Darcia Helle

Unique and Enjoyable

Revisado: 10-26-24

FOUL DAYS has an intriguing premise that kept me invested throughout the story.

Things I enjoyed:

-The setup and world building
-The variety of witches and monsters
-The plot
-The slow-burn romantic interest

Things I was neutral about:

-Pacing, which felt a bit erratic.
-The writing sometimes leaned more into telling than showing.

Extra points for:

-The way privilege and prejudice was portrayed, reflecting the real-world back at us in a unique way.
-The impressive portrayal of grooming and domestic violence, which was a subtle yet fully developed aspect of the plot.

This story ends on a cliffhanger, which is to be expected since it’s the first in a duology.

I thought Zura Johnson did a fantastic job with the narration.

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Mixed Thoughts - Fantastic Audio Performance

Revisado: 08-31-24

Erzsebet Bathory, the Blood Countess, is a historical figure reviled for (allegedly) murdering hundreds of peasant girls and bathing in their blood.

But did she do it?

In THE NIGHTINGALE’S CASTLE, we’re introduced to an alternate version of Bathory, as a woman in power persecuted by the men who resent her.

I loved the premise of this story. The writing was good and held my interest. Ultimately, though, the execution fell a little short for me.

First, we have a lot of POV characters. I lost track of how many. I listened to the audiobook, which made it harder for me to keep up with the quick procession of characters. Bathory’s character remains in the background through much of the story, with the focus instead on the young women in her home.

Then we have a magical element that’s introduced late and not really explored. And that makes this book fantasy-adjacent, not really fantasy but also not plausible in reality. I needed to go deeper into that magic for the fantasy aspect to work, or to remove it altogether for a more realistic exploration.

The audiobook production is well done. Elinor Coleman does a fantastic job with the narration.

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Slow Burn Suspense

Revisado: 02-03-24

I don’t normally go for spy thrillers, but I’ll read anything Tess Gerritsen writes. And no surprise, these characters and their complexities captivated me.

The story is told via a Before and Now timeline, with a slow unfolding of events that lead us down a treacherous path.

I loved getting to know the main characters, who are older than average, and have fascinating backstories. I’m so happy that this is the start of a series.

I had started out alternating between the ebook and the audiobook, but I really enjoyed the narrators, and I wound up listening to most of the book.

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Perfection

Revisado: 02-02-24

Is it too soon to call this my favorite book of the year?

The Summer That Melted Everything is beautifully written, poetic, deeply emotional, complex, and thought provoking.

Content gracefully deals with racism, homosexuality, domestic abuse, and grief. We see how our arbitrary definition of right and wrong, good and evil is always evolving, and is too often wrong.

None of this is at all heavy handed. Nothing is forced. This is a story you live and breathe and experience.

I listened to this on audio, and the narrator perfectly captures the story’s mood and tone, as well as the POV character’s personality every step of the way.

Normally, I listen to audiobooks while doing mindless tasks. But with this book, I kept sitting still, like listening was a full body experience.

And now I need to buy the hardcover for my shelf. So many sentences and passages are waiting to be reread and savored.

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