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w0lfyfr3n's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
The first 75% of this book was a tough and slow read. It was not as scary as other horror books, and not as gripping as other mystery books. Eerie with a dragging suspense at best.
I did not like the main characters. Lottie is judgemental and self righteous, Alice is mean and pretentious. They both seem to be aware of this but do very little to curb it. The blurb is slightly misleading in that they actually cannot stand to be around eachother for a large part of the book, and the romance bits are scarce. Note: I particularly did not like the fact that Lottie thought she was asexual until she met Alice. It was a throwaway sentence that achieved nothing except feeding into the harmful idea that ace people just need to meet the right person to feel attraction.
The sentences were also packed with architectural descriptions that I spent a lot of time googling and then just gave up on. All the more interesting charactersHafsah, Renner, Mordue, Feathering etc. are only explored much later, and sadly not enough imo.
Moving on to what I eventually enjoyed though...I liked what this book was trying to say about the anger of women, how it grows from powerlessness, how it's often more unacceptable than a man's. However I did not agree with the bit about female violence. Anger and invasive thoughts are normal, but acting on them in the way that Alice and some of the others did, even before all the supernatural stuff came into play, is NOT. Sometimes it felt like this book was having a girlboss moment (Women can be violent too ! 💪) and as an afab person myself, I'm not sure I was a fan of that. I'm glad this was corrected towards the endby providing them with a psychologist and a healthy outlet instead . I just felt uncomfortable that anger issues and murderous/hurtful actions seem to be grouped together in some instances, though it made slightly more sense once the ritualistic stuff came into play.
However this books gets all its points for tying up the mystery super well. There was so much to untangle that it was ultimately upredictable, and towards the end almost every single mystery is resolved. The pieces fell in place in a very satisfying manner. The last 25% is definitely worth the haul, which is why this is still a 3/5.
I did not like the main characters. Lottie is judgemental and self righteous, Alice is mean and pretentious. They both seem to be aware of this but do very little to curb it. The blurb is slightly misleading in that they actually cannot stand to be around eachother for a large part of the book, and the romance bits are scarce. Note: I particularly did not like the fact that Lottie thought she was asexual until she met Alice. It was a throwaway sentence that achieved nothing except feeding into the harmful idea that ace people just need to meet the right person to feel attraction.
The sentences were also packed with architectural descriptions that I spent a lot of time googling and then just gave up on. All the more interesting characters
Moving on to what I eventually enjoyed though...I liked what this book was trying to say about the anger of women, how it grows from powerlessness, how it's often more unacceptable than a man's. However I did not agree with the bit about female violence. Anger and invasive thoughts are normal, but acting on them in the way that Alice and some of the others did, even before all the supernatural stuff came into play, is NOT. Sometimes it felt like this book was having a girlboss moment (Women can be violent too ! 💪) and as an afab person myself, I'm not sure I was a fan of that. I'm glad this was corrected towards the end
However this books gets all its points for tying up the mystery super well. There was so much to untangle that it was ultimately upredictable, and towards the end almost every single mystery is resolved. The pieces fell in place in a very satisfying manner. The last 25% is definitely worth the haul, which is why this is still a 3/5.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Physical abuse, and Suicide
Minor: Sexual assault and Terminal illness
dmeiners's review against another edition
2.75
Loved the concept, but the story itself failed to deliver. Highly recommend checking out the content warnings before starting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
sage_alexandra's review
dark
funny
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
feminine rage, slow burn and sapphic enemies to lovers, murderous mysteries. what more can you ask for?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Violence, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Dementia, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
the animal death is pretty devastating and described in detail. below and spoiler tagged, I will very briefly say what happened and where, but it won't reveal any plot points:adalieslittlelibrary's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I’m kind of waffling between 3.5 and 3.75. Overall, I really enjoyed it. It was vibey and had a decent dark academia setting for fall. I thought some of the philosophical musings were intriguing. I really liked the beginning. The middle was fine, but the ending felt rushed? I think? I don’t know, it kind of just wrapped up and left me feeling like something was missing. Overall, it was a good spooky season read. It kind of made me think of the show Wednesday, so if you liked that show, give it a try.
The one part I absolutely hated waskilling the cat. It honestly almost made me put down the book.
The one part I absolutely hated was
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Suicide
Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Blood, and Murder
dontreadthelastpage1989's review against another edition
dark
funny
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
it took me 3 months to finish this book but to put that in context, i was in a really long reading slump before that so this actually made me want to read again and got me out of it! i really wanted to know what would happen and how it ended and i would've liked to have so much more of it!! i loved the writing style most, also the themes of the book like female rage made it very interesting and the sapphic subplot was enjoyable as well! i thought the author really had a way with words, which i find is more rare than you'd think. this is definitely a book that would deserve more hype imo given the topic and prose!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Self harm, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
mady_grace_cooper's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.5
The sapphic, dark academia/Gothic, female rage story of my dreams. (This book is dedicated to the angry girls (and people socialized/viewed as girls), by the way).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Suicide and Murder
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
autumnxrose's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.75
This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. When I wasn't listening to it, I was thinking about popping my headphones back in to finish. The mystery was intriguing and the characters were complex and endearing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Misogyny, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
supershy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Torture, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Self harm, Torture, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Self harm
rachtmh's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Just like Lauren Steven’s masterpiece ‘Every exquisite thing’, this book should be read by all. Women to feel empowered and others to learn!
Murder mystery, Academia, Gothic literature, Possession, Female rage and Sapphic/Asexual/Neurodiversity rep, plus so much more! What more could you need in a book.
Lauren Stevens work has fast become among my favourites with her incredible insights and history on the treatment and expectations of women woven into fantasy and mystery.
I myself turned into a bit of a Sherlock reading this book, constantly desperate to use every little bit of information we were fed to try and solve everything before the eventual reveal.
The characters and relationships are so real and natural and the setting is so darkly romantic and ominous.
Truly an outstanding read.
Murder mystery, Academia, Gothic literature, Possession, Female rage and Sapphic/Asexual/Neurodiversity rep, plus so much more! What more could you need in a book.
Lauren Stevens work has fast become among my favourites with her incredible insights and history on the treatment and expectations of women woven into fantasy and mystery.
I myself turned into a bit of a Sherlock reading this book, constantly desperate to use every little bit of information we were fed to try and solve everything before the eventual reveal.
The characters and relationships are so real and natural and the setting is so darkly romantic and ominous.
Truly an outstanding read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Self harm, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Sexual harassment
itstheesilvie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
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? Yes
3.25
A wonderful sapphic retelling! Loved the enemies to friends to lovers plot line. I also liked the way the author tied in some of the societal issues women face everyday, and have faced since the beginning of time. It made the supernatural parts of this story more compelling. The writing style kept me engaged, switching from character perspective is a win for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Violence
Moderate: Death, Blood, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail