Requesting this book, getting it, reading it, and finishing it was a whole weird sequence of events. I requested it thinking, “Folklore? Celtic mytholRequesting this book, getting it, reading it, and finishing it was a whole weird sequence of events. I requested it thinking, “Folklore? Celtic mythology? Selkies? A man who stole a woman’s selkie skin and is hiding it from her to hold her hostage… but she’s mentally unstable so is she really a selkie or just mentally unstable?” And then I got it and started reading it and I exhaled loudly because it’s got a non-linear timeline, multiple POV narratives, and mental illness involved. That means unreliable narrators and this story is going to unfold like a puzzle and fit together in it’s own way in it’s own time. And then I got finished with it and ultimately felt… slightly let down. But not because of the story, because the story is great! But because of the way it was executed in the latter 30% of the book.
Golding weaved a wonderful tale here. Some critics called this a modern folktale, but I disagree completely, mainly because it doesn’t meet the criteria for a folktale. But in the latter 30% of the story the writing got sloppy and the plot wasn’t woven as tightly as it was in the prior 60% of the book. Some readers can only suspend their disbelief so much before they start to crinkle their nose up like they smelled something fishy (pun intended).
That doesn’t mean this isn’t an entertaining, engaging, and seriously cool psychological thriller with a heavy coating of mythology and magical atmosphere. I highly recommend it if you find yourself in the mood for something a little different than your usual psychological thrillers, or if you think you might like a little thriller mixed in with your fantasy. ...more
This book has been one of my most anticipated releases of 2022 since it was announced last year, and it absolutely did not disappoint. I loved Laura SThis book has been one of my most anticipated releases of 2022 since it was announced last year, and it absolutely did not disappoint. I loved Laura Sebastian’s 2021 release, “Half Sick of Shadows”, and this book, the first in a trilogy, outshines even that excellent read.
I’m not a reviewer who rehashes synopsis or a huge amount of the plot you can read on any blurb you can easily find on any bookseller or review site. You can go ahead and read that for yourself if you’d like. What drew me to this book from the very start and made me pre-order it as soon as it was announced (this was even before I had an early opportunity to read it, thanks to NetGalley, Random House Children’s, and Delacorte Press) were certain keywords and phrases that always perk my ears and catch my eyes: seduction, conquest, grave mistake, no innocents, trained since birth, deception, violence, secret skill… There’s almost nothing I love more than poisonous pretty girls. It may explain why I have such a fondness for Bond girls, courtesans, female assassins, and historical figures like Lucrezia Borgia. The princesses in this series were born and raised to be weapons of their mother’s design, to be armed, deployed, and fired in order to destabilize and bring down foreign countries. These princesses are their mother’s own equivalent to the CIA, and I am here for it.
What makes this book even better, though, is how the triplet princesses’ tight-knit relationship (as well as their own hearts and minds) lead them in different directions, cause them to make different decisions, and forces them to become very different people altogether once they are away from their homeland and out from directly under their mother’s thumb. These sisters all find themselves thrust into situations they were not expecting, and all that’s left to do is to try and rely on one another and their own wits. Sometimes this works out in their favor. Other times? Well…
It’s an excellent book, and a very promising start to a new series. I’m beyond excited to see what happens in the next book. A careful warning: this book does end with a cliffhanger. I’m fully invested in seeing what comes next, and I know I’ll be ordering the next book as soon as it’s announced. I can’t wait. ...more
If someone dreamed up a romance novel (that wasn’t LGBT+ or a RH) that hit darn near close to all my buttons, it would look something eerily close to If someone dreamed up a romance novel (that wasn’t LGBT+ or a RH) that hit darn near close to all my buttons, it would look something eerily close to Sophie Lark’s “There Are No Saints”: a lot of build-up, both psychological and physical, thrills and chills that walk that knife’s edge of dirty and wrong and hot and twisted, two very different types of cats fighting over the same mouse, deliciously self-aware of how dark and morbid it is and not ashamed at all, characters who will literally kill for what they love, catastrophic levels of obsession, and a huge scene near the end that I could hardly breathe through while I was reading because it was so achingly beautiful to read (if you’ve read it, you know).
I didn’t stand a chance from the moment I read the first page of this book. I started reading and simply couldn’t stop. I soaked it up like it was the first full day of sunshine in spring. It was THAT good for me. It was a suspense-thriller. It was a suspense-romance. It was a suspense-thriller with some dark romance drizzled all over the top like dark chocolate syrup, flowing over the sides of the dish and flooding the table beneath it. It was decadent in its intent and execution and I loved every single minute of it. It was a top-notch effort from Lark.
To be clear: Be in a good head space when you start to read this, make sure you read any author’s notes or beware of trigger warnings. Take care of yourself during and after reading if you need to. This book definitely won’t be for everyone. But it DEFINITELY was one for me, and I’m excited as heck to read the next book in the duet, and these puppies are going to definitely be in physical copy on my shelf someday soon. ...more
I felt there was a night and day difference between this book and its predecessor book, “There Are No Saints”, and it resultedTrue Rating: 3.5 stars
I felt there was a night and day difference between this book and its predecessor book, “There Are No Saints”, and it resulted in me just not connecting with this book in the same way I did as the first book. Whereas the first book was very dark, violent, and almost decadent in its brutal build-up and eventual release of hot tension, this book felt like it had been sanded down. Cole and Mara had both been sanded down. The central conflict had been sanded down. It felt like someone had decided the first book was dark enough to let everyone take a breather in this book, when I felt like I would’ve liked to have seen everyone get a little more deeper, darker, and more violent–almost more primal and out for blood.
Was it still good? Yes. Or else I wouldn’t be giving it the rating I’m giving it. It was still a very good book. It was steamy, it was suspenseful… but I just wasn’t feeling the same love for it that I felt for “There Are No Saints”.
But there were a number of awesome plot devices and points I loved and a lot of scenes I really enjoyed. I own it, and as a duology, it’s a fine arc. ...more
I’m jumping into this series 3 books in, without having read any of J. T. Geissinger’s work before, and I’m not even mad about it.
It’s like if John HI’m jumping into this series 3 books in, without having read any of J. T. Geissinger’s work before, and I’m not even mad about it.
It’s like if John Hughes had written a love story about a tiny little spitfire of a woman with a tongue sharper than any knife charming the pants off a big scary gangster, with a subplot of bringing all the mobsters who ever mobstered together for a mobsters prom or reunion. It’s both bonkers and adorable. It’s silly, sweet, serious, and deadly.
I had expected this book to take itself much more seriously than it does, and thank goodness it didn’t, because I really wasn’t in the mood for yet another mafia romance that takes itself as seriously as a Hollywood drama does.
I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it a lot. It makes me want to start the series from the start. Well, and the excellent steam didn’t exactly hurt things either.
I’d like to thank Social Butterfly PR for the opportunity to read and review this title. ...more
You don’t have to be a believer in the paranormal or supernatural to have a healthy fear of the Appalachian Mountains and what deep, dark secrets lie You don’t have to be a believer in the paranormal or supernatural to have a healthy fear of the Appalachian Mountains and what deep, dark secrets lie beneath them. You don’t have to be a genius to know that the land itself in and around those mountains holds just as many deep and dark secrets, and many of those are more fresh and filled with blood and pain created not by geological time, but by humans themselves.
I was very tempted, with my ADD, geography degree, and manic energy after reading this fantastic book, to go off on a tangent about just how old the Appalachian Mountains are and about formation and what lies beneath and about how there’s so much we have yet to discover about this ancient mountain range still, but I took a deep breath, took a step back, and marinated on what needed to be said about this book that people needed to hear.
This book is set in and around Vanderbilt University, which is located in Nashville, which is located in Tennessee. So, from the start, we’ve got a private university that was paid for by Andrew Carnegie (a wealthy white man from the north) but presided over by a Methodist Epsicopalian Bishop who believed slavery was human nature, which is located in a confederate state whose eastern side is part of the Appalachians. There’s a lot to unpack there: socially, politically, economically, culturally… and this book dips a toe into a few of these things. It can’t help not to, because it all ties together. But this book is really about what people don’t like to talk about. The topics they try to skirt around. The ugly things: the blood soaked deep in the soil, the evil steeped in generations of people (and then the lack of evil in some people and the need to protect them from it), the pressure to publish or perish, systemic racism in academia, internalized homophobia, regrets, the things people will do to stave off death, and the things people will and won’t do for love.
And, of course, it’s about cool stuff too: the ancient magic in the land, the sacrifices the land requires to maintain it, curses, hauntings, american folklore, revenants, street-racing, bad boys, drugs, drinking, and necromantic magic.
This is, by no means, a fast read. Like the south tends to be, it moves slow. Reading this book is like taking a walk through black tar molasses while breathing that thick, humid air.
Andrew, our main character, is going through the same thing, and that’s why we’re going through it. We must endure what he does, because this is his story, and we move as he moves. He’s struggling. He’s sluggishly trying to move through life ever since his best friend, Eddie, committed suicide only days before Andrew was to join him at Vanderbilt. He’s suffocating on all the things he never got to say, aimless because he doesn’t know how to live without his best friend, and he’s clueless about what to do with the fortune, friends, and research Eddie left to him. He’s completely lost save the one thing he’s absolutely certain of: Eddie didn’t kill himself. So we, the reader, have to sit in the passenger seat as Andrew throws himself helplessly at idea after idea, trying to grasp onto anything at all that will help him prove Eddie didn’t kill himself. Meanwhile, he’s trying to come to terms with feelings he’d long shut in a box and put a lock on, trying to figure out who he can trust and who he can’t, trying to figure out how to let go and have a good time while he can, and trying to keep a grasp on reality even as a curse that had bound he and Eddie together since childhood keeps trying to drag him down into the ground.
This book is astoundingly good. It’s languid, horrific, slick, bloody, sticky, lazy, intense, sultry, cold, mysterious, frightful, and a well-deserved finger pointed at all of us as a reminder that no matter what you build on top of it, physical or otherwise, the land is the land, and the land holds multitudes of humanities sins. ...more
Most of the time, even though I’m in my early 40’s (as of this review), I thoroughly enjoy YA novels. I had kids young and I have an easy time identifMost of the time, even though I’m in my early 40’s (as of this review), I thoroughly enjoy YA novels. I had kids young and I have an easy time identifying with and empathizing with teenagers and young adults. But this book just wasn’t one I could connect with on most levels.
That’s not to say it was a poorly-written novel or that there isn’t an audience out there for it. For one, it’s a great deal of fun. Who can resist a time slip novel full of pop culture references from the present day and from the 1980s? Think of the fashion, the music, the movies, the slang, and all the social mores that have changed from then to now? Add in the setting of a Christian boarding school and an openly gay main character of color who’s at the top of the food chain in the present day but in for a rude awakening when thrown back to the 1980s… and you have chaos in a book.
But… There’s always a “but” when it comes to media centered around time travel, isn’t there? It’s not that it’s been there and done that. It’s more of a feeling that the obvious pitfalls and plot holes are so much easier to spot as time has gone and movie after movie and book after book using the same plot device has been dissected and broken down to where it has sucked some of the joy and wonder out of the time travel trope. This book doesn’t zone in on the time travel element too much, but it’s always there in the background and it kind of sucks the joy out of things just a little as you read. It shuts down certain opportunities and opens up others but it feels like neither road is fully explored.
There is a large cast of characters; and while that’s not unusual for a book set in high school, it does somewhat cause each character to be shortchanged in development. And our main character, Luis, is not a character I ever came to fully like or identify with. And since the whole purpose of a protagonist is for us readers to identify with their struggle, that definitely impacted my enjoyment and interpretation of the book.
I do think that young YA readers will really enjoy this book more than I did. I do think it has an audience out there waiting for it. It just isn’t me....more
This is the second Wattpad Books title I have read in the last couple of months to really surprise me (the other being “Big Boned”, which I was blown This is the second Wattpad Books title I have read in the last couple of months to really surprise me (the other being “Big Boned”, which I was blown away by). They must be putting something in the water over there (figuratively speaking), because this book is excellent. It’s everything I like about pirates and leaves out a whole lot of the stuff I don’t like to think about when I think about pirates.
It’s no secret to people who know me that I have… issues with pirate fantasy novels. Mainly because when there’s romance involved authors tend to gloss right over all the things I find gross and nasty about pirates and I can only suspend my belief so much before I get grossed out. I don’t care how hot the Captain of that pirate ship is: he probably still has scurvy, rickets, missing teeth, and who knows what else.
Luckily, this pirate fantasy novel takes care of most of those worries for me by having the characters spend most of their time on land, and by leaving the romance to almost-entirely romantic tension and off-screen love scenes. The pacing (which was deftly edited and wielded effectively) and the plot (in which, for the most part, time is of the essence), doesn’t lend itself to long and tender heartfelt moments or a lot of alone time for any of the romantically-paired love interests. Really, it doesn’t leave a whole lot of alone time for anyone. This is mostly a treasure hunt with a tiny bit of heist, a dash of puzzle-solving, and a sprinkling of fighting for your survival with whatever you can get your hands on under a lot of pressure and a time limit.
So, in a way, you can see influences and inspirations from Pirates of the Caribbean, Six of Crows, The Hunger Games, and even Throne of Glass (I can’t help but draw some parallels between the crew of the Scarlet Maiden and The Thirteen, I’m sorry). I’m not saying these books/movies have anything to do with this book, necessarily, but it’s like I can see those properties looking down on this book and nodding with some sort of approval in their eyes.
I was surprised, I wasn’t repelled by it being a pirate fantasy, and I had a good time reading it. It was a rather fast read for me, given I didn’t really want to stop reading. I’ll definitely be back. You’ll want to come back too. ...more
Oh, how I love multiple birth main characters! Twins, triplets, etc. I love them so! You can easily imagine, then, how happy IReal Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Oh, how I love multiple birth main characters! Twins, triplets, etc. I love them so! You can easily imagine, then, how happy I was to read this first installment of a series in which the male protagonists are a set of identical triplets, all obsessed with their female mark.
Oh yeah. That’s the stuff.
Am I loving the triplets? Yes I am. I’m also absolutely living for Della, our FMC’s (Landry) little sister. I have the appropriate amount of rage and hate for Alexander, Landry’s father. Who am I not loving? Sadly, it’s Landry. I’m not loving Landry, and she’s our FMC. It’s not easy to enjoy what looks to be the start of a reverse harem duology when you don’t like the FMC.
I have a large issue with the trope of damsels in distress or heroines in danger. I find them very hard to identify with. And that, I know, is an individual issue. There are millions of people out there who vibe with that kind of trope. I’m just not one of them. So when I come across a book featuring this trope, I have a hard time enjoying it to the fullest because I can’t engage fully with it.
That’s not to say that Landry doesn’t have promise. She could win me over as the series continues. Who’s to say? I’ve seen it happen before. It could happen again.
But the triples were all delightful, Della was a hoot (a tragic hoot, but a hoot nonetheless), and I really want to punch Alexander. A lot. And I had enough fun with those bits that I can say without a doubt I’m looking forward to the next book so I can see if Landry can win me over....more
This book is 60% romcom and 40% medium-sized angst. I enjoyed it enough to finish it, but it’s not something I would pick up for myseRating: 3.5 Stars
This book is 60% romcom and 40% medium-sized angst. I enjoyed it enough to finish it, but it’s not something I would pick up for myself. It was just a fun, light read that I’m sure fans of Lauren Rowe and this genre of romance will greatly enjoy. ...more
I thought this book would feel more like a dark fantasy “The Hunger Games”, but to me it actually felt about 60% “The Hunger Games” and 40% “Battle RoI thought this book would feel more like a dark fantasy “The Hunger Games”, but to me it actually felt about 60% “The Hunger Games” and 40% “Battle Royale”. And I liked that. I liked that a lot because “The Hunger Games” has hope. “Battle Royale? Well… “Battle Royale” shows you just how futile hope can be when the system is rigged against you. And this book sweeps hope out from under the character’s feet every time they get a glimpse of it.
Call me a cynic. A pessimist. A nihilist. But I’m here for the reality of systemic abuse of power structures and the futile fights against them by small bunches of idealists.
If “The Hunger Games” taught a generation of humans to fight back against the center of power and to try for equity (as things should be, I’m not denying that), then this book is a warning to another generation that it’s not as simple as you think it is. Change comes over time, and it doesn’t come without some heavy sacrifices and costs. You don’t change the world with squeaky clean hands.
Even though this is a dark fantasy novel, it feels more real for this perspective. That every act of rebellion will end in bloodshed. Every attempt at bucking the system will require sacrifice. And, more than anything, nothing ever goes to plan when power is involved.
It did take some time for this book to hook me. I didn’t really get sucked in until they were almost in the competition itself. But then I was in it, and I was in it until the end. And I was deeply satisfied by the end. ...more
Being a huge fan of Dana Isaly’s writing, I had really high hopes for this book, especially as I watched her wage an internal war on social media, debBeing a huge fan of Dana Isaly’s writing, I had really high hopes for this book, especially as I watched her wage an internal war on social media, debating back and forth on how she was going to end this book. We readers (especially those of us who stalked her Instagram ruthlessly for updates), were like little dogs sniffing the kitchen floor after dinner had been cooked, picking up every tiny morsel of news that leaked out about this book and as buzz and hype built and built and built. I don’t know about anyone else, but when the opportunity to join the arc team came out I leapt at the opportunity and was giddy when I got one of the very, very limited amounts of slots, even though I had pre-ordered the book as soon as I could.
By the time of release, we knew some stuff: it was going to be dark… VERY dark. It was going to be violent. It wasn’t going to be for the faint-at-heart, and it wasn’t going to be a traditional romance. We didn’t know the main male character’s name (yet). The synopsis only says “Him”. And we knew the FMC’s name would be Lyra. We knew Him is a sociopath and a murderer. And we knew that, somehow, these two end up together in some kind of dark, erotic, twisted, violent way. (And if you follow Dana on Instagram you might even know a bit more, but I’m trying to stay true to the spoiler-free mantra and assume not everyone who reads this review may have seen every post Dana ever posted on Instagram about this book).
This is NOT a love story, and the first people to tell you that would be Him and Lyra. Him is a sociopath, so feelings of any kind aren’t things he can easily sort out if they aren’t hate or rage, and Lyra loathes the idea of love. Lyra, as she tries to get across in several scenes in the book to different individuals, is something that changes and fades and can die. Lyra wants OBSESSION: someone to be as wholly consumed by her as she is by them, to be each other’s air and breath and blood, to never be parted until death… and when one of them goes the other goes too. To her, obsession is something that can’t be questioned and can’t fade, wither, or die out.
What I absolutely love about this book is that it could have been so easy to make the relationship between Him and Lyra look similar to a Joker and Harley Quinn situation, since Lyra would do absolutely anything and everything to prove her devotion and loyalty to Him, but Isaly doesn’t go there and do that. Lyra is very clearly written as being a disturbed individual with deeply-rooted narcissistic traits. Sadly, I identified with the narcissistic traits of Lyra a little too well, because I have Borderline Personality Disorder and two of the many things having BPD causes is having evident narcissistic traits and an issue with being very self-referencing. Lyra thinks she’s the most interesting person to talk about… I know the feeling. I’m not a psychological professional (just, you know, been Bi-Polar since I was about 11 and had BPD since I was about 18 and had Anxiety since I was about 14 and I’m only 43 now, so whatevs), but I genuinely FELT for Lyra when she talked about love versus obsession, because I’ve never felt love like I thought love would be like or what I wanted love to feel like--not even in my marriage that lasted 18 years… and that was a happy marriage. But was it what I dreamed of being loved like? NO. Not at all. I didn’t want to be someone’s sun, moon, and stars like Lyra, but I longed for buckets and heaps of passion and romance and gestures and someone who could match me wit for wit and smart for smart. I didn’t get that, and I mourn that loss, because I know I’ll never let anyone in that far ever again.
But OBSESSION is the key theme of this book, and it does it so dang well. There are a few gorgeous passages in chapters 16 and 17 that give us some insight into how each character’s obsession with the other manifests itself, thanks to the dual, 1st person-POV narrative. As soon as these two characters fall into one another, it’s as if the outside world and all who inhabit it become the least important things to both our main characters, and at first they’re a little wary everything will fall apart or they’ll be caught, but as they become more and more enmeshed with one another what becomes more important to both Him and Lyra is making the most out of the time they have and not worrying about everything else. As far as they’re concerned, if the end comes, it comes.
Of course, I can’t spoil the end for you. But I can tell you that if you’re after a HEA… I wouldn’t read this book. But I wholly approved of the ending, in all ways. The last scenes were so beautiful I was breathless.
But, then again, this whole book left me breathless. The writing, the characters, the depth and breadth of creativity, the darkness, the mood of it, the vibe of it, how enjoyable it was to read despite the overall tone, the beauty of the entire book, the tragedy and beauty to be found in the themes, the spice (!!!!), and that breathtaking ending. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since I read it yesterday morning.
Congratulations, Dana. For all the time and hard work and worrying… It's a masterpiece. ...more
I expected so much more from this book and I’m sorry I didn’t get it. For a thriller, it simply wasn’t very thrilling. The intensity wasn’t there, theI expected so much more from this book and I’m sorry I didn’t get it. For a thriller, it simply wasn’t very thrilling. The intensity wasn’t there, the pacing was extremely uneven, and the book as a whole was rather lackluster.
I actually loved the plot: it’s just the way it was executed that’s my issue. The breaks in the story to have us read excerpts of the psychiatrist’s book smacked of what I hate about books that purport to be plot-heavy instead of character-driven, which is to accomplish exposition by showing and not telling. I didn’t care that those excerpts were interesting in their own right, but huge chunks of exposition done this way is not different to me than presenting it in a flashback.
Miksa has done terrific research and obviously puts a whole lot of care in putting a great story together, but to be a thriller a book must be thrilling. This book wasn’t thrilling–it was simply mysterious and interesting.
Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for early access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review. As per personal policy, since I have rated this book as 3 stars (or lower), this review will not be posted to any social media or bookseller website. ...more
Wow. I mean… wow. I didn’t know quite what to expect going into this book. Was it going to be more horror-like? More dystopian-like? More thriller-likWow. I mean… wow. I didn’t know quite what to expect going into this book. Was it going to be more horror-like? More dystopian-like? More thriller-like? I had to throw out all preconceived notions of what this book might be pretty quick in favor of what the book actually is, which is a hauntingly sad but somehow still beautiful tale of how all humans, no matter who they are, deserve to be deserved with at least basic human decency. It’s a book that’s horribly relevant to our current lives here in America and feels so close to something that could possibly happen to some of the most vulnerable people in our population I found myself getting goosebumps at the very thought of it. And, if you’re wondering: yes, I was pretty much bawling by the end.
I appreciate Nijkamp’s serious commitment to a diverse cast of characters in this book while simultaneously trying to not take away space for the voices that might better represent what life is like in juvenile detention for POC. Our three main characters are white, but one is mute and speaks their own form of sign language and the other is nonbinary. While the ratio of white to POC characters in the book is likely close to what might be representative of a juvenile detention center in America (with its issues concerning mass incarceration at every level of the penal system), Nijkamp is careful not to exploit her POC characters for their ethnic status, which could’ve been an easy and steep slope to stumble down as an excuse to flesh out her characters. Instead, Nijkamp took the time to flesh out her characters through their experiences, backgrounds, how they react to both the circumstances of their imprisonment and the central conflict of the book, and (in the cases of some) phone calls to their friends or relatives as the events of the book proceed.
The bleak, cold, desolate setting of this book only serves as an echo of how the characters must be feeling both physiologically and psychologically. The juvenile detention center is a place where one is literally locked down, but these people–not even adults yet–have been forgotten by everyone in the midst of a nation-wide lockdown. And just how far will human decency and the notion of charity extend when it seems like the world is ending? Who is willing to go the extra mile to help others no matter the cost and who will always help themselves first? Who will own up to their mistakes and make amends and who won’t admit when they were wrong? Who has the courage and ability to lead and who will trust them to?
As with most books that study the human condition and questions of morals and ethics, what you take away from it will be up to you as a reader. I came away with a profound feeling of grief, and I saw the philosophy behind it as being the kind of optimistic I can get behind with a dose of the pragmatic I tend to believe in. But I really think every reader will take away something different. It’s that kind of book. And I highly recommend it. ...more
This review isn’t going to be a long one; not because I didn’t enjoy this book (because I did), but because I feel, as an AmReal Rating: 3.5 / 5 Stars
This review isn’t going to be a long one; not because I didn’t enjoy this book (because I did), but because I feel, as an American white woman, I don’t want to take up space which could be put to better use by voices that don’t normally have major publishing house releases targeted toward POCs and their ethnic heritages.
Trish, AKA Lucky, (our FMC) is Trinidadian-Indian but lives in Toronto with her mother. Her father lives most of the year back in Trinidad and only comes up to see her mother for a little while every year. Being Trinidadian-Indian made her and her mother each a minority inside of their own country, and even in diverse Toronto, being Trinidadian is something to be fetishisized. So Trish, having grown up seeing nothing but pain from men in her mother’s life since she was young, doesn’t date: she’s a Muay Thai fighter. And she’s good at it. She lives, eats, and breathes for the fight.
The best pieces of this story are about the inter-relationships between the females in this story. There is a subplot or two that, if they had been handled more adeptly, could’ve been woven in to add more tension and suspense, but the manner in which they were handled in the book came across as less-than-subtle and therefore dragged the story down just a little bit.
This book doesn’t pull any punches (no pun intended), which is very refreshing for a YA novel. It lets you in on the violence, the paranoia, the abuse, the hate, and the fine line between kill or be killed that even a teenager can feel in the heat of a moment. It’s a strong novel for both strong women and women that need to find some strength. I highly recommend it, especially if you’re interested (as I am) in reading books about other cultures and their traditions. ...more
Correlation doesn’t equal causation, but don’t try telling Wyatt, the main character in “The Violent Season” that. She’s convinced pretty much down toCorrelation doesn’t equal causation, but don’t try telling Wyatt, the main character in “The Violent Season” that. She’s convinced pretty much down to her marrow that in her tiny hometown of Wolf Ridge, the month of November means the whole town comes down with what she calls the “November illness”, which every year as long as she can remember has coincided with one or more major crime resulting in death happening during the month of November. And last year, the crime was the brutal homicide of her mother, which is still unsolved.
Her best friend and man she loves, Cash, keeps telling her that it’s just because everyone has the potential to be bad and to do bad things. Her dad has just been kind of lost since her mom was murdered. The police department doesn’t even seem to care anymore, and no one else seems spooked by the annual November murders. But Wyatt is. She can see the violence in Cash’s eyes when he talks about their classmate Porter, and she can feel a certain darkness even within herself. Her mother’s ghost haunts the upstairs of their house, and Wyatt desperately wants to know who killed her mom and why, even as she’s soaked in guilt and grief over how much she and her mom fought and how their parting words to one another were anything but kind.
“The Violent Season” really tosses the ball in the air and asks the reader to inspect the inherent darkness of human nature from a variety of angles. This isn’t about good or evil, because those are moral constructs and morals are subjective. This is about the shades of grey that are within us all. Interspersed with the main narrative (and sometimes mentioned in the main narrative) there are stories of other crimes that happened in November in this town that make you ask: was this a violent crime, or just an accident? Was this an accident or a brutal murder? When someone has obviously been bullied and harassed, who’s to blame for their suicide? Is there anyone to blame at all but the mental illness in their brain? If a child shoots another child because they got a hold of a gun, is that an inherently violent act? I’m not here to weigh in with my opinion on these matters. I’m here to tell you this book wants you to look at the nature of the darkness inside all of us and examine it from different angles. What looks violent to one person might just look like a sad accident to someone else.
I’ve read a lot of good psychological/thriller/horror books as of late, and this was a great one, but it wasn’t one I think I’d read again and again. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I totally recommend it because the characters are vastly interesting and I do love a fiendishly compelling look into aspects of human nature. Because violence can be virulent. Studies on gun violence have proven that. But just because murders and ice cream sales both increase during the summer doesn’t mean that ice cream makes you want to murder someone. Correlation versus causation. ...more
“Wicked As You Wish” is a quick-witted and fleet-footed romp through an alternate Earth in which every folk tale, fairy tale, myth, or legend you can “Wicked As You Wish” is a quick-witted and fleet-footed romp through an alternate Earth in which every folk tale, fairy tale, myth, or legend you can think of is completely true… and it’s just as bizarre and fascinating as you’d expect it to be. Because who knew ICE agents would still be a huge thing in Arizona even when the refugees they’re hunting down are magical ones?
This book is definitely meant for the younger portion of YA readers. I’d even posit that this book would be a great read for middle-schoolers as well. The language is clean, there is no spice, there is a tiny bit of tension, and there is a whole lot about familial love (both biological and found) and friendship. There’s a lot of frenetic action scenes with narrow escapes, fascinating descriptions of different locations and creatures, and a whole lot of good humor.
If you want to read something bubbly, irreverent, witty, sweet, diverse, whimsical, and get a little bit swept away with the story, then this book with give you that. And it will make you crave Filipino food hardcore. Trust me. ...more
“Mr. Park Lane” is the tried-and-true trope of a girl who had an unbearable teenage crush on her brother’s best friend but he didn’t even know she exi“Mr. Park Lane” is the tried-and-true trope of a girl who had an unbearable teenage crush on her brother’s best friend but he didn’t even know she existed except as “my best friend’s little sister” until circumstances put them in close proximity again and now it’s impossible for him to ignore her existence no matter how hard he tries. This time, that trope is wrapped up neatly with a martyr trope on the FMC’s part and a billionaire trope on the male love interest’s part… and a hefty dose of angst that’s spoilerific and you’ll just have to wait and see.
“Mr. Park Lane”, from the synopsis, interested me a great deal, but I hadn’t read Louise Bay’s work before. I do have to say, this book isn’t something I would’ve chosen for myself if I had flipped through it on a bookshelf. It’s simply not my usual cup of tea. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy myself, though. Hartford’s workaholic drive just to keep busy and keep going so her brain didn’t have time to linger and think was something I definitely related to, and that, in turn, made her relatable. As did her teenage longings to do something, anything, to get her crush to notice her. I did enjoy her numerous attempts at baking, but I got sick of the cake references pretty quick. It became trite very fast.
I also tend to be more of a spicy romance reader than a steamy romance reader, and this was more sweet and steamy than sexy and spicy. And if that’s your thing, if that revs your engine, I say go for it! This book definitely checks those boxes!
Louise Bay is definitely a great writer. She chose a winner of a plot and executed it well. Her characters were fully-realized and the story was crafted well. I’d say if you like your contemporary romance sweet, steamy, moderate-angst, and full of those warm fuzzies, then definitely pick this up....more
I’m looking at other reviews for this book on various sites and I’m seeing that my rating–and even my interpretation and reading of this book–is very I’m looking at other reviews for this book on various sites and I’m seeing that my rating–and even my interpretation and reading of this book–is very different from most others. Mainly in that I loved every single bit of this book and totally understood every choice the author made.
It started out a little rough in the first 10% or so, as I tried to get my bearings and figure out what exactly was going on and why the author chose the narrative and prose styles used. Once I had that down I totally tucked into this beautifully-written, tragic, and yet triumphant book.
Some readers will have an issue with the prose and narrative in this novel, and that’s understandable. It’s a mix of lyrical prose, a touch of freeform poetry, and an ephemeral time-stream-of-consciousness. It’s definitely experimental, but devastatingly beautiful and perfect for this book (unlike some other books with experimental writing I’ve read this year so far).
There are just so many layers and themes in this book: misogyny, halcyon summers, how there are some places where you are always your authentic self to the exclusion of all others, and how there are some people you can only be your authentic self around without worrying about the eyes of the world outside judging you and holding you to certain expectations.
I especially loved the constant references to the term “naiad”. Naiads, in mythology, are female guardians of still waters. They can be deadly (look at what happened to poor Hylas), and the waters they inhabit have the ability to heal. In Greek mythology, boys and girls cut off a lock of their hair and tossed it into the local spring inhabited by their naiad at their coming-of-age ceremony. Once you read the book you’ll see why the double-meaning of naiads (both in an etymological way and an unmentioned mythological way) makes a stunning amount of sense in a macabre and beautiful manner.
Also, There’s a poem mentioned, quoted, and repeated in parts by Emily Dickonson called “My Life had stood - a Loaded Gun”, which is about keeping women silent–about taking away their voices. And this theme looms very large in the book.
I was entranced by this stunning book, written so carefully and gorgeous I couldn’t stop reading. I knew what was going to happen. I knew what was happening. But that was absolutely okay with me because it let me get lost in the words… and those words were worth the entire trip.
Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Wednesday Books for early access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review. ...more
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