leahrosereads's Reviews (1.04k)

5 Stars for some kick ass broads, nostalgia of D&D, and some major brutality. If I wasn't a fan girl of all of that, this would probably be closer to a 3.5 or 4 star trade, for the simple fact that the story/plot is all over the place and there's gaps galore.

But the gals, and the art, and the blood and gore make up for all of that! I picked this up through my library, but I'm sure they'll be hitting my bookshelves soon in a more permanent capacity.


I'm going to buy them...that's what I'm trying to say here.

Everything from my review of volume 1 stands. Still some major bad ass broads with blood and gore that I absolutely loved. But, I'm not going to give a full 5 stars for any of the other volumes until the plot is up to par with the rest of what's in this.

That's the only aspect lacking here, and I really think that can be corrected. It feels like the reader is just thrown into an adventure, but unlike D&D where the DM will give as much back story as possible - none of that really exists here.

The reader gets glimpses, but it's not enough to satiate or answer any real questions. Maybe more will be discovered later on, but until that happens, I can't give this 5 stars.

Holy art change Batman! I knew this was coming because I saw the Twitter drama a couple of years ago, but this is such a drastic change, I was very shocked.

Aesthetically, I prefer the first two volumes art style. However, this new art didn't detract too much from the story, and I was able to re-immerse myself into the story pretty well. What I'm still having trouble with is the decision around the writing and what to add into each volume.

The reader got a little more background on one of the characters, unfortunately, I think it was to the detriment of the story. It felt like there was growth with that character from volume 1 to 2 that completely backtracked in this one. Maybe volume 4 will bring it back around. But who knows?

How often do sequels actually improve upon a story anymore? This one not only did Vicious justice, it bettered it! The villains are still super villain-y without many redeeming qualities (just how I like them to be), and we were introduced to a couple more really intricately created characters that expanded this world.

I hope in another 5 years, we'll get to see how they're all doing - of course, namely Victor, who's still one of my favorite characters ever!

Obviously, I could keep gushing about this book, but there are plenty of 5 star reviews that you can read instead to get a more eloquent critique.

But, should you read this duology? Yes, you fucking should!

Of course everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and while mine is more unpopular, I'm going to state it: I liked this better than Ava Lavender.

I know, I know - that one is a darling of the community, and look, I liked it and gave it 4 stars. But for me, it lacked to really combine the history and Ava's tale together fluidly. I felt there were a lot of gaps, and I kinda wish Ava Lavender explored less of the family bonds and stuck more with Ava's story. I think it would have been more compelling.

This one did what I wished Ava Lavender had done. The writing is still so fucking beautiful, and the setting is so fucking atmospheric that those alone really brought the story to life. However, these characters are definitely superior. You can tell that Leslye has grown as a writer and brought a new found experience to this tale. It was so captivating!

I'm definitely looking forward to reading more by Ms. Walton because I can only see her work becoming more bewitching the more she writes.

I really don't like using the B word anymore when talking about books, because it can come off as lazy opinions. So, I'll use the D word instead.

I found this story relatively dull. There were too many half-assed characters in a very creepy setting with incredible villains. I wish most of the town was cut out, and the story just focused on a select few. I think the entire story would have been much more compelling and genuinely scarier if the reader didn't see everything happening in the background.

And, I might be reading King at the wrong time in my life, so I'll definitely continue to give his works a try and maybe as I get older, I'll find more in his stories that I love.

After The Winter People, I knew I found an auto buy author in Jennifer McMahon, and Burntown has helped solidify McMahon as one of my favorite authors. And one I absolutely plan to reading everything I can consume of hers.

Burntown was just such a fantastic and fantastical story. It was thrilling, with interesting and so very flawed characters, with a plot that had my head a spinning.

I can usually get the punchline or twist before it's revealed, but this one blindsided me, and I loved it.

I wish parts of the story were explored more, mainly around the father. But that's kinda how I feel about all of McMahon's stories. They're grey, but I wish they'd go on forever.

The stories are that good to me!

This was a freaking amazing issue! And then I promptly broke into tears when I read there's one arc to go...I just can't imagine NOT picking up this series month in and month out.

I love seeing how Laura's story is progressing, and I can't wait to see this all come to head and what happens next. I'm sure I'll be shocked and awed and then in a comic slump for having seen a story through so completely!