angelsbeforeman's reviews
959 reviews

decided to read it cause of the pretty cover but it read like a bad fanfic so 

i like the theme, i like the idea but that's about it because the execution was abysmal. right from the start i disliked the style, the way the author describes the scenery is so boring and redundant. it's crazy that he managed to describe an island on which a bunch of boys are abandoned in a boring way. it's not just the scenery, everything else was dull as well which is why i never felt excited or nervous for what would happen next. the opposite of a page turner for me.
it's almost like you can only fully enjoy this book if you're a kid so you don't see all its very obvious flaws. the characters are meant to be impactful, but several of them had no core personality traits and you could easily mix up the boys. it's also full of basic character archetypes, which can work, but not here. just not my thing, i wouldn't read anything else by golding. 

incredibly easy 5 star rating. i had extremely high hopes for this because of how promising the blurb was, and i wasn't disappointed in the slightest. the religious themes are so excellently explored, and i really connected with noelle as a character. this was a very introspective read so i think it's not really for everyone, but this is 100% the kind of book i love. noelle's repressed desires, her complicated relationship with her mum, her guilt, her relationship with lomie ... loved it. the writing style is so pretty as well, such a great debut novel. the vampirism also made me very happy. i adore the setting too, i enjoy island books with this kind of vibe. perfect atmosphere. just wonderful. will be reading anything genevieve jagger writes next ♡ 

the point of these stories is perfectly explained in a quote from the book: "it is in the most surreal situations that a person feels the most present, the closest to reality." the stories feel like they're taking you through truly insane endeavors such as a lady who lives with her husband and a hundred ex-boyfriends. 
it still deals with the issues that people face every day. many of them are specific to, but not exclusive to, asian women. this is a common theme in contemporary east asian literature - the archetype of a lonely woman who doesn't know her exact place in society.
another common theme is detachment from reality, feeling like you're floating through life unaware of how time passes or what you're supposed to do. it also explores themes of motherhood and how it can impact you both positively and negatively.
the book touches on culture a lot - what is expected of a woman in east asian culture, but also how not being from america can make you feel alienated. another reason to read this book is that ling ma has a very unique writing style that i really really love. 

the cat scene made me sick to my stomach and i couldn't move on. otherwise, a disorganised plot and a snoozefest.

pretty good! the best thing about this book is definitely the atmosphere. though i wouldn’t describe the author’s style as pretty and i didn’t highlight any quotes that stand out, i think the writing is good in the sense that they really know how to write in a creepy, eerie way. 
i enjoy horror related to nature in some way, which is why the bayou intrigued me in the first place, and that didn’t disappoint. the author does a great job of describing the way the bayou inspires dread in people.
i do think the characters were a bit underdeveloped, which is alright considering how short the book is, but i still wanted more. though johnny was a cool character, i wanted to know a lot more about his motivations. i wanted to know about his life with mary beth’s family, why he felt so drawn to eugene especially, etc. eugene was alright as a character, better than johnny, but still lacking. mary beth’s development was adequate (she is literally a child so yknow) and her storyline is an intriguing part of the story.
i do find eugene and johnny’s connection fun to read about and the intimate scenes were good. it lacks depth but it’s fun!!
i also liked the paradise lost reference ♡ 
overall — pretty good and i’d read more from this author since i adore atmospheric literature ^_^

just not that good. the best parts of this book are the cover and the concept. the concept is what had me excited to read this, obviously, but this left me disappointed.
really didn't enjoy the writing. a lot of the times the lines that were meant to be hot (?) just ended up funny. an example would be "the stupid cum hungry slut roared to life" which is just so funny. i also felt like the author was simply doing too much at times, for example when he said a moan was coated in lustful ecstasy or something like that. and i enjoy really fancy, over the top writing styles but this one not so much. 
second, i have an issue with the lacklustre sexual performance of the demon, which is a really funny sentence to type out. but anyway, the demon is meant to be really good at sex and all. i guess the phrase i'd use is all bark no bite. for example, asmodeus kept saying how he would make the priest tell him exactly what he wanted. and i was up for that cause i thought it'd be fun! but then he never actually made him say anything of substance. the gore was a bit much as well. sorry but can you actually get inside of him i've had enough of hearing about how he wouldn't mind if a demon fucked his wounds. 
most of the dirty talk was boring and the author tried to make up for it by adding swear words to it, such as saying shut the fuck up you stupid slut 😭 just profoundly unsexy. how do you make the demon summoned to fuck a priest into a sexless beast.
this also desperately needs an editor. not a fan. and i was really hopeful ..... jesus wept ...