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jpxsoleil's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Gore, and Blood
acogna's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
1.5
An otherwise excellent premise, with excellent characters and a good Coraline-esque haunted house with a dash of Gothic horror.
And it would have been perfect if not for the grating writing style. This book tries too hard to be poetic and purple-prosey and it does not work to its advantage. The repetitions attempt to make the language seem floral and vivid, but it just makes me cringe and skip through it. Seriously, the text doesn't even let the reader come to their own conclusions, sometimes. And an otherwise excellent book suffers from the pitfalls of Schwab's writing.
And it would have been perfect if not for the grating writing style. This book tries too hard to be poetic and purple-prosey and it does not work to its advantage. The repetitions attempt to make the language seem floral and vivid, but it just makes me cringe and skip through it. Seriously, the text doesn't even let the reader come to their own conclusions, sometimes. And an otherwise excellent book suffers from the pitfalls of Schwab's writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Child death and Gore
alibrarymouse's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Beautifully written with gorgeous aesthetics, but the characters weren’t much and I have to admit I wasn’t too fond of any of them. We weren’t really given too much to be fond of, and with Olivia there was a lot of potential that doesn’t get fully realized. Everything I wanted, I didn’t get, but maybe my expectations were too high?
It’s modern gothic, catharsis in its own way, but—at the same time—fantasy offers a twist I think would have made for a better ending. Schwab has realism going for her at least.
It’s modern gothic, catharsis in its own way, but—at the same time—fantasy offers a twist I think would have made for a better ending. Schwab has realism going for her at least.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
japanasi's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
the first half was super slow, there’s a bunch of flashbacks, and then the ending was super rushed. the story was intriguing, the setting eerie but not too scary! the drawings and diary entries added a nice extra touch. I liked the writing for the most part, too; but I wish the characters had been fleshed out more.
still this was a good read and if the ending hadn’t been as abrupt, I’d have given it an even better rating.
still this was a good read and if the ending hadn’t been as abrupt, I’d have given it an even better rating.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent
saurahsaurus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
4.5
My favorite horror stories are both sad and spooky. This is an amazing marriage of both.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Medical content, and Alcohol
kate_arts's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-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? It's complicated
4.5
This book had a very creative premise and was beautiful written. The ending was a little unsatisfying, but I understand why it ended the way it did. Also it was great to see a mute protagonist and not have her muteness be cured at the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Gore and Suicidal thoughts
koistyfishy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This was surprisingly good! It wasn’t a very long book and it’s something that you can get through very easily because VES writes in a very easy manner…
This was the first time I’ve ever picked up a VES book and wasn’t sure what to expect based on aspects I have read and watched in reviews of her books.
The story is simple but even in the simplicity it’s mysterious charm kept me entertained even though reading the additional genres (horror, paranormal, mystery) are not something I typically read.
This is the perfect book for spooky season and is just a lovely Victorian Vibe with a mystery I wanted to solve…
This was the first time I’ve ever picked up a VES book and wasn’t sure what to expect based on aspects I have read and watched in reviews of her books.
The story is simple but even in the simplicity it’s mysterious charm kept me entertained even though reading the additional genres (horror, paranormal, mystery) are not something I typically read.
This is the perfect book for spooky season and is just a lovely Victorian Vibe with a mystery I wanted to solve…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying and Gore
librarianlirael's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent
thesawyerbean's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
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
3.0
This was certainly interesting, and V. E. Schwab’s writing was excellent. I just can’t help feeling that something was missing.
It was building up at the start to be a mysterious, gothic horror-esque tale filled with secrets and terror, but it all just fell flat. Maybe the reveals happened too early or maybe the switch from build up to “action” ruined the vibe for me, either way it wasn’t as enjoyable as I was hoping. There were also points where Olivia got saved by magic, which always seems like a cop-out, especially when there was no foundation for it particularly in this novel.
Overall, an alright read but not amazing. Very pretty cover though.
It was building up at the start to be a mysterious, gothic horror-esque tale filled with secrets and terror, but it all just fell flat. Maybe the reveals happened too early or maybe the switch from build up to “action” ruined the vibe for me, either way it wasn’t as enjoyable as I was hoping. There were also points where Olivia got saved by magic, which always seems like a cop-out, especially when there was no foundation for it particularly in this novel.
Overall, an alright read but not amazing. Very pretty cover though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, and Death of parent
maeverose's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Basically the secret garden mixed with coraline. I loved the gothic atmosphere and the writing style. I agree that it’s a basic story, and I wanted more from it. Has the ‘not like other girls’ trope, but I didn’t feel like it was too bad. Definitely feels more middle grade than YA.
I wanted more time in the other Gallant. I felt like it was mostly build up to going there and then she wasn’t there that long, despite that being a major plot point. I also wish we knew more about how the other Gallant and the monster existed, they never really explained it. I suppose that might’ve been intentional to keep it mysterious, but I wanted to know how it came to be. I also would’ve liked to know more about Olivia’s parents’ story, but I get why that wasn’t a focus.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Suicide, and Kidnapping
Minor: Gore
The gore is just descriptions of ghosts that look like slightly decayed bodies. Spiders are also a thing.