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Other Words for Smoke
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Haunting and literary, Sarah Maria Griffin’s sophomore novel follows twins Mae and Rossa as they discover a house full of witches, experience devastating first loves, and face a dark power beyond all imagining. Fans of Libba Bray’s The Diviners and Maggie Stiefvater’s All the Crooked Saints will devour this dark tale.
When the house at the end of the lane burned down, none ...more
When the house at the end of the lane burned down, none ...more
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Hardcover, 352 pages
Published
March 12th 2019
by Greenwillow Books
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Community Reviews
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Start your review of Other Words for Smoke

"Love is love no matter what kind of soul you are or where you're from."
I love messy, helpless queers crushing hard on people they can't have. Oh the bittersweet taste of unrequited love. I also love unapologetic female characters that don't take shit from anyone. This is exactly my kind of book.
My heart was lost from the very beginning. Sarah Maria Griffin writes with a voice that is one part beautiful, the other part fiercely intelligent, both parts dangerous. You'll cut yourself if you get to ...more
I love messy, helpless queers crushing hard on people they can't have. Oh the bittersweet taste of unrequited love. I also love unapologetic female characters that don't take shit from anyone. This is exactly my kind of book.
My heart was lost from the very beginning. Sarah Maria Griffin writes with a voice that is one part beautiful, the other part fiercely intelligent, both parts dangerous. You'll cut yourself if you get to ...more

Yet another mindblowing novel from one of Ireland's most promising voices. Sarah really outdoes herself in this one. I'd loved her previous work and was highly anticipating this novel, so my expectations were set high from the get-go, yet it felt like they were somehow exceeded despite that.
At the core of it all, this is a novel about power, love, fear and the marks our actions leave onto the world, all interwoven with complex threads of family and magic. The book follows the story of a set of ...more
At the core of it all, this is a novel about power, love, fear and the marks our actions leave onto the world, all interwoven with complex threads of family and magic. The book follows the story of a set of ...more

I finished this a week or 2 ago and have been trying to get my thoughts in order to leave some sort of review.
I have to say I was expecting an all together different story when going into this without reading the synopses and from first impressions of the cover, I also don't think I have read anything that I could compare it to.
It is a coming of age story and one that contains lust, betrayal, magic & witchcraft. Not to forget Bobby Dear - the talking cat, and Sweet James the owl in the wall that ...more
I have to say I was expecting an all together different story when going into this without reading the synopses and from first impressions of the cover, I also don't think I have read anything that I could compare it to.
It is a coming of age story and one that contains lust, betrayal, magic & witchcraft. Not to forget Bobby Dear - the talking cat, and Sweet James the owl in the wall that ...more

"It won't. It'll get huge, for a while. It'll walk around your veins and your stomach. You might even feel it in your rib cage, or your heart, like the songs say. But eventually it'll get smaller and smaller and will run out of steam, until it's a tiny thing that you barely remember. It'll get replaced by other loves."
I came close to DNFing at least 40 times whilst reading this book. Don't get me wrong, Other Words for Smoke is beautifully written. Griffin has talent in making even t ...more

An interesting tale filled with magic, betrayal and the lengths people will go to get what they want.
“Other Words for Smoke” creates a twisted fairy tale like story when a set of twins are sent to live with their Aunt for the summer and upon their arrival they find that things are not quite what they seem with a game in progress between two forces with everyone who crosses the threshold becoming the unwilling participants.
This book creates a world where fantasy and reality sit side by side wit ...more
“Other Words for Smoke” creates a twisted fairy tale like story when a set of twins are sent to live with their Aunt for the summer and upon their arrival they find that things are not quite what they seem with a game in progress between two forces with everyone who crosses the threshold becoming the unwilling participants.
This book creates a world where fantasy and reality sit side by side wit ...more
![destiny ♡⚔♡ [howling libraries]](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1557144778p2/15335689.jpg)
Jul 02, 2019
destiny ♡⚔♡ [howling libraries]
marked it as finish-me-soon
This is so cool so far! ... buuuuut it was my "finish or set aside/DNF" title for the week, and sadly, I do not have the motivation to finish it tonight, so I'll pick it back up soon. ♥ (pls don't hate me Lauren!)
...more

My review was first posted on Northern Plunder, you can read more of my reviews there too.
ow here I empty my soul
Screams into the endless void about how this brilliant book with a theme of obsession is my current obsession. When I first finished reading it on a Saturday night in March, I started re-reading it again the next morning.
I am not okay.
No really, I love this book. [hi look at me being a mess on twitter 32 times]
I first heard about Other Words for Smoke when I attended an Waterstones Q+ ...more
ow here I empty my soul
Screams into the endless void about how this brilliant book with a theme of obsession is my current obsession. When I first finished reading it on a Saturday night in March, I started re-reading it again the next morning.
I am not okay.
No really, I love this book. [hi look at me being a mess on twitter 32 times]
I first heard about Other Words for Smoke when I attended an Waterstones Q+ ...more

5/10.
The pros: Other Words for Smoke is a compelling, dark, magical story that makes the haunted house trope into something quite new and fresh. The writing style was both beautiful and very fast and easy to fly through. I enjoyed the weirdness of it. The writing was really its strength. I really liked the setting of this strange house and its strange inhabitants. There is a talking cat, which ALWAYS wins me over. I love books with talking cats, I can give you a list of books that I love that co ...more
The pros: Other Words for Smoke is a compelling, dark, magical story that makes the haunted house trope into something quite new and fresh. The writing style was both beautiful and very fast and easy to fly through. I enjoyed the weirdness of it. The writing was really its strength. I really liked the setting of this strange house and its strange inhabitants. There is a talking cat, which ALWAYS wins me over. I love books with talking cats, I can give you a list of books that I love that co ...more

Jun 03, 2020
Théo M. (bookswiththeo)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
most-anticipated
4.5 stars
Howl’s Moving Castle and Coraline vibes. Will definitely be reading more of Sarah Maria Griffin.
Possible new favourite author.
Howl’s Moving Castle and Coraline vibes. Will definitely be reading more of Sarah Maria Griffin.
Possible new favourite author.

This is a fascinating coming-of-age story with magical elements that feel both grounded and properly mystifying. Mae and Rossa are twins whose parents are slowly coming apart, and they get sent to live with their great aunt Rita and her teenage ward, Bevan, for two separate summers. They soon discover that Rita's house is no ordinary place --- it's one of those spooky houses with a mind of its own, where the rooms change shape and configuration sometimes. Plus there's a talking cat named Bobby,
...more

May 31, 2019
Aoife
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
urban-fantasy,
irish-author,
magic-spells,
ya,
ya-paranormal,
my-bookshelf,
review-books,
irish,
beautiful-covers,
paranormal
I received this book from Titan Press in exchange for an honest review.
Mae and Rossa are staying with their Great-Aunt Rita and her teenage ward Bevan for a whole summer, and neither of them know what to expect - until they get there and realise that Rita and Bevan are witches and a talking cat lives in the house as well as an evil entity called Sweet James who takes the form of a terrifying owl.
This is a really interesting tale with subtle magic that flashes powerful at times, and an underlying ...more
Mae and Rossa are staying with their Great-Aunt Rita and her teenage ward Bevan for a whole summer, and neither of them know what to expect - until they get there and realise that Rita and Bevan are witches and a talking cat lives in the house as well as an evil entity called Sweet James who takes the form of a terrifying owl.
This is a really interesting tale with subtle magic that flashes powerful at times, and an underlying ...more

i'm in love with bobby dear and sweet james and this book is weird weird weird.
...more

(Gifted)
Blog Post: https://museofnyxmares.wordpress.com/...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/museofnyxma...
*I was provided with a copy by the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.
This was without a doubt one of the most unique books that I’ve ever read. There are just certain special books that manage to create an atmosphere when they are read, that surround you and submerge you deeper into the story, and this was definitely one of those books. I don’t think that I could accurately co ...more
Blog Post: https://museofnyxmares.wordpress.com/...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/museofnyxma...
*I was provided with a copy by the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.
This was without a doubt one of the most unique books that I’ve ever read. There are just certain special books that manage to create an atmosphere when they are read, that surround you and submerge you deeper into the story, and this was definitely one of those books. I don’t think that I could accurately co ...more

Sarah Maria Griffin has burned a haunted house shaped hole in my heart.
Blending the familiar horrors of a broken home and the supernatural horrors of worlds beyond our own, Sarah’s Other Words for Smoke bewitched and completely broke me (sometimes in the same chapter). Touching on everything from Ireland’s dark history that often goes ignored to the quiet aches of adolescence, the need for self resilience when it comes to magic to the unique presence summer has in our lives, Sarah’s managed to ...more
Blending the familiar horrors of a broken home and the supernatural horrors of worlds beyond our own, Sarah’s Other Words for Smoke bewitched and completely broke me (sometimes in the same chapter). Touching on everything from Ireland’s dark history that often goes ignored to the quiet aches of adolescence, the need for self resilience when it comes to magic to the unique presence summer has in our lives, Sarah’s managed to ...more

Oct 05, 2019
Isabelle | Nine Tale Vixen
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Isabelle by:
Lauren (Northern Plunder)
Recommended by Lauren @ Northern Plunder.
I'm so grateful Lauren put this book on my radar again and again until I finally caved and read it, because holy wow I needed this in my life. Full review to come!
content warnings: (view spoiler)
rep: (view spoiler)
-----------
CONVERSION : 13.7 / 15 = 5 stars
Prose: 8 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 10 / 10
Emotional Impact: 9 / 10
Development / Flow: 9 / 10
Setting: 10 / 10
Diversity & Social Themes: 4 / 5
Intellectual En ...more
I'm so grateful Lauren put this book on my radar again and again until I finally caved and read it, because holy wow I needed this in my life. Full review to come!
content warnings: (view spoiler)
rep: (view spoiler)
-----------
CONVERSION : 13.7 / 15 = 5 stars
Prose: 8 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 10 / 10
Emotional Impact: 9 / 10
Development / Flow: 9 / 10
Setting: 10 / 10
Diversity & Social Themes: 4 / 5
Intellectual En ...more

I started this book with absolutely no idea what it was about. And that, I think, is the very best way. I'm not going to give you a brief outline because that would mean you go into it with expectations, just trust me when I say that the writing is strong and lyrical, the story rich and diverse and enchanting.
It had a very Gaiman-esque feel to me with layers of magical realism pulsing through the narrative. I loved all of the characters, which is very rare. The author has a wonderful voice and, ...more
It had a very Gaiman-esque feel to me with layers of magical realism pulsing through the narrative. I loved all of the characters, which is very rare. The author has a wonderful voice and, ...more

“A girl handing it all over to the beasts. Maybe she wanted freedom, too, or maybe something else, something bigger. She was a house for the monsters, herself.”
Because of the prose in this story, which is beautiful and heavily florid, this story can sometime seem like it drags. But because if the prose, it also has a sense of the liminal: it transgresses the border between reality, and magic.
This is a really beautiful story, and sometimes I loved it and sometimes I didn’t. With this style of wr ...more
Because of the prose in this story, which is beautiful and heavily florid, this story can sometime seem like it drags. But because if the prose, it also has a sense of the liminal: it transgresses the border between reality, and magic.
This is a really beautiful story, and sometimes I loved it and sometimes I didn’t. With this style of wr ...more

mayyyybe a 4.75 because i didn't really see why the constant switch to 2nd-person was needed for bevan's pov. this is unlike anything i've read, although elements of it remind me of twin peaks.
...more

What an absolute stunner of a book. Impossible to pin down and describe read this book for the unbelievable use of language. Narrative poetry - is that a thing? I forget but this book is it.
A treasure of family relationships, love, fear, a wretched history and magic realism this was a joy to read. I took my time because it is so well written that rushing through it would be a disservice. I got the impression each word was carved out exactly so and the results are stunning.
Highly recommended
A treasure of family relationships, love, fear, a wretched history and magic realism this was a joy to read. I took my time because it is so well written that rushing through it would be a disservice. I got the impression each word was carved out exactly so and the results are stunning.
Highly recommended

I doubt this review will be much use to anyone, I have no idea what to write and that’s basically because I’m not even sure what I just read. This book made next to no sense to me and I’m looking at all these 4 and 5 star reviews on here and wondering if I even read the same book?? Clearly this was just very much not for me.
One of the POV’s is written in second person and honestly the weirdness pretty much started there. I really dislike second person. Also this character was such a selfish bra ...more
One of the POV’s is written in second person and honestly the weirdness pretty much started there. I really dislike second person. Also this character was such a selfish bra ...more

Three and a half stars for this inventive take on practicing witches. For fans of Alice Hoffman who can handle writing that’s a little more grit and a little less whimsical, Other Words For Smoke presents a coming of age tale that makes you question everyone’s motives. While the story follows our protagonists for a few years, a lot of the character development is left to the reader’s imagination. Despite this, the creative mysterious elements kept me reading until the last page, where the conclu
...more

this book. THIS BOOK. this book features ALL of my favourite tropes, but the most important one are borderline destructive couples that will watch the world (and their loved ones) burn for their s/o alright. rita is my favourite. everyone's a mess and they grow and regress and people can be so UGLY when pushed, i loved it. 5/5
...more

Friends. Ladies. Gals and pals. Do you like reading stories about sapphic girls? Can I interest you in some lightly-drawn but still absolutely heartrending allegories about the history of women's rights (or previous lack thereof) in Ireland? How about some WITCHCRAFT, and the most deliciously spooky vibes of any book I've read in months, if not years? THEN DO I HAVE A REC FOR YOU!!!
Other Words For Smoke begins at the end, with the prologue taking place after all the other events of the novel hav ...more
Other Words For Smoke begins at the end, with the prologue taking place after all the other events of the novel hav ...more

We've been blessed with another fantastic book by Sarah Maria Griffin!
There is honestly so much to love about this book. I could rave on and on about it for a long time. It's so atmospheric and has such a strong voice. The characters are so palpably real. Even though the book is about a haunted house and magic and witches, the bits that shine the strongest are how real the characters are. You can really feel their fears, anxieties, desires, leaping off of the page.
Also, obviously, I loved that ...more
There is honestly so much to love about this book. I could rave on and on about it for a long time. It's so atmospheric and has such a strong voice. The characters are so palpably real. Even though the book is about a haunted house and magic and witches, the bits that shine the strongest are how real the characters are. You can really feel their fears, anxieties, desires, leaping off of the page.
Also, obviously, I loved that ...more

DNF at 50%
I wanted to love this book.
A coming of age story taking place inside a haunted house powered by living creatures in the wall and plenty of magical elements held the promise of a compelling and atmospheric read.
I found the actual story was only beginning at the half way point of the novel. Just as things began to pick up and I thought I'd have a better understanding of the sinister spirit in the home, the author set the story aside to offer up brief vignettes of events taking place all ...more
I wanted to love this book.
A coming of age story taking place inside a haunted house powered by living creatures in the wall and plenty of magical elements held the promise of a compelling and atmospheric read.
I found the actual story was only beginning at the half way point of the novel. Just as things began to pick up and I thought I'd have a better understanding of the sinister spirit in the home, the author set the story aside to offer up brief vignettes of events taking place all ...more

At its core, this book is a story of love and fear, magic and betrayal.
When twins Mae and Rossa spend a summer at their great aunt Rita’s, they unknowingly become pawns in a game being played by two powerful forces.
I found Other Words For Smoke a strange yet totally compelling read. I was hooked from the beginning and barely put it down.
The haunted house aspect gave it a chilling air that kept you captivated throughout and the characters were interesting and not always what they seemed.
Other ...more
When twins Mae and Rossa spend a summer at their great aunt Rita’s, they unknowingly become pawns in a game being played by two powerful forces.
I found Other Words For Smoke a strange yet totally compelling read. I was hooked from the beginning and barely put it down.
The haunted house aspect gave it a chilling air that kept you captivated throughout and the characters were interesting and not always what they seemed.
Other ...more

Sarah Maria Griffin wrote Spare and Found Parts, the post-apocalyptic sci-fi about bisexual Nell with a mean streak and a mechanical heart so of course, I'm reading this book about twins and dark secrets and other interesting things mentioned in the super long blurb LOL
...more
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