Scan barcode
melissa_reads_'s review against another edition
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
doomfaery's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Equal parts gritty magic and mother daughter drama. Gorgeous use of prose and metaphor. A writer that truly understands how to move plot in a significant way without overdoing any of the themes or anything.
The magic in this is similar to The Craft, for anyone wondering.
The magic in this is similar to The Craft, for anyone wondering.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
pvp_niki's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Terminal illness, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
infinite_harness9030's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Blood, Stalking, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Self harm, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
rainerasnic's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Stalking and Injury/Injury detail
camiandkitread's review against another edition
The animal abuse pushed me over the edge, I couldn’t do it anymore.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
cakins28's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Ivy is a normal seventeen year old girl with a normal suburban life… right? Until one night when she runs into (almost literally) a naked girl in the middle of the road. That naked girl turns out to be the key to understanding the strained relationship between Ivy and her mother, Dana - but that actually sounds a lot nicer than it is. See, Dana has a secret that she’s been keeping from her daughter, and this naked girl, she threatens to unravel everything. Then, when Dana disappears, Ivy has to figure out what her mom’s big secret is in time to save her.
Melisa Albert writes like Alan Ginsburg. There are moments when I’d swear I was reading dark and gritty poetry. Her craft is almost magic, which makes this novel that much more fascinating. I flew through this book, not because it was simple or a particularly easy read, but because it was beautiful and tragic and it hooked me.
Albert uses parallel timelines to tell the story of the mother, the daughter, and the secret that keeps them apart. Those parallel timelines build suspense and tension in a way that a single timeline never could. Half of what made this book so compelling was coming to understand Dana’s trauma and how it led to her dark secret, then the way that secret shaped Ivy. It was a lot like reading The Joy Luck Club but with witches.
The book does start off slow, with tension and mystery but no real sense of danger. But the back half of this book moves at such a quick pace that you almost forget how you got there. I found myself swept along in a current of suspense and danger, and the payoff was phenomenal. This one was a fun read, full of mystery, tension, suspense, action, and even a tiny bit of romance.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death
rowmingreads's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
nerdydeathwitch's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
I appreciated that the author built a world that addressed the ethics of magic, both in regards to its costs and its unintended side effects. The novel tells two coming of age stories on two different timelines so we get to see both the mother and the daughter coming of age and how the choices of the mother as a teenager ripple through time. The prose is very strong and I appreciated the idea of magic as something that both binds a family together and drives them apart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Favorite quotes: "Together we'd become fearsome, a bouquet of night blooming flowers." p. 132 "It shaves you down into a different girl. Your mother makes you into someone who is easy, and then finds herself incapable of loving what she's made." p. 299 "This is what it is to be with a witch," I told him. "You have to let me be stronger than you." p. 318theswordandthesea's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I’m obsessed with the creepy realities that live in Melissa Albert’s brain. They’re always close enough to reality to feel plausible, steeped in the magic and the most sinister fairy tales, and full of layered characters. & the angsty teen who still lives inside me and had complicated feelings about her mother ate this right up. The prose, pacing, and multiple timeline structure all worked for me. Stayed up way too late finishing this.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death