general fiction

Review: The Thorns by Dawn Kurtagich

~ megs14malloy ~ Leave a comment

The ThornsThe Thorns by Dawn Kurtagich
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

The Thorns follows our MC, Bethany, through both Past and Present perspectives. Present Bethany is a successful author, wife, and a bit of a recluse.

Bethany is the author of a popular series, who is now struggling to write the final book, in which her beloved protagonist, Sally, is slated to be killed. She just can’t seem to get it right, causing her a lot of inner turmoil.

Past Bethany has been shipped off to a remote boarding school by her mother. Feeling abandoned and alone, Bethany befriends a fellow classmate, Stacey, who she comes to idolize, shall we say, to an unhealthy degree.

In the Present, Bethany is thrown for a loop when she receives an email from Stacey out of the blue. You can tell they haven’t been a part of each other’s lives for quite some time, but why? What happened?

The Past clues us in to their complicated friendship, taking us through the various uncomfortable circumstances they got themselves into while at school together. Eventually, Past and Present merge revealing the truth behind Bethany and Stacey’s relationship.

This is a tough on for me, because I Love Dawn Kurtagich’s writing and daring imagination. The Thorns has a solid ominous feel to it, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but it also had its issues that sadly brought down my rating.

For me, it’s one of those stories where a lot is happening, but simultaneously, it feels like nothing is happening. I was constantly waiting for something big to be revealed, and then when it was, I had predicted it from very early on and it didn’t end up being as satisfying as I would’ve hoped.

It also felt too drawn out and I didn’t enjoy the 2nd-person narration style of the Present perspective. Nevertheless, Kurtagich gets full marks for her creativity and follow-through on ideas, and this is still a good book, which just happened to fall a little flat for me.

I was hoping for a deeper connection and to be more compelled by the narrative than I was. The middle portions felt quite General Fiction as opposed to the dark-intrigue that I was expecting.

With all this being said, I know so many Readers are going to love this. The back-and-forth does build up some anticipation, and I feel like the topics explored are strong and well-executed.

Thank you to the publisher, Thomas & Mercer, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m looking forward to more from Kurtagich!

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Review: Heartwood by Amity Gaige

~ megs14malloy

HeartwoodHeartwood by Amity Gaige
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Heartwood focuses on the story of the disappearance of 42-year old, Valerie Gillis, just as she was close to completing her journey hiking the entire Appalachian Trail, but it’s honestly so much more than that.

This story features a few different perspectives, as well as cleverly-incorporated mixed media elements.

Initially, I wasn’t sure how all of the perspectives were going to ultimately blend together, but Gaige did an incredible job with her pacing and reveals. I found myself equally invested in each perspective, which is rare, and enjoyed how they eventually merged.

The suspense was great, the inclusion of nature was beautiful, and the exploration of the personal journeys was top notch. I felt so immersed.

My recommendation would go into this knowing as little as possible. I feel like it’s one of those stories best served if you just experience it exactly as the author wants you to. I feel like, though this story had its intense moments, and moments when I feared for particular characters, I was left with such an overriding feeling of hope.

It was really quite lovely. A great reading experience.

I did feel an extra special connection with it as it is set in my home state, and in areas where I have had the pleasure of spending a lot of time, including on the trails.

I think Gaige did a great job with the portrayal of the Maine State Game Wardens, having known a few of them in my own life. I think that’s such an amazing profession to feature in a novel like this. I appreciated that aspect.

Thank you to the publisher, Simon & Schuster, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m so happy that I made time for this book.

If you love stories of survival, hiking stories or stories that explore nature, both human and the natural world, I highly recommend picking this up!

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Review: The Dollhouse Academy by Margarita Montimore

~ megs14malloy

The Dollhouse AcademyThe Dollhouse Academy by Margarita Montimore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ivy Gordon is the most famous star pumped out of the Dollhouse Academy for almost two-decades. The older she gets, now a Hollywood-gasping 34-years old, the more fed-up she gets with the system and her role in it.

The Dollhouse Academy is a wildly-secretive, posh boarding school and talent incubator for potential stars. It’s every young performer’s goal to get there.

Ramona Holloway and Grace Ludlow, best friends and a double act, have idolized Ivy Gordon for years. Watching her career with an admiration that only the young can feel.

At the age of 22, a lucky break suddenly grants both Ramona and Grace admission into the Dollhouse. This is their chance to finally make it!

Though the campus is picturesque and the opportunities endless, the two feel ill-prepared for the cut-throat boot camp-like environment they find themselves thrust into.

Grace fairly quickly finds success, while Ramona, who secretly sees herself as the more naturally-gifted of the two, soon finds herself lagging behind.

The more the disparity between the two gets, the more difficult Ramona finds the whole experience.

Adding to her distress, Ramona is also receiving anonymous, threatening messages. There are moments when she suspects Grace, but could that possibly be true?

Would Grace actually try to scare Ramona, or purposefully harm her chances of success?

As past and present merge, the truth behind the Dollhouse starts to come to light. Will Ivy be able to express everything she needs to in order to save the next young ingenues from following in her footsteps, or is it already too late?

This was a fantastic audiobook and a very interesting story. I loved the unsettling vibes of the Dollhouse. I felt that whole environment was so well-developed. I could picture everything beautifully.

I do tend to enjoy stories that follow musicians, actors, celebs, or the arts industry in general, so that aspect really worked for me as well. I will admit it had a more General Fiction feel than I’m generally compelled to pick-up, but the air of creepiness succeeded in keeping my interest.

The 1st-chapter of this sets the tone and while it does take a step back, it’s a slow build, that sense of urgency, even in moments where you can’t put your finger on why, remains. It’s one of those stories that sneaks under your skin without you being able to verbalize why that is.

I loved Ramona’s perspective most of all, because the further in got in, the more I started to question her reliability, and I love an unreliable narrator. With that being said though, I also found Ivy’s perspective extremely interesting.

If I had to compare the vibe, or feeling of this book, paying no attention to content or themes, to another book, I would say my feeling while reading it was most closely matched by The Other Black Girl.

I would recommend this to Readers who love an unsettling atmosphere, stories involving celebrities, or dark academia. I also highly recommend the audiobook. The fabulous narration brought this novel to life for me.

Thank you to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m looking forward to reading more from Margarita Montimore.

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Review: The Witch in the Well by Camilla Bruce

~ megs14malloy

The Witch in the WellThe Witch in the Well by Camilla Bruce
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The Witch in the Well sounds intriguing. The cover image is subtly haunting. The title makes me want to discover what is happening. Is there actually a witch?

Sadly, even after reading it, I have no idea what happened. This is one of the extremely rare cases where I get progressively more ticked off the further I get into a story.

There’s a property, I guess a castle and a well on this property, where many years ago a local woman, Ilsbeth, who the townspeople believed was a witch, drowned.

Many years later, two young girls, playing in the woods discover the well and have mystical, or spiritual, or supernatural experiences there.

These girls, Elena and Cathy, grow apart and eventually become estranged. As adults, one of the women, Elena, I think, moves back to the castle after her Uncle’s death, as I understand it, to prep it for sale.

In the meantime, both women, inspired by the events at the well during their childhood, have taken it upon themselves to write books about Ilsbeth; to tell her story. Each believes they have the right to write it and the other one should stop.

Then I’m not sure, there’s like an Adult version of a prank war, there’s a handsome repairman turned suitor, and most confusing to me was a lot of content regarding a horse, or a ghost horse, and a horse as an embodiment of a demon.

Honestly, your guess is as good as mine and there it is. That’s what I got out of this book.

Oh, wait, one more thing, I think you also get the perspective of Ilsbeth, but I could be wrong on this. I think so, but I’m not 100%. Also, don’t get me started on how confusing the presentation of events was. I could not in a million years assemble a timeline for this story.

I listened to the audiobook. The narrator was okay, but I am not lying, or exaggerating, when I tell you that I RARELY knew whose perspective I was reading from and where the events fit in time.

I could not wait for this to be over. I didn’t want to DNF because, mistakenly, I thought perhaps I would have some sort of epiphany and it would suddenly all make sense.

Alas, this story just was not for me. I know there are some positive reviews out there and I’m definitely glad those Readers had a better experience with this one than I did. Please be sure you read those reviews and take them into account as well.

There’s a book for every Reader and a Reader for every book. Only you can decide if this one is for you or not.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I was excited for this one. I’m sad it didn’t work out.

On to the next!

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