**Many thanks to Edelweiss, Atria, and Marcus Kliewer for a DRC of this book in exchange for an honest review! Now available as of 6.18!**
There is som**Many thanks to Edelweiss, Atria, and Marcus Kliewer for a DRC of this book in exchange for an honest review! Now available as of 6.18!**
There is something truly fascinating about the art of stop motion animation when you view the finished product.
Sometimes it's hard to remember that at first look, everything that appears so fluid (and in movies such as the Nightmare Before Christmas, so creepy!) was once a bunch of still puppets sitting on a miniature set...who were moved one painstaking moment at a time, and that one frame of film can take hours and even DAYS of filming to get just right.
But in the case of stop motion animator turned author Marcus Kliewer, the finished product that is We Used to Live Here not only was missing this sort of eerie fluidity...but lacked the sort of cohesion to make it make any ACTUAL sense.
The premise starts off simply enough: Charlie and Eve are two house flippers who also happen to be a loving couple...and their latest find seems too good to be true. The giant house has all sorts of promise, and they can't believe their good fortune at being the lucky two who are able to snatch it up. One day, Eve is home alone when she hears a knock at the door...and it is none other than a family of former occupants, led by Thomas, who want to take a quick jaunt down memory lane and poke around his old stomping grounds. Although Eve finds this slightly off-putting, she figures they seem harmless, and even though the snow is falling, they won't stay too long...right?
Everything takes a quick and dramatic turn, however, when Thomas' daughter manages to go missing in this short amount of time...and refuses to come out. Eve begins to panic, but Thomas assures her this behavior is normal and that she will soon emerge. However, as time goes on, Eve starts to notice frightening, unexplained noises she has never experienced before...and the winter storm raging outside means that the family is seemingly here to stay. But have they brought something other than their memories with them...something unseen, mysterious...and evil? And why does everybody have such a hard time believing Eve when she reaches out for help? Why hasn't Charlie returned...or could there be a doppelganger hanging around? Can Eve figure out what the house wants from her...before she gets 'lost' for good?
I was 100% on board to jump at the chance to read an early copy of this one after a few rave reviews AND after reading the rights to this book have already been snapped up by Netflix and a movie staring Blake Lively is in the works. A good creepy house tale is the sort of horror I can usually jump into quickly, with a few recent examples (like Sager's The Only One Left and the Due's eerie The Reformatory) coming instantly to mind. A well-written house with a vendetta normally screams Halloween BUT at the same time, seemed like a welcome break from the standard fare of summer thriller season, so I was chomping at the bit to dive into this tale.
But to be honest...I think I sort of tripped on the doormat and never quite recovered.
Finding out this story STARTED as a series on Reddit makes a whole lot of sense: it has a certain disjointed, piecemeal feeling that may read foreboding to some, but just left me unsettled and sort of confused for the entire read. There are random bits of news clippings, interviews, home listings, and the like sprinkled throughout the book which is normally a device I LOVE because I honestly find nothing more enticing in a horror story than some solid backstory, but let's just say you can't go into this book expecting ANYTHING to be fully explained...at all.
Some readers will LOVE this (and have, evidenced by so many early 5 star reviews!) and there are certain aspects I enjoyed too: the atmosphere was foreboding, there was a mystery afoot almost immediately (although you're going to have to parse out exactly what that mystery IS in your mind!) and there is plenty of fodder for creepiness, speculation, and a slow build to a crescendo of craziness. I'm not so much a fan of a slow burn, however, so I kept wanting to SEE this book rather than reading it: the novel almost reads more like a screenplay at times, or like one that was first imagined in a visual sense and THEN translated to the page.
I can't tell you how many times I've watched a movie with a twisty ending and then thought...NOW I need a second watch to catch all of the details I missed the first time, and this is absolutely THAT in bookish form. This is no disrespect to Kliewer as a writer: in fact, it's sort of a compliment in that he could add so much extraneous detail that seems important but isn't easy to piece together from the off. At the same time, though, as much as I had a thousand questions upon finishing...I really had no desire to tromp through it again. The sort of unhinged nature of the last 20% was enough to make up for earlier inconsistencies...or at the least, enough to convince me I NEED to watch the Netflix adaptation to see if this was simply a case of right story, wrong medium.
But if it turns out that Blake Lively can't save it?...more
**Many thanks to NetGalley, Maudee Genao at Atria and Megan Collins for a DRC of this book in exchange for an honest review! Now available as of 7.11!**Many thanks to NetGalley, Maudee Genao at Atria and Megan Collins for a DRC of this book in exchange for an honest review! Now available as of 7.11!**
Part of getting married is "marrying" the family too...and Sienna considers herself lucky that her brother Jason married Julia, truly the soul sister she never had. The two have been inseparable since they met, and one thing the two of them agree on (above all else!) is that Jason doesn't have a cruel bone in his body. But then Jason ends up in a car accident that leaves him in a coma...on the SAME night that his boss is murdered and silenced in more ways than one (the perp actually sows his lips shut! ...more
**Many thanks to Edelweiss, Isabel DaSilva at Atria, and Megan Collins for a DRC of this book in exchange for an honest review! Now available as of 8.**Many thanks to Edelweiss, Isabel DaSilva at Atria, and Megan Collins for a DRC of this book in exchange for an honest review! Now available as of 8.17, and also available now in paperback!**
Manson family, move over. There's a NEW family in town.
Well...in this case, it IS an actual family (rather than a cult). But much like a cult they are all pariahs of their hometown for one reason...they are obsessed with murders. Mom has chosen to raise Delilah, Charlie, Andy, and Tate with a very unique curriculum, an 'education to die for': the children are all named after famous victims of murder and the family participates in honoring these victims in rituals from time to time. To put a cap on their overall creepiness, the family lives in a huge Victorian mansion befitting of a gothic novel. Dahlia has returned to the island under tragic circumstances: her father has passed away. Tragedy is also what inspired her to leave, as her twin (and other half, at least in her mind) Andy has been missing since they were 16 with nothing but a cryptic note in his wake.
While Dahlia's brother Charlie has immersed himself in New York City's drama scene and sister Tate has capitalized on her family's odd area of interest (via recreation dioramas she uploads to Instagram), once the siblings reunite, they begin to discover their childhood home holds far more murder and intrigue than they ever could have imagined...and when Charlie decides to open up the family home as a museum, the already skeptical eyes of the islanders are trained on the Lighthouse clan. Can Dahlia trust those in her inner circle...or is her family more entrenched in the world of murder and gore than she ever knew? And what exactly happened to Andy...did she ever TRULY know him at all?
Megan Collins has found an interesting niche, and the genre benefits greatly from her quirky and unique ideas. None of her thrillers are formulaic or feel like anything I've read before. They all center around families that are more than just a bit off kilter, with big personalities (and interesting proclivities) aplenty! This always makes for a unique reading experience, as I never feel as though I quite know where the story is going or what to expect. While the Family Plot is brilliant as a concept, though, I felt like I missed so many of the layers I found in my last read from Collins, Behind the Red Door. Collins spent a LOT of time making sure we knew traits about characters (Charlie is overly snarky, Mom is starting to lose it, Tate is fixated on her dioramas and Instagram fame) that the plot itself almost took a backseat and seemed to drag on a bit. The red herrings that were tossed in weren't necessarily believable, and the conclusion seemed foregone to me by the time it was finally revealed.
I kept hoping certain characters would shock me...but they didn't. Everyone played into their 'type' throughout, and where Behind the Red Door wound up to a crescendo at the end, this book fizzled a little bit. It almost seemed as though we were supposed to be gearing up for a happy ending for these characters, which considering their circumstances, seemed a bit off. The family dynamics here could have escalated and gone in a more dramatic direction, and for me, this is where the book could have gone from an offbeat suspense tale into thriller territory, which I think it needed. If we weren't going to get more of their past, it would've paid off to make the present more enticing to read!
I appreciate Collins' ideas because they feel fresh and her writing is always solid, but this book left me a little bit underwhelmed by the time all was said and done. I am so grateful she continues to push the envelope and intrigue us though, and I hope her next book will go just that extra bit further to knock our socks off!
3⭐, rounded up to 3.5 for uniqueness alone!...more
**Many thanks to Edelweiss, Penguin-Pamela Dorman/Viking, and Claire Daverley for a DRC of this book! Now available as of 6.6!**
"Your heart underst**Many thanks to Edelweiss, Penguin-Pamela Dorman/Viking, and Claire Daverley for a DRC of this book! Now available as of 6.6!**
"Your heart understood mine. In the depth of the fragrant night, I listened with ravished soul to your beloved voice. Your heart understood mine."-Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
This soft spoken quote from Alcott's Little Women captures the essence of this literary fiction driven by longing, chance, and the what ifs of one BIG missed opportunity...when that 'missed opportunity' might just have been your soulmate.
Will is that devilishly handsome bad boy with a good heart that exists at every school...and Rosie, his friend Josh's twin sister, is in some ways his polar opposite. She's a soft spoken musician, and the two only happen to cross paths when Will starts tutoring Josh. Will hears Rosie singing and is instantly smitten...and the two find an unlikely connection that allows them to talk as though they've known one another forever. They share late night conversations and spend time at a lighthouse, wondering if they both feel confident to take their relationship further.
...Until one night, when the unthinkable changes the dynamics of their lives and the budding relationship they were building...forever. As life drags Rosie off in one direction and Will in another, the two try to move past the promise of the past and the magical connection they shared...but neither can let go completely. But as other partners enter the picture and the years pass, will time stand to confirm that these two weren't meant to be? Or does fate have something even MORE complicated in store?
To classify this book simply as a romance would be doing it a disservice: this novel has both emotional depth AND moments of lightness to break up the darker sections, and Daverley is right at home with the likes of Hornby and Rooney. Rosie and Will were both likable and more importantly, BELIEVABLE characters that gave the novel the gravitas it needed to stay grounded. The problems (and the ill-advised solutions) these characters experienced all felt honest and plausible, and the author did such a solid job of making you root for the relationship without it going into overly sappy territory.
This book never gets stuck in fantasy land, like some of the gushier romance novels out there: the emotions are raw and real, and Daverley isn't afraid to go there...often. Nothing is clear cut, nothing is predictable...and just as in life, the road to happiness is paved with many potholes and marked by many unforeseen twists. You never know EXACTLY what to expect from Will OR Rosie, and their progression as characters and as friends (or not?) is fascinating to watch as an outsider.
Once you get past the lack of quotation marks (Alert to those who hate this device! ⛔) you'll be able to hear the voices of these two clearly, although you might not always agree with what they are saying (or NOT saying!) to one another, it never feels disingenuous. There is a frankness to Daverley's writing that helped me connect to these characters and their conflicted feelings and she kept me guessing how this story would turn out from the beginning to the VERY (and I mean VERY) end. There is no such thing as a foregone conclusion when it comes to this story...and in some ways, this is exactly what makes it so special.
This is a lovely, gentle, sad, and moving debut and much like that beloved voice late at night...it was just the beautiful sound my soul needed....more
**Many thanks to Edelweiss, Gallery/Scout, and Tananarive Due for a DRC of this book! Now available as of 10.31!!**
"The horror of class stratification**Many thanks to Edelweiss, Gallery/Scout, and Tananarive Due for a DRC of this book! Now available as of 10.31!!**
"The horror of class stratification, racism, and prejudice is that some people begin to believe that the security of their families and communities depends on the oppression of others, that for some to have good lives there must be others whose lives are truncated and brutal."- Dorothy Allison
The Reformatory: the sort of reform school that makes Miss Trunchbull's Crunchem Hall look like an amusement park. The year is 1950, and Gracetown School for Boys is the name of the reform school. Despite its 'angelic' sounding name, it is home to unspeakable brutality and terrifying horror. As is the norm, the school is segregated, and the ugliness of the Jim Crow south is in full force.
Robbie and Gloria's father has been forced to stay in Chicago after being accused of raping a white woman, and the two kids are trying to get by on their own in Florida without him and their mother, who has passed away. Robbie is incredibly protective of his sister, so when the son of a white wealthy landowner makes an unwanted pass at her, Robbie doesn't hesitate and clocks the jerk in the jaw. Though he and others implore the judge to spare him, he is sentenced to six months at the Gracetown School.
When Robbie arrives, he makes fast friends with two of the other residents of the school, Redbone and Blue, and learns the TRUE punishments: everything from whipping to rape to torture is on the table. The trio try to band together to stay out of the 'Fun House' (where the worst atrocities take place) and Robbie discovers that a special gift he has always had could spare him. He has always been able to sense 'haints' (ghosts) and apparently the Gracetown School is rife with spirits. The warden sees Robbie as his sort of golden goose who can rid the property of the vengeful spirits of boys and others who have lost their lives on this very spot. But can Robbie trust his two pals to help him in his quest...and not leave him hanging? Can Gloria and his other friends on the outside (with the help of lawyers) shorten or end his sentence entirely? Or will the angry ghosts seize this opportunity to add one more soul to their haunted, vengeful ranks?
I can't say that I've ever read a book I'd classify both as a verifiable horror book AND an authentic historical fiction before grabbing this one...and my first question after finishing this one was "Why did I wait SO LONG?" This book works effectively and efficiently on BOTH levels, and that in and of itself is quite a feat. At over 500 pages (!) I figured it would probably take me at LEAST a week to get through, but Due kept the narrative moving at just a steady enough pace to keep me invested from beginning to end, with equal parts Gloria and Robbie. I also appreciated that there was no dual timeline to deal with, like a rehashing of Robbie's dad and his mother's past, for example. SO many other historical fiction authors have a tendency to throw in so much extraneous detail, and even during the slightly slower portions of the book, Due never resorted to an exhaustive retelling of the family's past or too much emphasis on side characters that weren't important to the plot.
And then there's the horror angle. The haints in this one were spooks through and through...the kind that have you looking over your shoulder and give you that uneasy chill down your spine. Robbie had the perfect amount of interaction with them and there was enough mystery surrounding the entire situation to keep me guessing. And to my twist loving horror/thriller friends---there is one WHOPPER of a twist that had my mouth hanging open for a SOLID minute or so! Not only did I not predict it, but in a book like this I wasn't even expecting to have my mind blown. If you're going to only have one twist, make it count...and Due DEFINITELY did.
This book also manages to weave in truth: the story is based on the Florida’s Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys and the conditions there, and this reality is the most horrific aspect of this book, period. The fact that so many suffered in these circumstances is a brutal reality, and is far more terrifying than any 'haint' could be, in any context. The allegorical subtext shines throughout the novel, but never overtakes the narrative itself.
Although the third act of the book started to drag a bit for me when it came to Robbie's potential for escape (and you're going to have to read to find out whether or not he makes it out!), the ending itself was the perfect finale and gives you as a reader what you need to hear about the future of this family, while still leaving room for you to fill in the blanks.
The Reformatory is a dark, emotional, scary, powerful and thrilling read...and if you take anything at all from this review?
You should absolutely give Tananarive Due...her due.
**Many thanks to NetGalley, Atria, and Alice Hoffman for a DRC of this book in exchange for an honest review! Now available as of 8.15!!**
A high-co**Many thanks to NetGalley, Atria, and Alice Hoffman for a DRC of this book in exchange for an honest review! Now available as of 8.15!!**
A high-concept journey of magical realism in the literary sphere that got MORE than a bit lost in translation...
Ivy has always been a bit of a rebel, a free spirit, and most of all, a lover of books. Her cold and judgmental parents have no room for anything they deem a transgression, however, so when Ivy ends up pregnant as a teenager, they send her away. Ivy ends up as a member of a harsh and oppressive cult, led by the unyielding Joel Davis, who has no problem shaming women and even branding them when they behave outside the norm.
When Ivy's daughter Mia comes of age, she has inherited her mother's love for the written word and her rebellious nature and dreams of freedom. When she picks up Nathanial Hawthorne's book The Scarlet Letter, it seems as though every page is written just for her. In its pages, another young woman is persecuted for her transgressions, including her penchant for books. Mia longs for life outside her Community and wishes for some way --- ANY way --- to be free.
Then suddenly...she gets her wish.
Mia is transported back in time, and comes face to face with none other than the man of her proverbial dreams: Nathanial Hawthorne himself. As she has come to learn with the help of a few librarians over time, books can take you anywhere...but is Mia able to stay in this fantasy? When the line between dream and reality begins to blur entirely, will the truth she finds be enough to make up for the terrible tragedies and pain she has encountered thus far? Could a book TRULY be enough to save her very life?
Hoffman is one of those writers I've been meaning to get to for AGES, and the premise sounded so fascinating that I couldn't resist to pick this up. I read the Scarlet Letter in high school and remember being enough of a fan that I could understand Mia's adulation for Hawthorne in this book, and I put my usual reservations about cult books aside long enough to try to dive into this story without hesitation. And it worked...for a while. The beginning of the narrative, about Ivy's backstory and early years in the cult (prior to Mia's teen years) were dark, dramatic, and engaging. I felt sorry for the situation Ivy endured, and got emotionally invested in pretty short order.
But once Mia took over...things started to descend into muddled and messy territory, and the wheels sort of came off the wagon.
I get that Mia was supposed to be enraptured by Hawthorne...but I don't understand exactly WHY he was so taken with her. The romance part of the book felt so forced, and longer than it needed to be. There were even portions told from Hawthorne's POV, but it felt more like Hoffman was determined to sprinkle in all of her research rather than create her version of Hawthorne as a fully fleshed out person. On top of this, Hoffman wrote this as sort of a 'love letter' to libraries and librarians, which in theory is a beautiful idea...but having this sort of juxtaposed against the love story between Mia and Nathan just sort of muddled the overall message.
There have been many instances where I've struggled with magical realism, but in this one I think so much of the magic felt like it just sort of happened randomly, without provocation, that it lost the 'realism.' Hoffman spends SO much of this book telling rather than showing, and this also bothered me. Gentle and thoughtful lines of prose were broken up by expository passages that just sort of moved the plot along...and often without thorough explanation.
The timeline sort of moves around, the focus moves around...and for several reasons, Ivy's voice (the driving force behind the opening narrative) gets lost entirely. Instead of a now and then that felt so close in time, I think it would have been fascinating to have Mia's perspective take place during modern times, and CLEARLY during modern times. There often felt like there wasn't enough separation or clarity about what year we were in at any given moment and this book sorely needed it.
While I hoped to feel moved, enchanted, and captivated by Hoffman's brand of magic, I think in this case I would have settled for something a bit more, well, "Practical."
**Many thanks to Edelweiss, Maudee Genao at Atria, and Michelle Min Sterling for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! Now available a**Many thanks to Edelweiss, Maudee Genao at Atria, and Michelle Min Sterling for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! Now available as of 4.4!!**
“Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception.” – Carl Sagan
In this sci-fi dystopian novel, our world is rapidly running out of resources...and those left in it have no choice but to scratch and claw their way towards survival. But is the 'safe haven' they come to inhabit ACTUALLY safe?
The haven in question is known as Camp Zero, a settlement in Northern Canada, which has managed to remain standing despite the worldwide oil shortages and dying climate. Rose, a Korean immigrant, agrees to travel to the Camp in exchange for her mother's protection. She becomes part of a group of sex workers known as the Blooms, who service the men in power at the Camp. Grant is from a wealthy family, but would like to shed the association with his last name and all it stands for in the world. He arrives at Camp Zero to teach...but finds that what is going on behind the scenes may be far more sinister than it seemed at first glance. Nearby, a group of strong and brilliant women known as White Alice are holed up conducting climate research. But are they furthering the mission of the Camp...or do they have their own agenda?
And is the head architect of Camp Zero aiming to protect what remains of humanity...or is he simply trying to destroy it?
There's really no other way to put it: this is a confusing book. Confusing in terms of its subject matter, its plot threads, AND its timeline. And yet...there is something truly captivating about this story. The POVs in the book rotate from Rose to Grant to the group White Alice (presented as a collective) and ALL of them are intriguing...if you can keep up. Although I feel it benefited the plot to present different angles of the Camp Zero experience, the book not only jumps POV, but also jumps timeline so it was often difficult to keep track of what was going on in the present vs. the past as it went along.
The driving force of this one is essentially an examination of both the effects of climate change and the dangers of a world owned and run by men that has been ground down and used beyond repair. There are echoes of Atwood's Handmaid's Tale, and even Disney's WALL-E (minus the adorable robots, of course! ...more
*one part sass *two parts angst *a splash of spooky seasoning and a HEARTY helping of magic to taste!
Annie is aching to embrace her heartbreak and use it as fuel for a new life. She has left her apartment in NYC and her ex Sam behind, and is taking a chance on a unique small town that seems to have everything, including that cozy, quaint feeling she would NEVER have found in the big city. She settles into her new place and finds the loneliness and rumination about her failed relationship drowning her...
UNTIL...she meets Sophie in the town's liquor store. Glamorous, mysterious, and kind, she instantly puts Annie at ease and seems to be the best friend she never knew she needed. The two become inseparable, and Annie doesn't even hesitate spending the night at Sophie's fabulous MANSION...until she catches a weird reflection over her shoulder anytime she looks in the mirror. Spiders, spiders, and MORE spiders keep appearing. ...more
**Many thanks to Edelweiss, Maudee Genao at Atria, and Jacqueline Bublitz for a DRC in exchange for an honest review! Now available as of 11.1!!**
"Tru**Many thanks to Edelweiss, Maudee Genao at Atria, and Jacqueline Bublitz for a DRC in exchange for an honest review! Now available as of 11.1!!**
"Truth is, I can't touch anything, not really. But it makes me feel better to imagine. That it didn't all just disappear because someone else wanted it to. That I am still here. Even if no one can see me. Even if nobody knows my name. Yet."
Two women with two disparate lives...destined to collide. And one of these women is dead...but her impact on the outside world is FAR from over...
Alice Lee leaves Wisconsin with $600 in her pocket and a Leica camera around her neck, destined for NYC with one goal in mind: a fresh start. After a traumatic experience leaves her questioning everything she thought she knew, the big city seems to hold the promise of a brighter tomorrow. She finds a room and slowly starts to push back the memories that hold her back, from the untimely passing of her mother to her heart-wrenching time in the foster care system.
Fate has other plans for Alice, however, and she is brutally raped and murdered and left in a park as a virtual unknown...a "Riverside Jane Doe."
Enter Ruby Jones, on a journey of self-discovery of her own. Leaving life in Australia behind after a relationship with an engaged man turns sour, she longs for more from life and braves the journey to New York alone. What she finds, however, is the last thing she'd ever expect: a body. Ruby is horrified by the discovery, but becomes even more upset when she realizes that nobody knows quite WHO this woman was...and sadly, she's one of many. Ruby is determined to find out not only her name, but who she was and WHY her life was cut short.
What she doesn't know is that Alice is determined to make herself known...and she's more than happy to tell her story...if you're willing to listen.
I've read a few books narrated by ghosts, and while I usually enjoy this angle there has always been something missing in the writing or something that doesn't feel QUITE right.
What Jacqueline Bublitz does in Before You Knew My Name, however, is nothing short of extraordinary.
This book is as moving and realistic as any memoir...if you were somehow able to write your memoir from beyond the grave, that is. While it took a minute to understand the flow and rhythm of the story (as in, the now vs. then, since much of the book is Alice recounting her murder and the history preceding that event), once I figured out what was happening now vs. what happened in the past, I was fully immersed in Alice's mind.
This is the sort of narration that thrusts you headlong into the character's world, and Bublitz blended just the right amount of ghostly overtones to let you 'see' Alice's impact on Ruby without feeling gimmicky or detracting from the plot. Alice's narration is also neatly butted up against Ruby's POV, and I felt just as invested in one woman as the other. Each was on their own journey, but the stories dovetailed beautifully.
The 'solving of the mystery' is NOT the important part of this book, however. Sure, you'll figure it out, but Alice is less interested in detailing the identity of her murderer and how the events transpired that day than she is in making sure you know EXACTLY who she was. Sure, this begins with her name, but it becomes so much more than that.
WHY are we, as women, so easily displaced and forgotten? What is it about death that frightens AND unites us? It is these sorts of questions that take center stage and make this novel sing. Bublitz's prose is lyrical and profound at times, straightforward and driving at others, leaving the reader with so many thought-provoking questions. Some are answered by the characters, but others are meant to be savored and explored long after you finish turning the pages.
Perhaps one of Bublitz's most poignant moments comes during an explanation of grief, through the eyes of Alice: "To see this grief up close is to look at light passing through a prism, like a rainbow, but so much brighter. It is the most glorious thing, this arc of remembrance, as if the beginning and end of a person was only ever light."
If this powerful, shining debut is any indication, Bublitz's light is not simply a flickering candle, but an INDOMITABLE Eternal Flame! ...more
**Many thanks to Maudee Genao at Atria, Edelweiss, and Sarah Vaughan for a DRC in exchange for an honest review! Now available as of 7.5!!**
There's no**Many thanks to Maudee Genao at Atria, Edelweiss, and Sarah Vaughan for a DRC in exchange for an honest review! Now available as of 7.5!!**
There's nothing harsher than the steely, unforgiving gaze of the public eye...
Emma has worked hard to be MP (that's a member of Parliament) and has embroiled herself in politics. Far from her life as a teacher, she feels she can do some good and make a difference (as every politician SHOULD) and does her best to stand up for those who feel they don't have a voice, particularly women. She allows her ex-husband to take the reigns of parenting their daughter Flora, aided by his new wife Caroline, while Emma tries to keep her out of the line of fire and bury herself in her work.
Emma soon finds herself in the cross-hairs, however, when she chooses to focus on a new law defending women from online bullying and is soon the target of Troll Terror and threats. She also has more than a bit of personal connection to the new legislation, as Flora has been the subject of bullying at her school...and may have tried to take things into her own hands in a rather foolish way (as teenagers are wont to do.)
Amidst the chaos, Emma gets romantically entangled with a tabloid journalist, which already is risky enough...and the situation quickly spirals when he is found dead at her house. As Emma faces the stand, can she protect herself, her daughter...and the truth? Would she have done just about anything to keep her former fling quiet...or will this trial simply be the death knell for her burgeoning career?
Going into this novel, I wasn't quite sure what to expect, as I'm new to Sarah Vaughan...but calling this one a 'psychological thriller' doesn't seem to quite fit. We get to hear from many narrators, but despite this, I had trouble connecting with any of them. Emma's chapters were longest (or at least they felt longest) and were a bit repetitive, since she seemed to focus on and worry about the same things over and over. Daughter Flora's chapters were perhaps oddest to me, since they ABSOLUTELY read like YA. I suppose this makes sense, since she is a teenager, but some of the abbreviations she used in text messages with her friends, etc. were just a bit off. I know maybe I'm not clued in to the latest slang, but they were just strange all the way around.
Then there's the trial...which felt like it went on for ages. I'm all for an exciting courtroom drama...but this one doesn't have it. Sadly, I finished this book about a day ago, and I already have forgotten a fair amount of the 'twists' and plot points, because nothing grabbed me or surprised me much. Vaughan is a strong enough writer, but I felt there was a huge opportunity to dive in and REALLY explore the subject matter at hand in a broader sense of how it affects our world and she chose not to go down that road.
There are also little bits of news articles, tweets, etc. included at the beginning of some of the chapters. I actually normally find this device irritating, but in this book I wish there had been more of it! Normally when this sort of thing pops up, authors will include several pages or perhaps a short chapter to break up the narrative...but to have only a few lines here and there was just jarring and left me wanting more.
While I appreciate the subject matter behind this story, I was hoping for a more engaging and thrilling read. While I would consider another book from Sarah Vaughan, this one is going to go by the way of a scrolled tweet on my timeline: forgotten before it's even truly gone.
**Many thanks to Edelweiss, Maudee Genao at Atria, and Jamie Ford for a DRC of this book in exchange for an honest review! Now available as of 8.2!** W**Many thanks to Edelweiss, Maudee Genao at Atria, and Jamie Ford for a DRC of this book in exchange for an honest review! Now available as of 8.2!** We loved with a love that was more than love."-Edgar Allen Poe, Annabel Lee
We inherit our eye color. The curve of our jawline. The hint of a dimple (or lack thereof) when we smile.
But what about our pain?
Are we predisposed to experience the trauma in our lives? Are we simply wearing tread over the paths our ancestors walked, many years before? Is heartbreak, agony, and longing ever avoidable...or will it rise to meet us, no matter what path we intend to choose?
Jamie Ford explores these questions and many more in this thought-provoking, deep, lyrical, and sweeping novel that I COULD NOT put down!
In 2045, Dorothy (poet, mother, and wife), has been battling her inner demons for most of her life. Though her profession urges her to explore and use her pain, she has never been able to overcome the mental roadblocks and now sees some indication that her beloved young daughter Annabel might be heading down the same path.
Fearing the worst, Dorothy decides to take drastic action, heading to a clinic where epigenetics (the study of how your behaviors and environment can cause changes that affect the way your genes work, as defined by the CDC) is utilized and studied via administered treatments. These treatments attempt to 'break the pattern', as it were, by imbuing the subject with filtered memories of the past and realities they have never personally known, but have affected them in some way.
During Dorothy's course of treatment, we meet several different women: the titular Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman in America; Faye Moy the nurse, looking after wounded soldiers; Greta Moy, a savvy businesswoman with an innovative and wildly successful dating app; Lai King Moy, a girl quarantined on a ship during a plague epidemic (and no, this was not COVID!); and Zoe Moy, a student whose unorthodox school is a challenging environment for many reasons. The narrative weaves seamlessly in and out of these different time periods, with Dorothy feeling more muddled yet more intrigued as time passes and the treatments continue.
Will she have the opportunity to save Annabel from what fate has in store by story's end...or will embodying this pain from the past cause her to cross a threshold never meant to be crossed...with dramatic and dire consequences?
If you'd told me a month ago that I would stumble on a Historical Fiction book that I both wouldn't be able to put down AND wouldn't be able to stop thinking about?
I probably would have laughed at you.
Historical Fiction has always been my touch-and-go genre, one where fit is essential and honestly it is so RARE for me to rave about anything from the genre, even if I enjoy the book. It usually still has that air of a History textbook, or else everything falls neatly into eye-rolling cliche (A solider falls in love, is killed in war, etc. etc.)
This book is SO much more than that.
Expertly weaving in philosophical notions, magic, mystery, heart, and more importantly, heartache and trauma, this book manages not only to tell a fascinating story, but to explore the human condition in SUCH an accessible way. Nothing lofty or pretentious here, folks, but I hope you have an appetite, because you could sustain yourself on the food for thought present for several months! (Ford also points to MANY resources in the back of the book, so don't be surprised if you feel like doing a bit of additional research once you've finished!)
Ford is also a Poet, pays homage to poets, our main character IS a poet...so as an occasional amateur poet, I was swooning over the language in this one. Sparse at times, evocative at others, Ford never wastes a word...OR adds some that aren't necessary. This is the culmination of lovely writing, tight plotting, and expert editing.
Despite the fact that this novel jumps ALL OVER time and space, and in several different time periods, not ONCE did I feel lost. I was so invested in all of these women's lives that I gasped along with them when tragedy struck. You know you're fully immersed in the world of your book when you start actually TALKING to the characters in the book, trying to warn or protect them at all costs. I truly felt I was on a journey of my own alongside Dorothy, at times struggling with inner torment, but ever hopeful for resolve. The story ends with Annabel, set years after Dorothy's treatments, and proves a fitting and poignant end.
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy is a rare gem of a book, penned with the tender hand and the tortured heart of the poetic soul.
Ford mentions in his Author's Note that this book is his big box of crayons, and he couldn't POSSIBLY have colored a more beautiful and tragic portrait of our world.
5 stunning stars
This fabulous book is also available through BOTM, was selected as a Read With Jenna Pick, and is also being adapted for the screen! ...more
**Many thanks to NetGalley, Atria, and Winnie M Li for a DRC of this book in exchange for an honest review! Now available as of 8.16!**
Lights. Camera.**Many thanks to NetGalley, Atria, and Winnie M Li for a DRC of this book in exchange for an honest review! Now available as of 8.16!**
Lights. Camera. Scandal!
This timely tale, set in the era of #MeToo has all the makings of a sordid, pulse-pounding tale...but ambles into more timid territory...and unfortunately, 400 pages later, doesn't stray far from there.
Sarah Lai's Hollywood ambitions began with a love of film...and have now landed her as a lecturer to aspiring screenwriters at a no-name university. Her humble beginnings as a child of two Chinese immigrants running a restaurant are far behind her...and so is her illustrious self-made career as an associate producer. Despite the brief brush with significant fame and acclaim, Sarah now prefers to keep this chapter of her life under wraps.
Her secrecy is broken, however, when New York Times reporter Thom approaches her for her recollection of working with famed British director Hugo North...and all the memories come flooding back...and pouring out. Secrets so long buried, but nowhere near forgotten, Thom gives Sarah the opportunity and the power to break her silence and use her voice to peel back the curtain and tell the world what REALLY happened with Hugo, so long ago. But exactly how much is Sarah hiding? Can she tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth...without implicating herself?
First off, a general warning: THIS IS NOT A MYSTERY/THRILLER. The cover may lead you to believe it is, the blurb indicates that it is, and the narrative itself ALLUDES to a mystery...but there is no mystery here. You know who the 'perpetrator' is from early on and have some inkling of what went on from pretty early on as well...and no 'fast one' is going to come in later to blind you. This is a domestic-style drama entrenched in the world of #MeToo, plain and simple.
Complicit is also a slow burn...a VERY slow burn. I loved Sarah's character at the beginning of the book, and was engrossed quickly as she taught her college class, but as soon as the plot bounced over to her interactions with Thom the journalist, it slows to a crawl and stays at that speed until the end. Part of this is due to the fact that Sarah goes through her ENTIRE FILM CAREER from start to finish, from her early days and struggles to become part of the industry, to her work with Hugo North. etc. Her early days were actually interesting to hear about for a while, but I can't imagine anyone actually sitting there and listening to SO MUCH extraneous detail about her life and career unless they were writing a biography of Sarah Lai...which is not what was happening here.
...Not to mention the big 'event' doesn't happen until you are 70 PERCENT of the way through the book. And even then, the 'big secrets' alluded to earlier in the novel don't happen until even LATER than that (and were hardly worth the big, dramatic buildup, once they were revealed)
Li is a huge cinephile (and of course, so is our MC Sarah) and that was very evident in her writing. She goes through the ins and outs of everything about the film industry (some of which will seem needlessly expository if you're at all familiar with the basics) and honestly, the material seems better suited for non-fiction. Lai knows her stuff and her background is clear, but I don't think all of this detail made for engrossing fiction.
She also hammers home Sarah's background ad nauseum: yes, we know she's hardworking and an immigrant, often feels invisible, etc. etc. These are important facets of her character, and that's understandable...but as a reader, we don't REALLY need to be told this information over and over. SHOWING this struggle would have been more effective, and certainly more captivating.
She also hammers home the toxicity of the power dynamics/general misogyny/#MeToo problems in Hollywood. Again....we get it. Everyone who is even slightly familiar with what has been coming to light in recent years understands the kind of utterly deplorable conduct that has gone on and how it has both sullied the industry and permanently ruined lives. This is an IMPORTANT and horrible topic...but as a reader, I don't feel that I really learned anything or got any insight I didn't already have. I was hoping to get more out of it or to FEEL more than I actually did. Li's chapters also have a tendency to end abruptly and randomly, with no rhyme or reason, so this was again an opportunity to leave the reader with something specific to ponder that was ultimately missed.
Li also leaves us with a bit of a sappy ending, which I think was meant to be hopeful, but just didn't feel like it fit. This was a book brimming with potential, but in a fitting bout of irony...I think in this case I'd rather see the movie.
**Many thanks to Edelweiss, Maudee Genao at Atria, and Will Dean for a DRC of this book in exchange for an honest review! Now available as of 7.5!**
"T**Many thanks to Edelweiss, Maudee Genao at Atria, and Will Dean for a DRC of this book in exchange for an honest review! Now available as of 7.5!**
"Twins are so practical. It's always nice to have a spare."-Billie Burke
Katie (KT) and Molly are identical twins, though like most twins, most of their similarities stop where their reflections end. Molly lives a peaceful and methodical life in London, while wild child, free-spirited, pretty and popular Katie travels and is full to bursting with crazy stories and unpredictable adventures. Despite their differences, the two have stayed as inseparable (as many identical twins do) even after Katie moves all the way to New York City.
This all comes crashing down when Katie is found dead in NYC, and Molly takes it upon herself to leave the safe confines of London to aid in the police investigation. What she uncovers is a tangled web of secrets, deceit, and sordid behavior beyond what she even knew, with a list of suspects a mile long and Katie's past still looming large in Molly's life...and putting her directly in the line of fire. Will she make it back to her parents safely...or has her investigative spirit set her up to be the next twin to fall?
Let me start by saying I wanted to love this book. I really, REALLY did.
The longer I kept reading, however, the less I liked it. What started as some minor annoyances quickly snowballed into eye-rolling and heavy sighing territory...and just got worse from there.
First of all...the giant twist that many found so shocking? Even though it makes NO sense (or at least, not really, until Dean sort of FORCES it to make sense) I saw coming pretty early on. There was so much build-up trying to point you away from what I felt was a pretty obvious conclusion that it just reinforced the point that yep, that's exactly what's going on. And if you've read any thrillers with twins in them, or even take a close look at this cover, you might be able to guess it too.
Then there's Dean's writing itself. I don't expect thrillers to feel literary or be full of long descriptive sentences by any means (okay, it's a bonus if SOMETIMES they are, if it fits in context) but I was starting to think Dean challenged himself to see how many short sentences he could write to make up this entire book. I can't even tell you how many sentences were three words long, some just two. I get that might be his 'style' but it made the whole book feel disjointed to me. Here's an example:
"When the coast is clear, I shuffle down into the bushes and I crouch low and I eat my granola bar." (line break) "It is sweet."
...
Okay. Not sure why that sentence needed to be there, or get its own paragraph. (and now that I'm looking back, that first sentence is a bit of a run-on. Does anyone's inner monologue actually sound like that...?) This is just one minor example, but it happens ALL throughout the book. Molly's rambling and obsessive tendencies in her 'investigative' work were hard enough to slog through without the choppy narration.
Dean also has a habit of sort of restating the same sentence or the same information twice in a paragraph. Here's a prime example:
"The thing is: money. Money is often, in my experience, the thing."
**Many thanks to Edelweiss, Arcade, and M. Dressler for an ARC of this book! Now available as of 3.1!!**
Emma Rose Finnis isn't your everyday poltergei**Many thanks to Edelweiss, Arcade, and M. Dressler for an ARC of this book! Now available as of 3.1!!**
Emma Rose Finnis isn't your everyday poltergeist: her travels through the ghostly realm have taken her to the (Wild Wild) West, and ghost hunter Phillip Pratt is once again on the case. When Emma makes intentional contact with a living being, however, the situation becomes infinitely more complex. Will Emma and her band of ghostly compatriots escape the snare of the ghost hunters? Will Emma's heart lead her into new and uncharted territory..or right into a carefully laid trap?
It has been a minute since I read book one of this series, but from what I remembered, I loved hearing from ghost Emma Rose. Unfortunately, this installment left me scratching my head and wondering WHAT exactly I loved about it.
To start off, there was ZERO narration from Emma until the book was almost half over, and from someone who was in it for the ghosts...this didn't bode well. I'm not a huge fan of Westerns either, or books set in that world, so had I paid a little closer attention to that detail, I tend to think I would have bypassed this entirely. Most of the human characters were fairly flat and not memorable at all. The one saving grace of this novel SHOULD have been Emma herself, and for a while, nearly was...until her ghostly character lost most of her ghostliness during a session of 'relations'...with a human. ...more
*Many thanks to Goodreads, Edelweiss, Atria, and Catherine McKenzie for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! Now available as of 8.23, and now in *Many thanks to Goodreads, Edelweiss, Atria, and Catherine McKenzie for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! Now available as of 8.23, and now in paperback!*
“Do not try to fight a lion if you are not one yourself.” – African Proverb
The lion may be known as the King of the Jungle...but where would the males of the pride be without the lionesses?
Nicole has spent many years trying to build her reputation at her law firm...only to have everything seemingly crash down in an instant. The points committee has failed to give her the points she needs to succeed, and her boss lets her know her future at the firm is in jeopardy. She's also in danger of losing her fabulous apartment with fellow lawyer and hubby Dan, and this news couldn't have come at a worse time.
Just when Nicole feels like she's reached the end of her tether, she gets a mysterious email from a group called Panthera Leo. Ostensibly, the group stands against the 'old boys clubs' of the world and allows the brilliance and power of its particular brand of woman to thrive and flourish in ways they never deemed possible. it all begins with an invitation to a retreat...with little other detail provided. Though her husband thinks it sounds a bit cult-y, but Nicole is intrigued and takes the leap.
Once there, the group full of famous and powerful women (including actresses, those from the political sphere, etc.) bond in ways they never thought possible, going through strenuous mental and physical tests meant to test their mettle and their commitment to one another. When Nicole gets back home, her career DOES begin to turn a corner, and all of the women are there to 'help' one another at a moment's notice.
Until one request chills Nicole to the bone...she is summoned to help deal with a dead body.
Has Panthera Leo gone one step too far? Was her desire to be part of this pride enough to risk it all...even her freedom...and her life?
I was nervous coming into this read for multiple reasons: I didn't have a wonderful experience with my last from this author and I'd read this was a bit of a cult book, and those are hit or miss for me in general.
What I didn't know coming into this one, however, was exactly HOW MUCH I would love the female empowerment angle in this book...and how this spin on a revenge tale would keep me hooked!
McKenzie's writing is always accessible, and her legal knowledge (of the basics, the 'life of a lawyer', and intricate details that become important at the end of the book) shines through MC Nicole. (For some bizarre reason, I kept forgetting that her name was Nicole. No idea why!) She keeps her chapters on the shorter side, although some of the experiences on the retreat erred on the side of long-winded. I appreciated that she kept the action moving overall, and the plot itself was a bit too intricate to guess, but not SO intricate that it falls into unbelievable or confusing territory.
I was also relieved this was more of a white collar underground network than a full-on cape-wearing cult, as those type of stories can feel a bit much. I think in today's world, a Panthera Leo very well COULD exist (and some may argue, is even warranted! ...more
**Many thanks to Edelweiss, Maudee Genao at Atria, and Janice Hallett for a DRC in exchange for an honest review! Now available in the US as of 1.25!!**Many thanks to Edelweiss, Maudee Genao at Atria, and Janice Hallett for a DRC in exchange for an honest review! Now available in the US as of 1.25!!**
Imagine: you work a desk job. Your boss comes up to you with a Hammermill box, and plops it on your desk. Inside the box? 4,000 emails. Your job? To sort through them all, looking for that one specific email to answer an obscure question. But there is no search and find on a desktop. You get to embark on this journey ALL by yourself.
...By hand.
Does that sound exciting to you?
Then BOY, do I have a book for you!
A community theatre troupe, led by Martin and wife Helen, are brought together by something other than the love of the stage when Martin and Helen's young daughter Poppy falls ill. Unfortunately, her illness is a rare type of cancer, one that only extremely expensive medicine might be able to cure. The group bands together to form an Appeal, designed to raise the funds necessary to PROcure the cure...and all is well, until a body turns up. Months later, two lawyers are given the difficult task of piecing together emails, audio transcripts, news articles, and the like prior to the trial to see if the right person has been apprehended...and where exactly did the funds go? What has become of Poppy? Can the dynamic duo of Femi and Charlotte crack the case...and more importantly, can YOU?
It is so hard to know where to start with this book. I was lured in by the cover, comparisons to Lucy Foley, and the premise. Although in my excitement, I did miss one leading clue on the front cover: FIFTEEN suspects. This probably should have been my first clue that this book was not a fit for me. No matter how much I love them or how interesting they are, I do not ever enjoy reading books with THAT many characters. So much so that the author actually has to refresh you, the reader, multiple times with lists of who everyone is and what their 'role' is..and on my phone screen via my Kindle app, this took about four or five pages.
There's also the fact that the novel is written in the style that it is: email after email after email. It was honestly exhausting after the first 20% or so and reading the book felt like WORK...but not rewarding work. While I wholeheartedly respect the author's creativity in this regard, this book was 400 pages that felt closer to 800 for me and was full of so much extraneous detail I just didn't need or care about in the slightest.
I also figured out some of the 'twists' along the way and felt they were fairly obvious, but others were so complicated and convoluted I feel as though I'd need to read this book multiple times just to have a firm grasp on everything. I am 100% sure Hallett did the legwork and that everything makes sense...but unlike the movie version of Clue (a personal favorite) that has three possible endings that are all interesting and exciting, so many versions were presented here that I honestly lost track.
The two detectives also write a thesis of sorts (or at least that's how it read) just to summarize their theories...which led me to wish I'd simply read that and skipped most of the book itself. And it STILL wasn't over after that, as they both changed their minds yet again with last minute evidence....agh. I spent so much of this journey frustrated rather than excited and wish I could have some of the time I spent reading back.
I know Hallett has found lots of success with this book and clearly she has a mind for intricate plotting, but this one simply wasn't appeal-ing (sorry, I had to do it) to me. I will certainly consider her work in the future, as long as I have my Patient Hat on...and a hefty stack of Post-Its nearby!
**Many thanks to Edelweiss, Maudee Genao at Atria, and Jennifer Fawcett for a DRC in exchange for an honest review! Now available as of 2.22!!**
A **Many thanks to Edelweiss, Maudee Genao at Atria, and Jennifer Fawcett for a DRC in exchange for an honest review! Now available as of 2.22!!**
A spooky, suspenseful slow-burn that simmers with ghostly gothic drama...and a dangerous doll to boot!
Clare and Abby are your average teenagers: looking for trouble and to while away the hours. They get the bright idea to explore a creepy house, unique in the town of Sumner's Mills: The Octagon House. (And of course, you have one guess to determine how it got its name). What they find, along with their friends who come along for the ride that fateful evening, is that there is good reason to avoid this terrifying place...besides the obvious fact that a mysterious murder occurred there years ago. Clare and Abby enter and are lucky to escape with their lives, after a frightening encounter in the basement.
Years later, Clare is called back to Sumner's Mills: Abby is in the hospital, in the grip of a coma, after a suicide attempt. Tragic enough to begin with, until Clare learns that this event took place at none other than the Octagon House itself. Why did Abby return and what could have driven her back...and driven her to madness? Does Clare have some unfinished business of her own...and why did Abby call on Clare to solve the mystery? Can Clare protect herself and other women from a similar fate...or has the Octagon House lured its next victim right to the top of the stairs, poised to descend, and never return?
This is Fawcett's debut, and I felt this for the beginning two-thirds of the novel: there are a total of FOUR timelines at one point, as we see Clare in the present, Clare at 14...and then two timelines prior, which deal with further backstory of Octagon House. This isn't necessarily problematic, but it was a LOT. I usually feel backstory isn't fully explicated enough, but in this case, I was intrigued but a bit overwhelmed by all of the back and forth and trying to keep track of the who, where, and why Fawcett explored. I think at least one of these storylines from the past could have easily been dealt with solely in newspaper articles, magazine clippings, or the like. In this case, I would have liked a LITTLE bit more left to the imagination.
That aside, the atmosphere quickly amps up in this one, and The Octagon House itself functions as a creepy character throughout. There are also a couple of subplots that blossom, and by 75%, I was much more invested in the outcome than I was at the start. I wanted the best for Clare just as much as I wanted to know what the Octagon House had under its stairs (rather than up its sleeve, I suppose!) for other victims. I was relieved so much heart and fleshed out character development made the journey worth it, and I love a good haunted doll reference as much as the next thriller buff, so that certainly gave me the Annabelle-esque vibes from Wan's Conjuring series of films. I also could see this one working well as a series or movie, so here's to hoping for that development deal!
If you're feeling a little impatient for Halloween already (I mean, there are only 264 days to go...so I could see why you might be!) and are ready for a bit of spooky, a touch of heart, and a mystery guaranteed to keep you guessing, grab a copy of Beneath the Stairs...and as R.L. Stine so fatefully warned us all in Goosebumps #22...Stay Out of the Basement!...more
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