slimepuppy's reviews
121 reviews

It's cute (derogatory).

Basically nothing you're not expecting from the get-go, but the ending took a dark turn. Main couple made no sense to me and had no chemistry, but ehhh it could've been worse. And the art is pretty!

Oh, Shirley, we're really in it now.

I really didn't want it to end.

A sentient gothic house, characters filled with personality and charm, and a heartbreaking tragedy lying underneath it all.

The romance (usually my least favorite aspect of these dark fanstasies) was sweet, well developed and rooted in great, unique characters who didn't just exist for the romance to happen.

Opal's economic struggles felt real and visceral, as did her love for her brother and her immaturity, her fear of losing him after basically having to become his parent. That depressive episode was probably the best representation I've ever seen on fiction of depression. God.

Despite the blatant homophobia, transmisogyny and fatphobia, this book could have been way more fun - except when it finally begins to pick up the pace, the story grinds to a halt as the main character spirals, taking all the moderate fun time the reader was having with him down the drain.

Not terrible, but it took too long to get actually intersting.

It took a while to really get me, but when it did I was thrilled. I came up with various theories as I read, but the unravelling of the plot twists still left me surprised - it's really not as predictable as it might initially appear to be.

This book is deathly allergic to subtlety. There's only so many times you can read about the nature vs nurture internal conflict of the protagonist being spelled out before your eyes start to glaze over.

I really don't get Rachel Harrison. I absolutely loved The Return, steered clear of Cackle (it sounds like it contains every single trope that I despise) and found Such Sharp Teeth funny, despite it being kind of boring. But this book is just... nothing. It's not funny, it's not witty, it's not inventive nor gripping.

Every character is a different shade of bland. Vesper desperately wants to be loved for who she is, instead of being loved for what she is, but that would be pretty hard, considering that her personality consists of being dumb and insufferable. 

This book wasn't even as funny or quick as her other books!!! The body horror (which Harrison is, admittedly, masterful at) was barely there!!! I was so disappointed. I probably will check out her next book, because she is a talented writer, but wow. What a snooze.

The only part that was enjoyable was the epilogue, because Vesper was a little less of a miserable POV by then.