Always Carry a Book!

{Spoilers}

I initially thought i would give it 2 stars but theres something about the story that makes me want to read the next book despite the things i disliked, so i give it 2.5 and round it to 3 stars on 'my rating'.

I liked the atmosphere, Marillier's style of writing and the way she built the world, but the storyline lacked and perhaps a third of the way through, it started to become a chore to read. I think it was too simplistic and needed to be expanded plot wise. The characters were very unrealistic at times. It got repetitive too, with the constant talk of Sorcha's painful fingers sewing the shirts.

Also, i didn't like that she turned Sorcha into a constant victim and 'damsel in distress'. At the beginning it was made clear that Sorcha is not stupid and is able to think clearly but then by the halfway point in the book, Marillier turned her into one of those frustrating characters that walks down haunted alleyways or straight into traps. I think she thought that this made sense because of her trauma, but i think the trauma should have made her more alert and wiser to plotting rather than more blinder. All Sorcha's experiences on her own logically should have made her much more 'streetwise'. So i don't think that she did her character justice in some parts.

I was also disappointed because i kept waiting for Simon to come back after bonding with Sorcha, but all of a sudden Red became the obvious love interest. It was a strange twist, it worked out in the end but made me think, what was the point of all that time building on Simon if he was only going to appear again for a few pages right at the end? I think Sorcha and Simon would've been more interesting (and a more realistic couple) because of the personality clash that we saw at the start.


Those were the main issues i had, but there were others too that i won't go into(*cough* Sorcha's rape >:/).

Overall, 2.5 stars.

EDIT: I don't know why this is classed as a young adult book. It is clearly an adult book. I would not feel comfortable with the idea of 13-17 year olds (specifically females) reading some of the more descriptive and triggering scenes in this book.