Lute by Jennifer Marie Thorne
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars**
On the mysterious island of Lute, every seventh summer, seven people must die.
This doesn’t necessarily sound like somewhere I would want to move to, but after Nina meets her now husband, a native of Lute, that’s exactly what she does. She moves to the island and becomes Lady Treadway.
Lute is like a place locked in time. In fact, it’s difficult to determine time in general. For a while I thought this was a story set in the past, but as it progressed, maybe it is actually set in the future?
Regardless, the feel of the island itself and the mannerisms of the locals feels very old-fashioned. Nina seems, in her thoughts and actions, like a more modern lady who is now trying to mold herself into these more old-fashioned ideals.
Nina has never been on the island on a tithe day and as it approaches she becomes more and more aware of the harsh realities of The Day.
The locals believe that the deaths of the seven grant them luck and prosperity, as well as protection for the island from the outside world. Nina believes this is all superstitious nonsense, but is it?
I was excited for this book due to the comparisons to The Wicker Man and Final Destination. The Wicker Man comparison is definitely apt.
With this being said, maybe dark summer solstice tales just aren’t for me? I’ve never found one that has truly captivated me. Lute was good, the writing was strong, but I never felt connected with it enough to be gripped by the narrative.
Truth be told, I could have abandoned it at any point.
I found parts of it confusing and honestly, I wanted more dark atmosphere. Just because something is murky, as in confusing, does not necessarily mean it is a strong, dark, creepy atmosphere.
Overall though, I am happy I read this. It kept me entertained somewhat and I would be interested in picking up more from Jennifer Marie Thorne.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.
While this didn’t quite knock it out of the park for me, I am sure that a lot of Readers will really enjoy this.