Edit: I regret telling my spouse about "the blood you can only give once" because this cover is in every bookstore, haunting me, and he likes to randoEdit: I regret telling my spouse about "the blood you can only give once" because this cover is in every bookstore, haunting me, and he likes to randomly jumpscare me by reminding me she wrote that terrible terrible line [image] ------------------------- Um, so this was bad. Not even like fun bad or saucy bad but just like bad bad.
It felt like there were about 100-200 pages removed that would better explain the transitions between things; all of a sudden people were close friends when I feel like they'd just met each other, the magic system was delivered in a very deus ex machina sort of way and almost exclusively exposited by the MMC and only after something had happened, so everything felt really unfulfilling and unsatisfying.
The twist at the end is unintentionally kinda funny. And yeah, I just overall think this isn't a good read or even a guilty pleasure.
------------------------- Spoilers ------------------------- I HATE THIS TROPE. It's so weird. The trope where having sex with a virgin (and we're only ever talking female virgins because it's all very patriarchal and heteronormative and only penetrative sex with a man is viewed as a loss of virginity) as a vampire/vessel/whatever not only makes the girl super clingy, but also makes the guy super clingy/addicted to her.
In this it was something along the lines of "giving the blood you can only give once" and I'm over here like... THIS IS A HYMEN MYTH. HYMENS DON'T WORK THAT WAY* (also I said this line aloud to my husband and he visibly shuddered at how awful it was)
Personally, I think there are a lot sexier ways to show devotion that don't buy into harmful relics of the past. So sorry if this is a trope you love, but I viscerally cannot. eugh
*save for maybe the rare case of an imperforate hymen, which are only found in an estimated 1/1000-10,000 women per a preliminary google search....more
I think I had it in my head that this would be a bad book because a bunch of people gave it low ratings. But they were wrong. This was a fantastic witI think I had it in my head that this would be a bad book because a bunch of people gave it low ratings. But they were wrong. This was a fantastic witch book.
Themes: The MC has recently been dumped after an 8 year relationship after a life spent never learning to just exist with herself, always bouncing from man to man. So she's struggling to make friends and find meaning in life and learn to be who she is without always making herself small/pliable/acquiescent and putting his needs first.
Animal Companion: I LOVE RALPH.
Don't read this book if you're scared of spiders, but if you love cute, little, fuzzy boys who wear their joy and wave their arms in the air and wear tiny felt hats: definitely read this book. [image]
Horror: No one dies (probably), and it's never really bloody or bone-crunching or anything like that. There's more a prickle of unease and the occasional (view spoiler)[things that shouldn't be coming out of people's mouths coming out of their mouths (hide spoiler)].
This is a very classic feeling story and I would believe if you told me it's been around for generations (or at least since the invention of airplanesThis is a very classic feeling story and I would believe if you told me it's been around for generations (or at least since the invention of airplanes). For me, it's in the same vein as Pamela Purse, but with a stronger moral and a redemptive conclusion.
The illustrations were lovely and just right for this type of book, and I appreciated how many of them there were.
My one criticism is that it's implied throughout that not only is Ivy Lou beautiful and inherently good because of her blonde curls and blue eyes, but the witch outright states that her own stringy hair is black as evil. I prefer when children aren't taught to equate morality with phenotype presentation.
[image]
Thank you to The Collective Book Studio and NetGalley for granting me an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own....more
A satisfying little conclusion to a series where the main haunted houses are actually the people.
They're outcas
"She’s a clown car full of ghosts."
A satisfying little conclusion to a series where the main haunted houses are actually the people.
They're outcast and messy, wrapped up in religion, and covered in trauma, and covered in religious trauma, but by the end of this they've all managed to find a little home in each other. And reasons to keep living. And that's kinda beautiful?
Tehlor and Lincoln are for sure my favourites, though, as they bring the most banter and sarcasm and humor and stripped-to-the-bone honesty.
Does the dog die?: (view spoiler)[There's a bunny named Hazel who is briefly sacrificed and comes back to life fully unharmed with a charming little rabbit hutch and snacks and everything. Honestly, the build-up where Sophia didn't want to kill the rabbit was worse to read than the actual execution (which lasted 1-2 sentences and was immediately reversed). (hide spoiler)]...more
This entry in the series was much more my vibe: a snarkastic witch resurrects a corrupt sorcerer to invade a militia sex cult. 4.5/5
I was surprised toThis entry in the series was much more my vibe: a snarkastic witch resurrects a corrupt sorcerer to invade a militia sex cult. 4.5/5
I was surprised to find at the very end that these stories are actually rather interconnected, as I'd mostly been considering them like standalone romances in a series. But I kinda loved this one? The humor and sasshole nature of the MCs worked a lot better for me.
Book One: - haunted house that's eerie and always watching (even though it doesn't have eyes) - messy trauma both parties need to find closure on - emotionally anchored relationship
Book Two: - enemies to fuckbuddies to lovers? (she starts off basically trying to enslave him to supercharge her witch powers) - holy what is this cult they're doing what now? - sarcasm and humor...more
I liked this, but in a subdued way. If asked, I likely would have guessed that this was written by Alix E. Harrow with some influence from Polish folkI liked this, but in a subdued way. If asked, I likely would have guessed that this was written by Alix E. Harrow with some influence from Polish folklore.
Vibes: It would be spoilers to give away what kind of story this is, but I think that there's a lot of heart to the primary storyline. Melancholy and quiet and aching and regret and yearning, but big emotions from people who feel deeply.
Characters: Unfortunately this story is very short and I don't think this writing style lends itself to giving me the sort of fully fleshed out and easily-imagined characters that I'd hope for. I do like that we get multiple POVs and that the audiobook has a different narrator for all 3, though! And the FMC was probably the least guarded and therefore most fleshed out for me.
The Ending: I wasn't expecting a book like this to have a twist at the end, but I quite liked it. It felt good and right. I just wish there was a little bit more time to sit with the characters and their emotions and to feel a greater weight for what transpired.
Overall: As a whole it's a nice, little, bite-sized piece of Polish folklore and I thought the various creatures (strzyga, zmory, leshy, and more) were really well handled and imagined. I'd like to see future stories in this world, perhaps a full length novel following different characters.
For whatever reason, I'm not personally a big fan of Alix E. Harrow, so this work feeling so reminiscent for me means it probably won't leave a lasting impact (hence the 3/5 stars) but I do really think that people who enjoy her work will equally like this story.
Audiobook Notes: There are 3 different narrators to do each of the 3 POVs. All of them were competent, though one of the male voices was a little more generic and monotone than the other two voice actors, but it wasn't distracting or detracting.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for granting me this audio ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own....more
From the name and the thumbnail I thought that this comic (or at least the first volume) would be a romance. But actually she turns him into a cat??? From the name and the thumbnail I thought that this comic (or at least the first volume) would be a romance. But actually she turns him into a cat??? Lol, it's very cute.
The plot and dialogue are rather simple and stilted, but seem appropriate for children. I like the color palette and the art style, and especially find the cat to be quite expressive.
I can't say that this first volume totally hooked me, but I wouldn't mind reading more. The whole thing takes about 45-50min to read and I think that it's cute enough to be worth that amount of time and doesn't over stay its welcome.
Thank you to NetGalley and Webtoon for granting me an ARC of volume 1. All thoughts and opinions are my own....more
Decent smut, so-so "plot," not enough development of the characters. After reading like 300 pages or so, I should know more about the two leads than tDecent smut, so-so "plot," not enough development of the characters. After reading like 300 pages or so, I should know more about the two leads than that they're compatible and have lots of sex and are a witch/kraken-- essentially just everything I knew from the synopsis....more
I wanted to like this, but the MMC is sooooooo down on himself all the time and it causes him to actually (constantly) keep rejectin1.5/5 stars maybe?
I wanted to like this, but the MMC is sooooooo down on himself all the time and it causes him to actually (constantly) keep rejecting her that like... it just kills any enjoyment for me? I need them to pine. And his rejections are basically the opposite of my #1 need in a romance.
Also, pet peeve-- I would say the majority or a solid half of the text is one prolonged flashback. This isn't dual timeline or anything, so it really just feels like the author started the book at the wrong point in time....more
This is my third book by the author and very much a mixed bag. Some high highs and some low lows.
The Writing: But I have to start by talking about the This is my third book by the author and very much a mixed bag. Some high highs and some low lows.
The Writing: But I have to start by talking about the writing itself, which I thought was lovely. Quotes like "A witch does not need a reason, only an opportunity" or "He has already seen how easily her fingers can spin lies; can her lips not also fashion falsehoods?"
Repetition: However I really struggled around the 60% mark with how repetitive it became. Being trapped in the head of a naive and scared girl wasn't fun. The fact that she keeps thinking the same thoughts of the country she now finds herself in, and what she perceives to be the brutish countrymen, while cowering and fearing a terrible future of her own invention... it was very wearying.
The Magic: Around chapter 11 is when things started to get interesting and fantastical enough for me. I'd probably say Historical Fiction is my least favourite genre, so the low fantasy of the first two thirds did little to hold my attention outside of the writing. And then chapter 15 was kind of a banger? But it was also very short and a little too late.
GIVE ME MORE WITCHES, DAMMIT!
Controversy: I've seen some controversy surrounding the way she views Scottish people and that the real life Lady Macbeth was a Scottish woman and this adaptation is more French. In my reading, I never felt like the text backed up her views of the Scottish so I think it's important to differentiate the views of the character and the views of the author/being endorsed by the text. (eg Roscille will consider how brutish and backwards they are, and then be treated with trust and compassion. It's always clear that her xenophobia is her own and not an actual reflection of her surroundings.)
Additionally, this is an adaptation of a character from a Shakespeare play and not a retelling of a real woman's life, so it doesn't bother me that her nationality was changed. But ymmv.
Overall: This is overall challenging to recommend to a particular audience. I think that it might be most at home with Historical Fiction lovers who prefer their prose on the purple side and a strong female rage/good for her throughline in their narratives.
Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for granting me an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own....more
Boycott is officially over so I can finally say that I was surprised by how much I like this book!
At the beginning of the year I had bitten off more Boycott is officially over so I can finally say that I was surprised by how much I like this book!
At the beginning of the year I had bitten off more than I could chew and had way too many ARCs to read and not enough time to do it. So I kinda thought I'd DNF this one and wanted to sweep it off my plate. But lo and behold, it was just a fun time and it fully suckered me into reading the whole thing.
I'd definitely recommend this to people who are into Fourth Wing-- hear me out!! No, the plots don't have a lot in common apart from both strongly featuring a romance at the forefront. But what I really loved about Fourth Wing was the way it took those classic, YA tropes of the 2000s and 2010s -ya know, the guilty pleasure ones that your teenage heart knew were trashy but loved to gobble up like junk food anyway- and implemented them in a cleaned up, competent, 2020s, more Adult package. (Note: I'd classify both books as New Adult, personally.)
I think the world-building and magic systems and rebellion plot are a little weak and tired, but the tension of the scenes with the love interest was delightfully done. Fourth Wing really nailed old, well-loved tropes but with excellent pacing, and I think The Crimson Moth nailed the old tropes but with excellent tension. The yearning paired with the forced proximity and stolen touches were the best scenes bar none.
My major complaint is that the story doesn't start where it should. The opening scene is painfully dull and unoriginal. But eventually the relationship and the cautious danger, the push and pull, the vulnerability... it sucked me in and I was rooting for these dummies.
It's not revolutionary or a literary revelation, but just some good, campy fun.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. Unfortunately as Wednesday Books is an imprint of St. Martin's Press, I am withholding my review until they respond to the boycott....more
This is probably my second favourite Ursula Vernon book of all time (the first being The Raven & the Reindeer, because that was so specifically made fThis is probably my second favourite Ursula Vernon book of all time (the first being The Raven & the Reindeer, because that was so specifically made for me). She just really does a great job with fairytale retellings.
Mind you, this is so wildly different from the source material that I wouldn't be able to say "Goose Girl" was the inspiration if not for the synopsis. It's also probably the darkest I've read from her, as there's a lot of trauma and abuse and manipulation that is scarier -for me- than any of her horror stories.
I think she really held back on the humor, and I find myself missing it a little; though the humorous bits that made it to the final edit were tasteful and made me smile, even at the darkest of story beats.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing me with an audio ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own....more
I read this six days ago and not only already forgot all of it, but forgot that I even read it without seeing it in my Goodreads Read books as a prompI read this six days ago and not only already forgot all of it, but forgot that I even read it without seeing it in my Goodreads Read books as a prompter. So do with that what you will. ----------------------------------------- It is worth noting that I haven't been feeling great and this isn't the only book I've recently bounced off of, so it's possible that I could've enjoyed it more if I'd read it at a different time.
YA: This book felt glaringly YA in its simplicity. The characters are generally reduced to one attribute and one desire which they each repeat multiple times. It is tiring in its repetition, but possibly could feel appropriate if aiming for the younger age range of the YA demographic.
Relationships: The pseudo-parasocial/one-sided relationship made me feel very uncomfortable in its implications. I suppose it was mostly there to be a kind of straw man-- poorly constructed and easily torn down but temporarily appearing like an obstacle to amplify the true storyline. But I was honestly over love triangles with a fake third party when I first encountered them as a kid 20 years ago, and I haven't grown anymore endeared to them since then.
Overall: All I can really say is that I was bored the entire time, will forget everything in a matter of days, and the storyline felt very rote. I much preferred The Bone Houses and others of Emily Lloyd-Jones's Welsh inspired YA books....more
I honestly loved this. This is my fifth book by the author and I think it's probably her strongest and most polished work yet. 4.5/5 but it's very likI honestly loved this. This is my fifth book by the author and I think it's probably her strongest and most polished work yet. 4.5/5 but it's very likely it'll become a 5 whenever I re-read it.
Vibes: This is a gothic, haunted/cursed house story about an attractive young woman who has a favor called in by an old friend to protect her grandson from the haunted house she's tied to and can't leave. It's moody and a little dark, occasionally a tad gory, but ultimately a cozy horror. The house has bad vibes from the moment she touches it, there's haunting music coming from the piano in the conservatory, faces in the walls and a disconcerting butler. There's at least one monster in this house.
Overall: This was such a fun read that I don't want to go over much of it so y'all can experience if for yourselves. The romance (mentioned in the blurb) is very slowburn and absolutely sweet and chaste and respectful. The monsters are threatening without being overly scary or unrealistic. The plot is straightforward (even if the house passageways are not). And it was honestly just a really lovely time.
Oliver (her familiar) is a cat, and he is dead, and he is the best. <3...more
This is a tricky one to rate because I think there were elements that were alright and it's close to something I should love, but I never actually enjThis is a tricky one to rate because I think there were elements that were alright and it's close to something I should love, but I never actually enjoyed myself? I really do like reading, I swear! I'm not just a curmudgeon (even if I feel like it lately).
Note: mild spoilers in the inspiration section because they are not in the synopsis, but I felt they were obvious from their first appearances on page. ymmv
Inspirations: After the Forest is marketed as a Hansel and Gretel retelling of what happened to them after they became adults. However it also draws from several other tales such as Snow White, Rumpelstiltskin (just a drop), and from the real world including famous events like the witch trials and Elizabeth Bathory. (I would also be very surprised to learn the author had never seen the Hansel and Gretel film, because I felt its influences too.)
I wish that the witch trials were more emphasized in the synopsis because this is the kind of setting that's a very hard sell for me and you have to write a real banger for me to consider it worth it.
Misogyny: And that's because witch trials go hand in hand with rampant misogyny and women lacking any agency. I don't enjoy being in the POV of a character who has to act on the whims of the men around her because it makes her life feel suffocating and her choices absent. Not to mention that it's coupled with sexism, threats of sexual assault, objectification and dehumanization, and I just don't have a fun time reading about those very real world issues unless we're absolutely dismantling the system and/or the perpetrators by the end of the book. Especially in the first half of the book, these themes and circumstances come up often and I hated it. After at least one Herr Heuber scene I put the book down for the day because why would I want to keep reading?
At least with a book like Slewfoot the frustrating obstacles and misogyny are interrupted by moments of pure joy and self-efficacy, so I can enjoy the reading experience.
The Setting/World-building: This is firmly set in the real world but also magic is real and people have literally witnessed it happening. But it's weird because it didn't change the trajectory of our history in any way, shape, or form. It takes place in the 1600s in Germany but it's the same normal history that happened down to the dates and city names and everything. Not necessarily a super negative thing, but I would prefer a world that integrates magic instead of tacking it on.
The Magic System: The magic is the only thing about Greta that really develops or changes her character from the beginning of the book. At the beginning of the book she has a good, kind heart. And at the end of the book she has a good, kind heart.
Mild spoilers: (view spoiler)[ But she never felt like an active participant in magic, once she discovers it. She makes a few choices, but usually doesn't know the outcome of what she's doing. And more often than not, she just asks the forest to protect her. But she's not guiding the magic or being intentional with it. That's fine, it fits both the character and her level of experience I guess. It does nothing to capture my attention/interest whatsoever, but it doesn't break internal consistency so it's just kinda there. (hide spoiler)]
The Characters: I liked exactly one character in this (Rob) and his was the only storyline that I liked. I would have gladly read a short novella from his POV, trialing what he went through in this book. He had character growth, interesting moral dilemmas, antagonists, and grit.
Greta herself isn't the most active protagonist. She's not entirely passive, but she often lets people stop her from getting involved or investigating further so potential storylines of interest are cut short and she just goes home. I watched her go home a LOT in this short novel.
Meanwhile, being around Hans, Jacob, Conran, Herr Heuber, and the Trittens was exasperating. Apart from Jacob (and maybe Hans a little at the end?) they feel like very outsized villainous caricatures. If anything, I felt they made the story less dynamic as they either put a halt to interesting developments or pushed us back into the misogyny and witch trials some more. Perhaps if I had better understood their internal thoughts that made them behave this way I could've found them more believable, but mostly they just felt like annoying obstacles without depth.
I also feel like the author wasn't interested by any of them because they're all dropped at the end of the book. There's no resolution in storylines with them. Aside from a brief interlude with Hans, we literally never see them again and they're handled off page, I guess.
The Romance: She thinks he's hot and such a fine specimen of man from the moment she sees him. He's mysterious and plays it tight to the vest... which leads to one of my least favourite tropes: miscommunication! [image] The interactions between them are few and brief, so I didn't feel enough build-up and pining and emotional investment in their relationship. Especially not to the point where there are a couple of grand statements sprinkled in. I was like... what? That came out of nowhere.
My Biggest Complaint: I coined a new term while reading this: conversation fatigue. Because dear god did everything in this take place in dialogue. Nothing happened for 90% of the book, it was just characters talking to each other. Sometimes they'd talk and get mad, so they'd leave and go talk to someone else. But even if they went to the middle of the forest by themselves, the next scene would be someone finding them so they can talk some more, then that scene would cut to another scene where they've left and are now talking to yet someone else. So. Much. Talking.
It didn't help that I found the dialogue to be rather stilted and simple and younger leaning than the prose. I think that the author wanted to give an old timey feel to the words and the people in a small, remote village? But it also made them very naive and simple and their conversations didn't hold interest for me as a result. Maybe if she had broken a bit of the 4th wall and used a wider, modern vocabulary, they would've been more expressive? Whatever the root cause was, I just know that the end product wasn't my vibe.
Overall: Ultimately I think this book falls between fine and average. The competence of the writing and ability to maintain story threads is average to alright (omg, this makes me feel like the bar is so low), but the character development and engagement of my interests is pretty poor. If I didn't have such a beautiful copy to read (honestly this physical book is so well crafted and lovely to hold) I think I would have DNF'd. Which means that while I generously wanted to give this a 3/5, I don't think I can honestly rate it above a 2.
Ending on a funny note: Every time Mr Shelf looked at the book while I was reading it, he'd read the author name (Kell Woods) and make Legally Blonde jokes (Elle Woods). lmao
Alternate Recommendation: For a book with many of the same vibes, but a stronger and more enjoyable execution in my opinion, I'd recommend Slewfoot by Brom. Similarities: witchiness, witch trials, an evil man coming after her land because of debts, discovering magic, fae type creatures Divergences: horror, no romance...more
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