3.5/5 stars
Dial, 2013
360 pages
YA Fantastical Horror
Source: Received an ARC through Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest opinion.
My favorite covers tend to have pretty dresses on them (see Wither for example) but something about the font for this one immediately caught my interest and had me positively salivating for its release. I'm so glad I've finally had the chance to pick it up!
Now that I've finished, I'm of two opinions. On the one hand, I loved the writing. I found it absolutely atmospheric and arresting, nearly impossible to put down. But I hated the characters and the fact that the plot felt pretty aimless for the majority of the book before ratcheting up the horror.
Violet and her twin brother Luke live in a falling apart mansion unsupervised while their parents pursue their art abroad. Desperate for some cash, she advertises for a renter and soon enough along comes the charming River West. Coinciding with his arrival are some strange occurrences, ones that have Violet mistrusting her senses as River seems to possess extraordinary powers of persuasion. But he's not the only devil in town...
We'll start with the good, which was the beautiful writing. I found myself completely sucked in and nearly incapable of putting the book down for long. I'd set it down after a chapter, intending to do something else but kept finding myself drawn back to find out what would happen next. BUT then we reach a plot twist that would be a spoiler that led to me thinking what was the point?! We were all set up to believe one thing and then that is taken away and twisted. True, that is the point when things really start getting horrifying and really had me clutching my pearls but it also negated a lot of the information that had previously been shared with us. And not in a way that had me doubting the reliability of the narrator, which was already shaky; rather it is in a way that left me upset with the author for this poor contrivance.
Moving on to the distinctly negative, I didn't feel much of anything for any of the characters and when I did, it was anger with them. I never got much of a feel for Violet outside of her relationship with River, Luke is so disgusting with his machismo, and their neighbor/friend Sunshine seemed to be entirely defined by her sexuality without being allowed a brain. River's manipulation rubbed me the wrong way and obviously I hated that other character who shows up.
Overall: Beautiful writing with some truly horrific events, the writing about which only drives home their horror but with poor characters leading the way. I'm still inclined to check out the second book in this two-part series if only to see if the characters can be deepened and redeemed enough for me to care.
Other Opinions: Again my blogging friends had a lot of thoughts, here are just a few
A Reader of Fictions
Candace's Book Blog
In Bed With Books
Jen Ryland/YA Romantics
The Book Swarm
The Flyleaf Review
I wasn't sure I'd like this so I never requested it for review. I am sorry to hear that the characters are so unlikable. That can really ruin a book.
ReplyDeleteI do like scary stories but I'm not sure I'd like this one either. I agree that the cover is nice and creepy.
I had hoped to have more of a connection to the characters but loads of other people loved it so it may be a better read for you.
DeleteI really enjoyed this one though I do agree that the characters need something...more. The setting almost overwhelms them at times.
ReplyDeleteYES! The setting and writing are great but the characters just did not appeal to me (even though I gave up on liking them.)
DeleteI think the characters were supposed to be fairly unlikeable, but I saw glimmers of better people beneath. (For instance, Luke's machismo is gross, but it's his reaction to their parents' absence and he does care about his sister's happiness and health.)
ReplyDeleteMaybe-I don't like that then.
DeleteI love the cover and the font ! But it's not mt kind of plot. I hate when I get books with marvelous writing but characters I don't like :-(
ReplyDeleteBut 3.5 stars is good, though!
I adore the cover-I cannot say enough good things about it!
DeleteAw, I'm sorry you didn't like the characters much :\ But ohh. Beautiful writing? Yes please! I love good writing. I also have an ARC of this, and I cannot wait to read it :) Thank you for sharing. <3
ReplyDeleteWell if you have an ARC, you should certainly give it a chance at the least.
DeleteThis cover and title are totally tempting. It's too bad that you didn't like the characters or plot though... I've been waiting for this one so I'll probably still read it, albeit with lower expectations. I'm glad to hear it has good writing at least!
ReplyDelete-P.E. @ The Sirenic Codex
Lots of other people loved this one-I'm definitely in the minority but I wanted to feel so much more for the characters!
DeleteI think for me because of the style of the story and the writing it all fit together perfectly. If I were to take the characters and some situations and plopped them in another story I wouldn't have like them/it. So I guess I get what you're saying and kind of understand. But as you know I loved this! I'm glad you agree that the writing it beautiful though. And oh man, this one was pretty scary for me!
ReplyDeleteI see what you're saying. If it had been a more straightforward style, the characters probably would have been just horrible but the writing revealed more nuances to it, just not enough to twist it to my liking.
DeleteBased on the many reviews I've seen, I DO want to read this one. thanks for your honest thoughts though, and I hope the second part redeems some of the characters for you!
ReplyDeleteI hope so too! Or at least it will tie everything together and put the story in perspective.
DeleteI've been wanting to read this a long time and a friend of mine recommended it to me and I got a copy and is soon going to start it! So far, I enjoy the style of the writing too, but the characters are a bit dry, just like you said. I'm not having high expectation for it, but I have certain expectations :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're enjoying it so far and hope you ended up loving it!
DeleteHm, good to hear your thoughts. We're enticed by the cover and title, but horror/thriller isn't our favorite genre, so we've been on the fence. Ultimately doesn't sound like our sort of thing, since characters are so important to us, and yours isn't the only mixed review we've read.
ReplyDeleteYes, I don't think this book is entirely for someone who adores characters. However I know you value the writing of a book and that is one area where it excels.
DeleteAw, I'm sorry you disliked the characters so much--I totally get why, because they make crazy choices and the whole thing is madness, but for some reason it all worked for me within the context of the book. I'm glad you liked the writing enough to check out the sequel, though!
ReplyDeleteWendy @ The Midnight Garden
Yes, that's what Candace was saying-it does seem to gel together better than one might have expected but still not quite all the way there for me. I'll be interested to see what reviews of the next book say.
DeleteI loved the atmospheric writing as well. That is so unfortunate you didn't click with the characters at all. but glad you're going to give the next one a try.
ReplyDeleteThe writing really is a huge selling point for this book as far as I'm concerned. It's not usually something I pay much attention to but it really grabbed me here.
DeleteI can totally agree with what you said, and yet, I still liked this. Since I'm always reading bad boys with a heart of gold, I thought having River be pretty amoral was sort of refreshing. The pace was a little leisurely, but it reminded me of my favorite Southern/Southern Gothic writers -- pull up a chair, and I'll pour you a sweet tea and tell you a story.
ReplyDeleteEven though we don't totally agree, I always enjoy your take :)
Jen @ YA Romantics
I wish I had ended this a bit more enthusiastically but alas that's not the case. I wonder what I'd think if I had read more Southern/Southern Gothic writers. I liked how you mentioned that in your review but I can't really compare because I don't have that experience.
DeleteI like the look of the cover for this book, but I'm sorry it ended up being disappointing. Usually with my books I prefer the characters and the story to be good and (most) of the time I will forgive the writing. I think I actually find it more frustrating when the writing is really good but the characters and story are really disappointing: I shout in my head about how if they can write such lovely sentences then why can't they write good characters and such.
ReplyDeleteOther commenters have pointed out how the characters may have been intended to be drawn that way; maybe so but it didn't work for me.
DeleteHm, I've been on the fence about this book, but I think your review has me leaning toward no now. I can't do the slow pacing, and I absolutely hate it when authors throw in a twist like you describe (twists can be great, but NOT when done like this one sounds). Add in bad characters and I don't think the beautiful writing can convince me otherwise. Thanks for the info!
ReplyDeleteGlad to have helped-hope you consult some other reviews so people who are more enthusiastic about this book can possibly sway you otherwise! I just want you to make an informed decision.
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