I was so impressed with Lavender House that I wasn't sure this second book could really stand up to it, especially given the way the story played out. To my surprise, it did.
Andy Mills is a compelling protagonist who has had a hard life and you just want him to succeed and have some good things and learn to enjoy himself and believe he's worth those good things. The other characters are vibrant and complicated and the way they push and pull Andy makes the overarching mystery more intriguing.
This is very much a novel about the way the past can drag at you, holding you back and trying to pull you under. And the way it would be so, so easy to let it. To let yourself be submerged into the memories and the glow of nostalgia and let your future fade away.
Andy is haunted by his memories and his past in this novel. It clouds his judgement and complicates his case, and he really struggles to break free of them.
The mystery twists and loops and as Andy investigates one suspect and then another you really wonder who could be behind it all. It's very well-crafted and satisfying.
I really love that this is very much a story about queer characters in a time where being queer is basically illegal and can easily get you beaten up or killed and no one would bat an eye. There is a danger that darkens all the shadows, but at the same time that just makes the light of their joy shine brighter in defiance.
The setting and the characters and the queerness of it all is captivating and as a queer reader is both painful and beautiful. I've never read anything quite like it before.
I was sucked in by the story as it unfolded and couldn't tear myself away. I will definitely be reading future novels about Andy and his friends.
*Thanks to Bookishfirst and Macmillan Tor/Forge for providing an early copy for review.
Andy Mills is a compelling protagonist who has had a hard life and you just want him to succeed and have some good things and learn to enjoy himself and believe he's worth those good things. The other characters are vibrant and complicated and the way they push and pull Andy makes the overarching mystery more intriguing.
This is very much a novel about the way the past can drag at you, holding you back and trying to pull you under. And the way it would be so, so easy to let it. To let yourself be submerged into the memories and the glow of nostalgia and let your future fade away.
Andy is haunted by his memories and his past in this novel. It clouds his judgement and complicates his case, and he really struggles to break free of them.
The mystery twists and loops and as Andy investigates one suspect and then another you really wonder who could be behind it all. It's very well-crafted and satisfying.
I really love that this is very much a story about queer characters in a time where being queer is basically illegal and can easily get you beaten up or killed and no one would bat an eye. There is a danger that darkens all the shadows, but at the same time that just makes the light of their joy shine brighter in defiance.
The setting and the characters and the queerness of it all is captivating and as a queer reader is both painful and beautiful. I've never read anything quite like it before.
I was sucked in by the story as it unfolded and couldn't tear myself away. I will definitely be reading future novels about Andy and his friends.
*Thanks to Bookishfirst and Macmillan Tor/Forge for providing an early copy for review.