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gingirl7001's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
lovenderhaze's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
maribee3's review
5.0
for some reason i’m getting red velvet vibes
amazing amazing book genuinely interesting pulls you in SO well i didn’t want to stop reading
amazing amazing book genuinely interesting pulls you in SO well i didn’t want to stop reading
themezzaluna's review
4.0
This book is messed up first and foremost.
I was legitimately unsettled during some parts, especially by the end where the gory details appeared more frequently.
That being said, what a nice surprise! This book was everything I could've hoped for. The world building is so interesting; I love the different places with their different deities. The characters are all so different, especially the Thaumas girls, which makes their interactions even more interesting.
I loved every twist and turn, but especially that last one that made me rethink everything. I really felt like I was in Annaleigh's shoes at that point. The only thing that I didn't like as much was how quick Annaleigh's and Cassius's relationship evolved. Still, they're so cute and I can never resist a bit of romance.
This was so fun to read, truly. What a great experience.
I was legitimately unsettled during some parts, especially by the end where the gory details appeared more frequently.
That being said, what a nice surprise! This book was everything I could've hoped for. The world building is so interesting; I love the different places with their different deities. The characters are all so different, especially the Thaumas girls, which makes their interactions even more interesting.
I loved every twist and turn, but especially that last one that made me rethink everything. I really felt like I was in Annaleigh's shoes at that point. The only thing that I didn't like as much was how quick Annaleigh's and Cassius's relationship evolved. Still, they're so cute and I can never resist a bit of romance.
This was so fun to read, truly. What a great experience.
starregulus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Blood
amfwc's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
kitkat_2793's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
hsecen's review
2.0
So at the front of my copy of this book, there are all these reviews and the one that immediately drew my eye was "Beautiful and a bit creepy." I still read it anyway, because it seemed like an interesting enough plot. But yes, creepy. I'll grant this reviewer that the descriptions were nicely written though what was written wasn't always nice. Death plays a very prominent role in this book and there's just this added element of the sea that makes it seem darker to me? I just think of the crusty crew of Davy Jones in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies - gave me that kind of vibe.
The author definitely tried with this book, but it just didn't really hit the mark. The romance really didn't feel like it was there for me, and while at the end things got exciting and the climax was very abrupt. Everything felt resolved really quickly. There was some attempt at character redemption, but with so little character growth throughout the book, it meant nothing to me as a reader. Overall, just not a book I'd pick up again.
The author definitely tried with this book, but it just didn't really hit the mark. The romance really didn't feel like it was there for me, and while at the end things got exciting and the climax was very abrupt. Everything felt resolved really quickly. There was some attempt at character redemption, but with so little character growth throughout the book, it meant nothing to me as a reader. Overall, just not a book I'd pick up again.
voldy's review
2.0
I had really high hopes for this.
And I was thoroughly disappointed.
Annaleigh is boring, bland, dull, and plain (notice how those words are basically synonyms of each other.) I literally felt nothing for her, or any of the characters, for that matter. If you merged all their personalities together, it would be equivalent to the personality of a doorknob. The only thing they made me feel was more annoyed than I usually am. Yes. Oh, and she hates pink. Lovely.
Also, she is inconsistent with her goals, which was pretty annoying, but I'll get more into that later on.
I'd like to throw Fisher into the ocean and feed him to fish. But I am not going to do that, as the ocean is already polluted enough. He is Gale #2. Mal #2. Aspen #2. He is a misogynistic asshole. That alone should be reason to despise him. But no, we need another reason. I'm tagging the next bit as a spoiler since it kind of is. I think it happens around 35% or 40% into the book.
Cassius is blander than milk, but at least he's respectful and has nice eyes, am I right?
The plot wasn't exactly...well, a plot. Like I said before, Annaleigh is inconsistent with her goals. She wants to solve the mystery of her sister's death, but she gets distracted by other things. I guess that's because of the mystery thing going on and the author has to build clues, but it shouldn't take away from Annaleigh's focus on her goal. Considering how interesting the whole premise sounded, it was unfortunately not done well in my opinion. The clues for one mystery were given just moments before revealing the truth. I am specifically talking about Cassius's heritage. I wasn't given any time to wonder who exactly he is because of this reason. I did, however, become more invested in the story about 80% in. That's when things started becoming real creepy. It also started getting confusing, and it was hard to tell what was real and what was just a hallucination. I still have so many questions, and when the culprit was revealed, I wasn't exactly surprised, but I hadn't guessed it, either.
There was this thing where characters would be in a room, but they weren't mentioned until they spoke. What was that all about? For example, in one scene, the only people mentioned in the room were Annaleigh and Morella. But then a random sister speaks and I'm like :O When did you get here?? Were there just too many sisters and the author got lazy and didn't mention them all? Was I supposed to assume the whole household was in that room? Whatever the reason, I did not appreciate it playing with my imagination. I had to change the picture in my head several times.
The writing, in my very humble opinion, was not unique in any way. It wasn't bad, per se, but it was just meh, so I have nothing remarkable to say about it. One thing that annoyed me (which isn't saying much, as I get annoyed quite easily), was how many times Annaleigh used the word "dare". I dared to imagine...I dared to touch...I dared to whisper...with daring. I wouldn't mind if it happened a few times, but every single time Annaleigh does something remotely interesting, she just dares to use dare. (See what I did there?)
So why did I give this book 2 stars instead of 1, you ask? Well, grab a coffee, get comfortable, and let me tell you (jk it's not that big of a reason.) You see, I absolutely LOVED the atmosphere of the book. It was so eerie and...spooky. The murders, ghosts/hallucinations, the seaside setting, the gods. They all worked to create a haunting feel to the book, and I was genuinely freaked out during some scenes. If the characters didn't get on my nerves every 0.02 seconds, this book would probably be 4 stars, as the plot isn't too crucial for me to like a book.
Oh, one more thing before I forget.
~Instalove~ is very much present in this book.
Fantastic.
And I was thoroughly disappointed.
Annaleigh is boring, bland, dull, and plain (notice how those words are basically synonyms of each other.) I literally felt nothing for her, or any of the characters, for that matter. If you merged all their personalities together, it would be equivalent to the personality of a doorknob. The only thing they made me feel was more annoyed than I usually am. Yes. Oh, and she hates pink. Lovely.
Also, she is inconsistent with her goals, which was pretty annoying, but I'll get more into that later on.
I'd like to throw Fisher into the ocean and feed him to fish. But I am not going to do that, as the ocean is already polluted enough. He is Gale #2. Mal #2. Aspen #2. He is a misogynistic asshole. That alone should be reason to despise him. But no, we need another reason. I'm tagging the next bit as a spoiler since it kind of is. I think it happens around 35% or 40% into the book.
Spoiler
He sees Annaleigh for the first time after 5 or 6 years, and they spend about 2 weeks together. And you know what he does? He confesses his undying love for her. That alone irks me. But guess what? It's not over yet. He then gets mad, yes, mad at Annaleigh for not sharing those feelings, and yells at her and ignores her because he's eMbArRaSsED. Pathetic.Cassius is blander than milk, but at least he's respectful and has nice eyes, am I right?
The plot wasn't exactly...well, a plot. Like I said before, Annaleigh is inconsistent with her goals. She wants to solve the mystery of her sister's death, but she gets distracted by other things. I guess that's because of the mystery thing going on and the author has to build clues, but it shouldn't take away from Annaleigh's focus on her goal. Considering how interesting the whole premise sounded, it was unfortunately not done well in my opinion. The clues for one mystery were given just moments before revealing the truth. I am specifically talking about Cassius's heritage. I wasn't given any time to wonder who exactly he is because of this reason. I did, however, become more invested in the story about 80% in. That's when things started becoming real creepy. It also started getting confusing, and it was hard to tell what was real and what was just a hallucination. I still have so many questions, and when the culprit was revealed, I wasn't exactly surprised, but I hadn't guessed it, either.
There was this thing where characters would be in a room, but they weren't mentioned until they spoke. What was that all about? For example, in one scene, the only people mentioned in the room were Annaleigh and Morella. But then a random sister speaks and I'm like :O When did you get here?? Were there just too many sisters and the author got lazy and didn't mention them all? Was I supposed to assume the whole household was in that room? Whatever the reason, I did not appreciate it playing with my imagination. I had to change the picture in my head several times.
The writing, in my very humble opinion, was not unique in any way. It wasn't bad, per se, but it was just meh, so I have nothing remarkable to say about it. One thing that annoyed me (which isn't saying much, as I get annoyed quite easily), was how many times Annaleigh used the word "dare". I dared to imagine...I dared to touch...I dared to whisper...with daring. I wouldn't mind if it happened a few times, but every single time Annaleigh does something remotely interesting, she just dares to use dare. (See what I did there?)
So why did I give this book 2 stars instead of 1, you ask? Well, grab a coffee, get comfortable, and let me tell you (jk it's not that big of a reason.) You see, I absolutely LOVED the atmosphere of the book. It was so eerie and...spooky. The murders, ghosts/hallucinations, the seaside setting, the gods. They all worked to create a haunting feel to the book, and I was genuinely freaked out during some scenes. If the characters didn't get on my nerves every 0.02 seconds, this book would probably be 4 stars, as the plot isn't too crucial for me to like a book.
Oh, one more thing before I forget.
~Instalove~ is very much present in this book.
Fantastic.