalking
Minor: Child death