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Reviews tagging 'Death'

The House Is on Fire by Rachel Beanland

25 reviews

libraryofthecrypt's review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.0

I’m kind of wondering if I’m heading into a slump or if it was just the book. At 41% of the way in I mostly felt meh about the book. I didn’t really care for any of the characters either. And after finishing it I’m glad that I didn’t purchase this like I’ve been thinking about doing since April. 

This was the first time I had heard of the fire and it’s clear that the author did quite a bit of research on it. If this book interest you I would still give this a read as I think it’s more of a me thing.

This made me want to go back down the rabbit hole of researching the 1800s and reading books set in that time period after this though. Not so much because of the story but because of the fire and realising how little I know about that time period.
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gondorgirl's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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amberjackonski's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad 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

5.0

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bookshelf_al's review against another edition

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emotional informative sad medium-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

5.0

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brynpemery's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Totally entertaining but some of the characters lacked nuance for me. And given that they were largely based on real people, the girlbossification of a few of them rubbed me the wrong way. Very 2023 sensibilities for people living in the South in 1811. 
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skyebird16's review against another edition

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emotional informative tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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mermaidsherbet's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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booknerdsinmn's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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lilacsandliterature's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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siobhanward's review against another edition

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

4.0

 You'd think that a subject like historical theatre fires is a niche interest, but since entire historical fiction books are being written on the topic, apparently it isn't. Anyway, if you ever want to be grateful for modern safety standards, research theatre fires, since a ton of modern standards are based on them.

Anyway, that aside, this was a solid read. Beanland did a good job of balancing action with plot and character development. The fire itself was interesting and really well-written. It took me by surprise how well-done the aftermath was. While there was focus on multiple characters, it was easy to keep track of who was who, and enough time was devoted to each character that it was easy to sympathize with them and care about their plotlines. Obviously Beanland has a great love for history and it shows in the care she took writing this book. 
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