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A review by dbguide2
My Throat an Open Grave by Tori Bovalino
dark
emotional
sad
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
5.0
This was such an amazing and sad read. I’ll definitely want to reread it so I hope there will be an audiobook and I can read it again. Or take it out of the library once it’s on one of mine. Because I very much want to read it again.
This was such an atmospheric read, I didn’t want to stop reading. I wanted to stay in the world, read slower, but also I couldn’t stop reading. So I was quite sad when I finished because I couldn’t stay with them. I loved everything about it (well, except most of the town members).
This was such an atmospheric read, I didn’t want to stop reading. I wanted to stay in the world, read slower, but also I couldn’t stop reading. So I was quite sad when I finished because I couldn’t stay with them. I loved everything about it (well, except most of the town members).
I love weird forests and weird things happening in them and this turned out to be different than what I was expecting! I liked that the Lord of the Wood wasn’t what Leah thought he would be. Which I gathered early on but I liked how they showed it. I’m a sucker for a guy who’s supposedly a big baddie but really he’s very sweet and caring. I’ll take this trope in any genre. He was definitely that guy but not in that typical Alpha Male way. The Lord of the Wood was only perceived to be bad but I’m glad we almost immediately saw him to be different.
Leah isn’t your traditional strong female main character but she sort of has that quiet strength that’s actually quite nice to see as there’s a lot of strong fmcs in books. Specifically in fantasy and a bit in paranormal, which I guess this book straddles those two genres. I liked that she was a bit lost in what she wanted to do but she knew she didn’t want to stay in the town. My heart hurt for her (and wanted to hurt her mother a lot).
Leah isn’t your traditional strong female main character but she sort of has that quiet strength that’s actually quite nice to see as there’s a lot of strong fmcs in books. Specifically in fantasy and a bit in paranormal, which I guess this book straddles those two genres. I liked that she was a bit lost in what she wanted to do but she knew she didn’t want to stay in the town. My heart hurt for her (and wanted to hurt her mother a lot).
I was surprised to see mentions of TV and phones and such because I think when I read the synopsis and started reading the book it reminded me of The Village (the M. Night Shyamalan movie). They had the same vibes – small town, something creepy in the woods, mounds of secrets piling up. So I expected the village and the book to be in a total fantasy world, not like, I don’t know, an hour’s drive from a McDonald’s. Since I love The Village, I immediately started to like it. And then it changed and very much wasn’t like the movie – but it was great because it went above and beyond (my expectations).
I liked that the book showed early that most of what the church and town say and believe in are wrong. In small towns like these, I think it’s quite easy for religion to have a foothold and dominate over others. If you’re not going to church, well… Everyone knows where everyone else stays. Of course not all churches are good; quite a lot of them have lost the light or reason why they started up. In here it was interesting to see what the church was doing – even though they were utterly in the wrong – but obviously nobody would tell them too. Also makes you wonder that these types of things are… surely happening but there’s no Lord of the Wood to receive them.
I liked that the book showed early that most of what the church and town say and believe in are wrong. In small towns like these, I think it’s quite easy for religion to have a foothold and dominate over others. If you’re not going to church, well… Everyone knows where everyone else stays. Of course not all churches are good; quite a lot of them have lost the light or reason why they started up. In here it was interesting to see what the church was doing – even though they were utterly in the wrong – but obviously nobody would tell them too. Also makes you wonder that these types of things are… surely happening but there’s no Lord of the Wood to receive them.
I liked that, of course, the plot wasn’t something that could be avoided – like she had to get her brother back, and that might be difficult (when she thought The Lord of the Wood to be all bad). But she still managed to sit and smell the roses, start to realise she’s not the person the town’s painting her out to be. Which I really liked!