I received an ARC from Edelweiss TW: suicide by OD, death of a child, drowning, suicide by automobile, homophobic parent (cultural), fire 3
I think tI received an ARC from Edelweiss TW: suicide by OD, death of a child, drowning, suicide by automobile, homophobic parent (cultural), fire 3
I think this kind of story is in vogue right now- haunted hotel rooms, road trips, queer tension. And I think it'll line up for some people that will make them really love it. However, that's not what happened for me. The emotional aspect of this does feel like a different angle than you'd normally see, and the guilt did feel impactful and so the arc definitely earned. There are also some genuinely nice moments of creepiness and tension that caught me off-guard.
But a lot of this felt disjointed for me. I know the photos are a draw for some people, but they made it feel more distant for me personally. It was harder to connect to the characters and it made the stakes harder to believe.
This really didn't bring enough new to the trope, and the horror didn't feel used enough. It could have been balanced nicely with the emotions and cultural conversations, but instead it wasn't leaned on enough.
I also expected to root for the romance, but it felt weird. There was such a strong focus for so little chemistry, it only made things feel even less balanced and pretty forced....more
I received an ARC from Edelweiss TW: historic antisemitism, drowning, animal death & suffering, imprisonment 4.5
"And there is no stronger magic than I received an ARC from Edelweiss TW: historic antisemitism, drowning, animal death & suffering, imprisonment 4.5
"And there is no stronger magic than refusal.
I've always had a rougher experience reading novels in verse, because as quick as they are to read, I very rarely can get into them and rarer still can see why they needed to be told in this particular format. But not only did I not struggle at all to fall into this story, but I am so, so thankful to have been able to experience it as it was absolutely meant to be experienced. This is poetry in every meaning of the word. The sparseness does not take away from the lushness of the writing, the fairytale does not overshadow the intimate.
I absolutely love Hilde, too! I feared she was going to be a sort of run of the mill narrator with little as to show, but she has so much personality and such a backbone- though even when she's in a more vulnerable state she's in one in ways that make you completely understand the situation she's in and how she feels. She's not a person, and the reality of that shining through is honestly fantastic, she is made from an old god, she belongs to the wild, she does not follow mortal ideals. I also really loved Franz, who was incredibly likeable, and found myself unexpectedly caring so much for King Ludwig. These characters are so tender and real!
My only complaint is that from the synopsis I thought I'd be hearing more about the sisters, and more from Hilde's death magic and her role in the forest. Those things are certainly involved in the story, but I'd been expecting more of it, so I was a little disappointed it was less of a plot point....more
Maybe I'm just really into ocean-based horror right now but this SOUNDS SO GOODMaybe I'm just really into ocean-based horror right now but this SOUNDS SO GOOD...more
I received an ARC from Edelweiss TW: racism, infidelity, equestrian accident, gun violence, mentioned post partum depression, knife violence, stranI received an ARC from Edelweiss TW: racism, infidelity, equestrian accident, gun violence, mentioned post partum depression, knife violence, strangulation 3.8
There was a very specific kind of story that was popular in the 2010s that I like to call "dystopian competition show dating" and I did not expect it to make a comeback, but I think it has! This book is that trend but instead of dystopia it's dark academia/Squid Game. How you feel about that is completely reliant on if you like any of those things!
While this book did feel really 2010s to me because of that I did appreciate the commitment to focusing on classism & racism. It's nice to see diversity added to this kind of thing, and the "underdog" status not coming from nothing at all but instead actual real world context. Along with that, I liked seeing that underdog not suddenly have a miraculous skill or something that made her clearly the best fit, she's pretty poorly matched up and it remains the people in charge making her the "right fit" or "wrong fit".
I was really not a fan of the romance, so I was glad to see it wasn't a huge focal point. Along with that, I thought the ending was surprising and I really liked the shift in priorities.
Though, going back to my first point, this only works if you enjoy this kind of story, and I was expecting horror, so I wasn't ready for this more lighthearted type of story. It was hard to take the games/challenges seriously, and the pacing on top of that kept it from feeling as high stakes as it should have. Due to all of that, it wound up feeling anticlimactic for me....more
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