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tea_at_mole_end's review
dark
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gore, Child death, Animal cruelty, Vomit, Murder, Death, and Animal death
librarymouse's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-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? It's complicated
4.0
This book was spooky in a way not a lot of books written for kids manage to be. It was filled with the deaths of nearly all of the small folk after the death of the little girl. Aurora falling in love (?) with the human man felt a bit odd to me because I initially though him to be the father of the little girl, as implied by the broken doll in his cabin. Otherwise, a darker implication could be that he caused the death of the little girl. The only character deaths that hit me particularly hard were Timothy and Jane. I enjoyed both of their characters and how they were opposites of one another, being examples of meek self hatred and confident bravery respectively, and both being dear to Aurora. The rest of the character deaths were glossed over and ignored by most of the cast of characters, but those two stood out as the only two to be genuinely mourned by the baby Timothy was raising, and Aurora. Zelie being the direct cause of both deaths, and Aurora being the exact of their retribution by killing Zelie and her servants feels like a fitting way to end the story. Overall, Beautiful Darkness exactly and disturbingly lived up to it's name.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Gore, Grief, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
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