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camillessi's review against another edition
3.5
The first half of this novel was everything I want in a gothic novel set in modern times. Old house, off-putting lady of the manor, sinister children, family secrets. As it went on, though, the atmosphere sort of dropped off as the plot became more straightforward with NUMEROUS plot twists. By the end, I was rather exhausted with the plot twists.
The romance between Evie and Marin kind of contributed to the loss of atmosphere, in my opinion. The relationship moved far too quickly for my tastes—for a gothic novel, particularly—and we didn't get much reason for why they fell in love. All of a sudden Marin is making all these overtures, but I couldn't understand how she even got to that point. It was very close to instalove, and much of their relationship was written with a lot of telling instead of showing. There was barely any romantic tension early on. I don't know. I wasn't convinced. I was really excited for a true gothic love story, but it just didn't suit the slow-burn of the rest of the book!
This book hit every gothic note splendidly for the first 1/3 of the book, but then it became a bit spotty as I kept reading. It did scratch my "modern gothic novel" itch, mostly, so that's why I rounded up. I'm still searching for that delicious, creepy slow-burn.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, and Death
starlesscircus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
jules_reads_books'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit
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
brittknee52's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Death of parent
arenas_'s review against another edition
- 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? No
4.5
Graphic: Body horror
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 deathlizgriffinwords's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
A chilling and suspenseful sapphic horror. Toes the line of having too many "ingredients" but draws most of them together for a satisfactory ending.
TW: parent death, PTSD, flashbacks to train crash (mildly graphic), gore & body horror
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, and Death of parent
irenemarie'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Grief
s_lorenz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, and Car accident