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terpsichore1674's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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
This time jumping, atmospheric, romantic sprawl of a horror (?) novel upends convention -- much like its rotating cast of plain, bad heroines. Though it lags in some places and races breakneck (Readers, I used that word for a reason!) through others, it somehow all works. Except for the ending. Which doesn't NOT work, it's just ... It feels rushed and missing context, like a Scooby Doo villain reveal during the historical portion and a little too pat and tidy in the modern day scenes. That being said, the characters are richly drawn, the scares aren't too scary, the plot is built like a Matryoshka doll, and the narrative rides like a vintage Jaguar.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Minor: Pregnancy
ghostbird's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, and Body horror
Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Mental illness
Minor: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Misogyny
whatellisreadnext's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"๐๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง ๐ณ๐ฆ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ต๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด. ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ'๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ."
In 1902, Flo and Clara are found dead in the woods on the grounds of Brookhants School for Girls. Over a century later, a film crew have arrived to the tell the story of the curse surrounding Brookhants, but what if the narrative is still being written?
Plain Bad Heroines is gross and scary and so very queer. I was living for it ๐ I have never read a book like this one before, the imagination that Danforth has to create a story this rich, is just astounding. The book is written in 3rd person, with a narrator that is always breaking the fourth wall and addressing the reader directly. I loved this about the writing, it felt like a story just for me.
I mentioned this book is gross. I'm talking dead wasps in your mouth gross๐คข Although, the story was pretty slow in pace, and coming it at 619 pages, I'm not surprised. Saying that, all of the narrative felt like it had a purpose, and the slowness of the writing, in my eyes, built the tension so that the creepy and the gross parts hit even harder.
I became so attached to the three main characters, Harper, Merritt and Audrey. Yes, they all had their flaws, but I was rooting them, as they protected each other and grew together. This book wasn't the dark academia I had been craving, but it did have a love triangle, so that's a win in my eyes๐๐ปโโ๏ธ The lesbian and bisexual representation in Plain Bad Heroines is incredible. There are atleast three F/F relationships focused on in the narrative, all set in different timelines.
I recommend that you go into this one knowing that you have the time to dedicate to it. And if this review didn't quite sell you on it, just know that there are illustrations dotted throughout. I loved this, it added that little extra to the narrative.
Thanks so much to Borough Press for the gifted copy. This is out in the UK on the 4th of February!
In 1902, Flo and Clara are found dead in the woods on the grounds of Brookhants School for Girls. Over a century later, a film crew have arrived to the tell the story of the curse surrounding Brookhants, but what if the narrative is still being written?
Plain Bad Heroines is gross and scary and so very queer. I was living for it ๐ I have never read a book like this one before, the imagination that Danforth has to create a story this rich, is just astounding. The book is written in 3rd person, with a narrator that is always breaking the fourth wall and addressing the reader directly. I loved this about the writing, it felt like a story just for me.
I mentioned this book is gross. I'm talking dead wasps in your mouth gross๐คข Although, the story was pretty slow in pace, and coming it at 619 pages, I'm not surprised. Saying that, all of the narrative felt like it had a purpose, and the slowness of the writing, in my eyes, built the tension so that the creepy and the gross parts hit even harder.
I became so attached to the three main characters, Harper, Merritt and Audrey. Yes, they all had their flaws, but I was rooting them, as they protected each other and grew together. This book wasn't the dark academia I had been craving, but it did have a love triangle, so that's a win in my eyes๐๐ปโโ๏ธ The lesbian and bisexual representation in Plain Bad Heroines is incredible. There are atleast three F/F relationships focused on in the narrative, all set in different timelines.
I recommend that you go into this one knowing that you have the time to dedicate to it. And if this review didn't quite sell you on it, just know that there are illustrations dotted throughout. I loved this, it added that little extra to the narrative.
Thanks so much to Borough Press for the gifted copy. This is out in the UK on the 4th of February!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, and Vomit
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