Lindsey
2.75
This book felt so slow, I was never really excited to pick it up and continue reading it. Almost DNF'ed it. The misdirections for “ who dun it” just seemed so obviously like red herrings. Most of the characters that died didn't really matter because you never really got the chance to know them enough to care. When the action picked up toward the end it become more enjoyable, but by then I was already mentally done. I think the story would have benefited being a novella or even a short story.
It was okay, not bad, but nothing special. It got really repetitive at times. I mean, I get it, she's a tired mom. I think it could definitely been shorter, a novella would have made more sense. I don't really like stories about motherhood in general because I have no interest in being a mother. This book helped me solidify that. I like the weirdness, and it started off strong because of that, but that and the commentary on motherhood is the only good thing it has going for it. I wish it leaned more into the horror and werewolf aspect, nothing scary really happened, it was just all shock-value stuff. Still glad I read it because the movie is coming out, and even more glad I got it from the library so I didn't waste any money on it.
Initially rated a 4, the rating changed to 3.5 on re-read.
SPOILERS
The ending felt out of left field. There was no prior indication Jack was interested in Eric like that. Maybe some barely noticeable facial expressions, but I wish there was more build-up to see Jack's feelings for Eric evolve over time.
Adding to my Favorites List
I have not read many thrillers lately, but this is definitely the best thriller I have EVER read. Every time I thought the action was finally done, another twist would happen. The best part was how many times my expectations were subverted. Also, who doesn't love a strong female protagonist?
I am so excited for the movie adaptation to come out later this year on Hulu.
This WOULD have been a 4 star read for me if it wasn't for the fact that it romanticized cheating. Like seriously? It is possible to have a love triangle without having them straight up cheat. Other than that, I loved the multiple missed chances trope and the fact that it spanned over many years. Also, I always love books told from multiple perspectives.
I really enjoyed the poems in this collection. However, I feel scammed due to the fact that each poem came with an accompanying full-page illustration. Which would have been cool if each one was made specifically for the poem instead of just the two same images repeated throughout the book. I got so sick of them by the end, I would be happy to never see them again. So really the amount of actual content in this collection is only half of the book.
Now there is A LOT going on in this book, and it is definitely one that needs to be read at least a second time in order to understand everything completely. Unfortunately, I read it on audio, and the version I had although marketed as “unabridged” was missing parts of the book. I don't feel like I can rate it properly because of that but as of now, it is a 4-star book for me. I'm not one who likes a lot of political intrigue and that is the main plot of the story, but other than that it was exactly what I was hoping from an epic sci-fi. In 2022 I plan on re-reading it physically to understand it better and read the missing parts from the audio version.
The only thing that brought this down a star for me is that most of the poems more or less said the same thing. However, I do get they were from the same “portal” and that is probably why. The solar return edition is definitely the way to go. It is super fun to use as an “oracle” book by flipping to a random page.
This was a wonderful ambiguous story of being either about ghosts or an insane woman. However, the suspense it kept building up never lead to a real horrific moment. I kept waiting and waiting and one never showed up. I wonder if that is to keep the story tame enough to tell children? Additionally, the language was in a beautiful old victorian style that while wonderful felt intentionally obtuse most of the time. It was as if the author had a thesaurus out and looked for the most complicated version of every word in the sentence. Which ultimately came off as very pretentious imo.
To be honest, this really does not need to exist. “Into the Drowning Deep” is perfectly fine on its own, and is a fully fleshed-out version of this. Also reading this first would spoil the mystery that makes ITDD so suspenseful in the beginning. With that being said, if you loved ITDD like I did and wanted more like I did, this novella was perfect. I wish there was an edition of ITDD that had this novella combined into it as flashback sequences - that would be the best way to present this story imo.
The movie, of course, is a cult classic and uses the main storyline and characters in this book. However, to compare the two would be a disservice to both. The book by itself without being compared to the movie is a magical experience that allows you deeply know the characters on a whole other level.
This started off so strong with the sentiment that “living your life is a spiritual act”, but then lost it by being too heavily focused on cauldron/cauldron work. Cauldrons are the heart of olden times hearthcraft, but one chapter or even just a section of a chapter would have been enough to get that point across. There were some modern ways you can utilize a modern home spiritually, but that was few and far between amidst the hearth/fireplace/cauldron talk.