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maiwalker27's review against another edition
4.75
I really loved this! The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is I felt the beginning of the book boring and slow. I can’t say much more without spoilers. This book just really surprised me. I did not see the ending coming. I am a big fan of Claire’s writing.
There is a lot of talks of religion that some may find offensive.
There is a lot of talks of religion that some may find offensive.
brightbelladonna22's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Claire Legrand does it again! I am obsessed with her ability to write such well-crafted and complex heroines, as well as stories brimming with feminine rage. As always, her prose is an absolute delight -- gothic, sumptuous, and eerie. The only reason this is getting anything less than five stars is I had difficulty getting into the first 100 pages, but once Amity discovers her power, I couldn't put Extasia down.
elisesol's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
3.75
Ending was fun! Took a while to get going, and I feel like I've read a lot of "feminist witches" things recently.
tdnan's review
dark
emotional
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
3.5
I had to stick it out for this one, because the main character just starts out so insufferable. It’s definitely the whole point, though, and makes it more satisfying to see her growth. There’s some pretty effective gore in here. I thought the lesbianism was just kind of tossed in there, not really all that compelling. Glad it’s there though! I was actually really shocked at some discoveries in this book, and I like how it made me think. I feel like it really demonstrated the ways in which misogynistic rhetoric, no matter how tame, leads to a deep-seated, never-ending hatred of women. However, I felt like the ending left a little more to be desired in terms of fleshing out that sociological aspect of it. Altogether, I think I just would have liked it to be a little more elevated in its prose.
crondeau_yvr's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Ugh… I managed to finish it but just barely. The story was interesting enough but so slow and tedious.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Physical abuse, Confinement, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Religious bigotry
dowryofbooks's review against another edition
2.0
2/5 stars
In Extasia we follow a deeply brainwashed main character who was raised in a cultish village. She considers herself a goodly, godly girl even though she can see the white-eyed creatures and ghosts that her mother was persecuted for seeing. All her life she's wanted to become one of the four saints of Haven. She believes once she's anointed, the gruesome and unexplainable deaths in her village will stop. However, on her anointing day she receives a note telling her to RUN. And she's told that becoming a saint isn't at all what she thinks it will be.
The premise of this book sucked me in and let me down. You say sapphic witches and I have to read it. I will say I loved the horror elements of this book. Legrand's descriptions paired with the ominous disturbing tone are truly horrifying.
The themes in this book are really strong- this discusses religious trauma and coming to terms with your sexuality when you're told it's wrong. Legrand also not only discusses abusers, but provokes the question of how should you feel towards the people who just stand by and let the abuse happen. Lots of conversation topics in here.
The abuse in this book is disturbing and it does add another layer of horror, especially if you've known someone who uses religion to justify/excuse their mental or physical abuse.
Other than that I found myself really bored. I was having to force myself to read this book instead of wanting to pick it up. There are good twists and exciting moments sprinkled throughout, but between each exciting moment felt like a slog.
I also really feel like this book could have benefitted from two or more POV's because the other characters felt so one dimensional. The female characters especially felt reduced to having their sole personality trait be their name. Some of the names in this book for example are: Silence, Malice, Hunger, Rage, Mercy etc etc. This led to me not caring about these characters or the romance. The girls barely had two scenes together before they were kissing and the love interest was so underdeveloped.
Wherever you are,
whatever you fight,
may your eyes see much,
may your rage burn bright.
In Extasia we follow a deeply brainwashed main character who was raised in a cultish village. She considers herself a goodly, godly girl even though she can see the white-eyed creatures and ghosts that her mother was persecuted for seeing. All her life she's wanted to become one of the four saints of Haven. She believes once she's anointed, the gruesome and unexplainable deaths in her village will stop. However, on her anointing day she receives a note telling her to RUN. And she's told that becoming a saint isn't at all what she thinks it will be.
The premise of this book sucked me in and let me down. You say sapphic witches and I have to read it. I will say I loved the horror elements of this book. Legrand's descriptions paired with the ominous disturbing tone are truly horrifying.
The themes in this book are really strong- this discusses religious trauma and coming to terms with your sexuality when you're told it's wrong. Legrand also not only discusses abusers, but provokes the question of how should you feel towards the people who just stand by and let the abuse happen. Lots of conversation topics in here.
The abuse in this book is disturbing and it does add another layer of horror, especially if you've known someone who uses religion to justify/excuse their mental or physical abuse.
Other than that I found myself really bored. I was having to force myself to read this book instead of wanting to pick it up. There are good twists and exciting moments sprinkled throughout, but between each exciting moment felt like a slog.
I also really feel like this book could have benefitted from two or more POV's because the other characters felt so one dimensional. The female characters especially felt reduced to having their sole personality trait be their name. Some of the names in this book for example are: Silence, Malice, Hunger, Rage, Mercy etc etc. This led to me not caring about these characters or the romance. The girls barely had two scenes together before they were kissing and the love interest was so underdeveloped.
missarnold's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
laurolly's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars. This book was a bit out of my comfort zone, I don’t tent to go for anything horror. It showed me that I do enjoy a bit of spooky tone in a book, especially as the idea of religious indoctrination was explored. Unfortunately, there was a lot that I did not like about the book. I found the magic system confusing, the relationships were forced and unexplored, and I didn’t like how the dystopian aspect was woven in as I felt it detracted from what had been previously explored.
victoria_2002's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wow this book ticked so many boxes for me! I loved the dystopian feel, it reminded me of the hand maids tale. I loved how it was a mix of both horror and fantasy. It managed to be disturbing and gory whilst also beautifully and lyrically written. I loved how witchy it was, the lesbian representation made me so happy too! There was also a non binary character! Overall this was a great book and I will definitely be reading more by this author!