Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - Plain Bad Heroines

I enjoyed this book once the pace started to pick up after the first quarter or so. However some of the main characters just weren't likeable at any point in the book to me. While they did redeem themselves somewhat more could have been done to sell that. It could have had a more solidified ending. Also a bit more mystery would not have hurt anyone.

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aseel_reads's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I absolutely adored the narrative style, having it break the fourth wall was super engaging. I liked the switch between the two time periods and having a mix of horror and the occult in it. I really enjoyed the rawness of the characters, especially merit and I liked how queer the book was. I think the ending could have had a more shocking event, which would have tied the story more holistically.

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callikat's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I think the premise is extremely cool. I love the movie set twist, the haunted location, and the wlw romances. However, I do not feel it met my expectations.

First of all, it is LONG. I almost DNFed it 150 pages in, because nothing had happened yet. And for so much character exposition, the characters themselves didn't feel very authentic. We got glimpses of their insecurities, feelings, and secrets but it never went past the surface. I think that's why the climax at the end didn't work for me -- you expect to get emotional over all of the betrayal, but then no one has any reaction and everything just ends.

I also didn't really like the switch from different time periods. One part of the book takes place in modern day, as they film a movie about these two girls who died under mysterious circumstances, Clara and Flo. The other part of the book takes place in 1902 - the time period the girls actually died. However, while we learn about the two actresses (and the writer) in modern day, we never really learn about Clara and Flo, because the 1902 scenes are not about them -- they're about the headmistress and her partner. And to be honest it's hard to get interested in their story when the girls in modern day only talk about Clara and Flo. I wish the 1902 scenes had been about Clara and Flo, and then we could learn more about the girls in modern day/how they connect to the original heroines.

It was still a good book, I really did like the plot. I guess I just wish there had been a clearer point to it all, I wish we had gotten to know the characters better, and I wish we could have seen more of the movie being filmed!

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mimeflower's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

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franklola's review

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

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barefootbetsy's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Very fun book to read! It’s long, but not longer than it needs to be and I quite enjoyed the meta-story style.

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amandaquotidianbooks's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

I wanted to love this and the first few chapters were compelling. But the plot dragged on through the entire book. I don’t know if delaying the climax of the historical timeline worked well in amping up the tension in the modern timeline. And that tension of the modern timeline fizzled for me. I think I came to this looking for more horror than the book ever wanted to give me. The book did an excellent job of exploring the characters and relationships of diverse queer women. The atmosphere was also palpable and continuous. I found the overabundance of yellow jacket appearances and metaphor became hokey with its increasing prevalence. But my interest on the characters never waned. I’d say pick this up for a sprawling, sapphic character exploration rather than a tense mystery plot.

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