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May 22, 2017Greyism rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
Great story & writing ruined by intense toxic abuse paraded as "romance". I love Naomi Novak's Temeraire series, I find her writing to be evocative and gripping, with clearly different “voices” for her characters. Folklore is my passion, especially folk horror, and I have family roots from “the old country”, so I was primed to LOVE this book. I read it all in one go, in about 10 hours, with a growing feeling of disbelief and disappointment. I know she can write strong female characters, and the general lack of romance as a plot device has been something I appreciated from her books. I'm not against romance (heck, Patricia Briggs is one of my favourite authors) but 50 Shades of Abuse is not romance, not love, and super awful to present to young women as an example of what an ideal relationship looks like. I’m torn, what I loved about the book was amazing. The Wood was a fantastic folk horror threat, with genuinely chilling and gut-twisting instances. I’d actually like to see her write more horror, I think she has a great visual voice for it. I really wanted to give it 5 stars, and for what I love about it I do, but for the awful and constantly prevalent abuse I have to deduct 3.