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jennaniho's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was...a ride, to say the least. I was afraid to pick it up because it was promoted (or whispered, more likely) to be an "Ethiopian-inspired Jane Eyre retelling" and I personally don't like Jane Eyre that much. But, when I read that it had ghosts and exorcism in it probably set in the Caribbean, I gave it a chance and I wasn't that disappointed.
The book is good, but I felt the pace was too slow for my taste. Still, I enjoyed reading it. Andromeda (Andi) became my favorite character. She was a no-bullshit kind of gal, but had the normal insecurities of any late teenager, which made her relatable. She was also honest, and incredibly powerful. Her character reminded me a lot of the Japanese anime series, Witch Hunter Robin, where the main character is also incredibly powerful, but very naive.
What I didn't like at first was the "romance" between her and Magnus. I felt it was a bit vague and a bit non-consensual. Maybe is because I was seeing him through Andi's eyes. There were moments when their interactions felt a bit bland, but in others you truly felt the connection between them.
Yet, what I absolutely loved about this book was the mystery surrounding the house and how detailed the author described every important aspect of it. Lauren's writing style made you feel like you were in the dammed place and I remember jumping a bit every now and then whenever a scary or tense scene came on because it kept you on the edge of your seat (or the bed, in my case). You had bleeding walls, sinister manifestations, an abusive father figure, and a deep secret that made you anxious to know about it but didn't want to find out so soon in the book. To this, the author delivered that perfect wait. I also loved the Ethiopian-inspired elements, which gave the story more nuance and color. It is a very dark tale, so these details allowed it to keep the story interesting.
Within These Wicked Walls was better than I expected. It was what I wanted 'Mexican Gothic', by Silvia Moreno-Garcia to feel like. The story Lauren weaves is unique, nail-biting, and with a killer storyline. I might read it again and probably will comprehend some of the elements I didn't like. But, overall, it is a great book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Grief, Child abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Racism, Slavery, and Trafficking
toffishay's review
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I loved the romance! Love Andromeda and love Magnus! Which is great because their romance is the biggest chunk of the plot, even more than the fantasy so if you don't buy into that then the rest of the book doesn't work. The fantasy elements were fine to me, they kind of fit that zone of generic YA fantasy. I like the haunted house aspect, which is a more interesting kind of story to me than other YA stories that would be more adventure based. It makes the story lean more Gothic, which makes sense because this is a Jane Eyre inspired story. The pacing is annoying and honestly, I didn't really care about the fantasy parts like all the fighting. I predicted some of the end, but that may be a reality of a retelling as well. The relationship between Jember and Andromeda was interesting too and <SPOILER> I liked that there were no easy answers with that one. <END SPOILER> The horror elements are well-done though, like I was really creeped out. Overall, a nice YA story that I could actually revisit again because I loved the romance!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Blood, Gore, Violence, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, and Body horror
Minor: Sexism, Racism, Trafficking, Infidelity, Gun violence, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Murder, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury
madamenovelist's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Violence, Murder, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Addiction, Abandonment, Blood, Gore, Grief, and Confinement
Minor: Trafficking
There is a brief mention of a child being rescued from sex trafficking. The emotional/physical abuse, blood, gore, and violence are all very graphic. Not for the sensitive.syllareads's review
dark
mysterious
tense
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
3.5
I wanted to love this book very badly, and I did - parts of it at least.
First of all, the reason this book caught my attention in the first place was because it's absolutely stunning. The cover is beautiful! I'm delighted Lauren Blackwood got to create such a visually stunning book, she deserves it - and I hope more people pick it up purely because the cover makes them curious enough to, and they actually fall in love with this.
I have not yet read Jane Eyre (this book definitely makes me want to remedy that, though) so I can't speak on how well Within these Wicked Walls works as a reimagining (or as a book that has at least drawn inspiration from Jane Eyre). I can say that Lauren Blackwood tries to capture the allusive nature of gothic novels and succeeds for the most part - a lot of her descriptions, as well as the desperate yearning between Andromeda, our MC, and Magnus, her Love Interest, were beautifully done.
However.
The book being YA.... really ruined it for me in the end. Many scenes in between beautiful, desperate moments of longing and despair read incredibly juvenile and pulled me out of the story almost by force. The characters smirk and grin at each other in between sentences of agony and loss and heartbreak. The dialogues go from impossibly tender to teenage ribbing in an instant. Every time I thought I was feeling it, I got forcefully pulled back out of it by some character being a teenaged ass again, and after a while this back and forth made it incredibly hard for me to care properly for any of the characters involved.
Overall: this is not a bad book, and I recommend people at least try. The setting is stunning! I'm so happy BIPOC authors get to retell stories however they wish, with whatever culture they belong to because yes, the canon is incredibly white and every book changing that is a good book for that alone. Personally, the "YA-ness" in between the gothic novel aspects really pulled me out of it and I couldn't get a lot of personal enjoyment out of the book, which makes me very upset :c
First of all, the reason this book caught my attention in the first place was because it's absolutely stunning. The cover is beautiful! I'm delighted Lauren Blackwood got to create such a visually stunning book, she deserves it - and I hope more people pick it up purely because the cover makes them curious enough to, and they actually fall in love with this.
I have not yet read Jane Eyre (this book definitely makes me want to remedy that, though) so I can't speak on how well Within these Wicked Walls works as a reimagining (or as a book that has at least drawn inspiration from Jane Eyre). I can say that Lauren Blackwood tries to capture the allusive nature of gothic novels and succeeds for the most part - a lot of her descriptions, as well as the desperate yearning between Andromeda, our MC, and Magnus, her Love Interest, were beautifully done.
However.
The book being YA.... really ruined it for me in the end. Many scenes in between beautiful, desperate moments of longing and despair read incredibly juvenile and pulled me out of the story almost by force. The characters smirk and grin at each other in between sentences of agony and loss and heartbreak. The dialogues go from impossibly tender to teenage ribbing in an instant. Every time I thought I was feeling it, I got forcefully pulled back out of it by some character being a teenaged ass again, and after a while this back and forth made it incredibly hard for me to care properly for any of the characters involved.
Overall: this is not a bad book, and I recommend people at least try. The setting is stunning! I'm so happy BIPOC authors get to retell stories however they wish, with whatever culture they belong to because yes, the canon is incredibly white and every book changing that is a good book for that alone. Personally, the "YA-ness" in between the gothic novel aspects really pulled me out of it and I couldn't get a lot of personal enjoyment out of the book, which makes me very upset :c
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Blood
Minor: Death, Death of parent, and Trafficking
frantically's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
kinda weird but i still liked it well enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Chronic illness, Death, and Abandonment
Moderate: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Trafficking and Grief
natashaleighton_'s review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Body horror
Minor: Slavery, Trafficking, and Racism
kayladaila's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Death
Moderate: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Violence
Minor: Body horror, Colonisation, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Trafficking
ellariawrites's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Chronic illness, Gore, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Trafficking, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, and Abandonment
betweentheshelves's review
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
Loosely based on Jane Eyre, this is a YA horror that is packed with action and spookiness. All of the descriptions of the curse that was happened in Rochester's house were rightfully creepy, and the tone was immediately set from the beginning. As more of the story unfolds and we learn more about the curse, it just gets more and more creepy.
There was also great chemistry between Andi and Magnus, as all of these manifestations are happening around them. It almost brings them closer together, the danger making their relationship all the more exciting. The changing relationship between Andi and Jember, her guardian/caretaker/trainer/master, also added dimension to the story. All of these details worked well together to create a story that was difficult to put down once you got started.
I feel like YA horror has been upping it's game a bit in the last year, and this is a great addition to a genre that desperately needs more diversity.
There was also great chemistry between Andi and Magnus, as all of these manifestations are happening around them. It almost brings them closer together, the danger making their relationship all the more exciting. The changing relationship between Andi and Jember, her guardian/caretaker/trainer/master, also added dimension to the story. All of these details worked well together to create a story that was difficult to put down once you got started.
I feel like YA horror has been upping it's game a bit in the last year, and this is a great addition to a genre that desperately needs more diversity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Grief, and Physical abuse
Minor: Emotional abuse, Slavery, and Trafficking
caseythereader's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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? No
4.0
Thanks to Wednesday Books for the free advance copy of this book.
- Y'all know I'm a JANE EYRE lover, so as soon as I heard this was a YA fantasy retelling, I ran to grab a copy. And yes, WITHIN THESE WICKED WALLS delivers!
- I love how Blackwood kept all the pieces of the original story but rearranged them a bit, and it all still works wonderfully. Slight tweaks to relationships, and of course the entire idea of Andromeda being a debtera, relocate this story to the fantasy space quite smoothly, while maintaining the basics of the original characters and plot.
- I was gripped by the action and the imagery. Some of those manifestations are gonna stick with me for real.
- The one thing I wish there was more of was backstory on how the church came to be involved in the debtera process. It felt like there could have been a whole prequel novel here with Jember's experience and Andi's training.
- Y'all know I'm a JANE EYRE lover, so as soon as I heard this was a YA fantasy retelling, I ran to grab a copy. And yes, WITHIN THESE WICKED WALLS delivers!
- I love how Blackwood kept all the pieces of the original story but rearranged them a bit, and it all still works wonderfully. Slight tweaks to relationships, and of course the entire idea of Andromeda being a debtera, relocate this story to the fantasy space quite smoothly, while maintaining the basics of the original characters and plot.
- I was gripped by the action and the imagery. Some of those manifestations are gonna stick with me for real.
- The one thing I wish there was more of was backstory on how the church came to be involved in the debtera process. It felt like there could have been a whole prequel novel here with Jember's experience and Andi's training.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Minor: Racism and Trafficking