nocturnalbookworm's reviews
75 reviews

 Very interesting read. As always love the balance of technical info and science talk with the narrative and tense story. Norman was an interesting character. I also really liked the way the various characters confusion and thought process was conveyed in the novel. 

 I was impressed with the amount of background info and detail on the characters as far as short stories go. One of my main issues with reading short stories is my desire to know more about the characters and setting. It's a personal problem I know, short story means less space for world-building and character backstory and development. I was happy to feel very familiar with Ivory and her family life by the time all the mystical bits and scary stuff came around. This one had a very dark fairytale feel for me but in a modern and realistic way. (Hopefully, that makes sense?) 

 Fun and interesting little story. There were definitely moments I saw coming and little surprises as well. Even the bits I could predict were interesting to read when they finally came to happen. 

 Loved it can't wait to read more. Really looking forward to learning more about the backstories of these ladies. All the little tidbits interspersed within the main story has me itching to know more. 

 Overall a fairly enjoyable read. I definitely enjoyed and had more interest in some of the characters than others. The book is divided into four parts each focusing on a different woman. Overall the transitions are fairly smooth and blend really well building the world and the story. The transition from part one to part two is the most jarring but honestly, even that one isn't that bad. I will say that at times I felt there was a bit of flowery prose and excessive religious reference and poetic analogies that I'm assuming were meant to heighten the drama and really just seemed over the top and too dramatic with their frequency.

Yael and Aziza were my favorites. 

 A friend lent this to me and its got me hooked. I will be not only purchasing a copy of my own but the rest of the series as well. Intense right from the beginning and containing a host of quite interesting characters this first volume has left me itching to dive even deeper. Especially with the cliffhanger-ish (and hilarious inn my opinion) end. 

 Honestly, the first third of the book was about a 3/5 and the rest was a 1/5 so my rating of 2/5 is my compromise.