magicalghoul's reviews
81 reviews

I acquired a digital copy of this book through Bookfunnel's dark fantasy freebies.

This is a fascinating dark fantasy reimagining of Beauty and the Beast, with its own rich world-building and well-developed characters.

The internal worlds of the characters are vividly described, and I deeply resonated with Yelena's feelings of dispossession and longing for a home that wasn't hers anymore. The narrative is effective in showing the characters' struggles to adapt to a changing society that isn't kind to the working class, highlighting the inevitable nature of change and the universal human need for community and support.

I absolutely loved the author's exploration of the consequences of an unbroken curse, the interplay of geopolitics, and the shifting dynamics of power in it all. And also the spice was good, so read on if you're a monster lover. 

This was a fantastic one and I'm looking forward to the rest of the planned series by this author, all set within the same universe. 

Thanks to netgalley for the digital copy!

I picked up this book because it reminded me of the videogame Rule of Rose (which I Love) and those are exactly the vibes I got from this—at least the first part. The second part felt more like an afterthought and didn't feel as polished or integrated into the plot, and I'll admit did put me off reading for a bit. 

The writing, while rich in description, felt a bit repetitive and sometimes confusing with the sequence of names and actions. I could tell all the girls apart though and even grew fond of them l, so I think it was more a matter of execution and editing than anything else.

This could have used a few revisions to polish it up and really bring forth its themes and motivations because it's a good premise that I desperately need to see more of in fiction. 

How do you navigate the weight of life and all the patriarchal violence inflicted on you, without going... mad? Without detaching yourself from reality and wanting to turn into a tree, like Daphne did? 

The first two parts enraged me so (not because the text was bad, the characters and situations just feel so real and it was obvious we were meant to sympathize with the men) while the third and last part almost brought me to tears. 

While reading the first part I thought that yeong-hye didn't have a community, that even her family favored the men in her life. By the third part it's apparent that she had In-hye all along, and the struggle of the sister to keep that bond afloat pained me so much. 

Lo leí por curiosidad y me alegro de haberlo hecho.

El estilo quizá no sea para todo el mundo, pero me pareció hermoso. Transmite muy bien el ambiente opresor, asfixiante e incierto en el que viven los personajes. Los temas son más que claros, no se pierden entre la prosa.

Este tipo de narrativas que trabajan bajo la lógica de los sueños son particularmente de mi gusto. 

So I liked the descriptions of the audiovisual and dreams, the blurred state of reality and dreams. I also have to bring up the Beautiful prose and the precise, rich imagery.

The use of an unreliable narrator was well done, and Abby's character becomes clear enough the more time we spend with hee- at first presented as a meek follower, later actually condescending to Elise.

But, maybe it's because we don't see Elise from Abby's biased perspective, I kept expecting more from her. She gets no development and seems to prove to be as vapid and hopeless as Abby characterizes her.

My favorite passages were the ones about the dreams and premonitions. It's clear early on that Abbie is mentally ill in addition to being avoidant, so the ambiguity of whether her delusions are actually prescient was one that kept me engaged - it's open-ended, but the definitive answer doesn't come until much later (and even that feels like a fever dream, which I also enjoyed).

I wasn't invested in the subplot with Paul, but at least Abbie brought up how exploitative the whole endeavor was.

Through no fault of its own, I personally was expecting something a bit more focused on the relationship between Abby and Elise, so when the second part branched off from them I wasn't really interested in the subplots there.

Instead it felt like it dragged on. I liked the ending, but it came too late, too watered down.

I didn't understand the stylistic choice of using the second person, I kept waiting for a moment where it was used, but it was just an embellishment, looks like. 

I hope the author is THRIVING 

The author is honestly so relatable, I also find it very reassuring to see someone in their thirties still figuring stuff out.