Katherine Harbour's Blog, page 3

Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood

Within These Wicked Walls
Set in Ethiopia, I believe, at the turn-of-the century, this story has an intriguing Beauty and the Beast theme. The teen protagonist, Andromeda, is a debtera, an exorcist, who is trying to make a name for herself by accepting a dangerous job at a haunted mansion in the desert. The son of a wealthy and broken family, Magnus, has been cursed by the Evil Eye, which has resulted in a gruesome curse that has been killing servants in the mansion.
The most poignant relationship for me was between Andromeda and her foster father, Jumber, a curmudgeonly and powerful debtera injured by a job gone bad. He's a terrible and complicated parent, which is why Andromeda is drawn into saving the innocent Magnus.
The horror elements are fabulously dark. I loved the flawed father/daughter relationship. The romance is sweet, but blood-stained by Magnus's curse. I also loved the refreshingly original setting. A Bronte-esque fairy tale with a fiery heroine.

White Fox by Sara Faring

White Fox
A contemporary mystery set on a fictional Mediterranean island. This is a story of two teen sisters haunted by their famous mother, who has gone missing. Manon and Thais return to the island after their father's death, and discover a script called White Fox has surfaced, their mother's next film. It's a deliciously creepy script that has a folklore feel to it, which I loved. Thais and Manon must venture into a labyrinth of secrets and treachery to learn what happened to their mother. The two sisters--one supposedly shallow and vain, the other, practical and bookish, are at odds with one another. They are heirs to a fortune someone else wants...
With its unique take on children of a famous mother (think Princess Diana) and a fascinatingly detailed setting, White Fox is an intriguing thriller with hints of the uncanny.

The Surrender Theory by Caitlin Conlon

The Surrender Theory: Poems
These are poems about grief and love, a rich mosaic of powerful emotions that form a story. My favorites are:
'Nick Carraway Wakes in the Middle of the Night, and Reaches for a Pen,' which reads like a beautiful parallel between a real relationship and Nick Carraway's infatuation with glamorous Gatsby.

'One for the Girls that Camp Out for Concerts,' is a genius homage, in all of its little details, to exactly what the title says.

'The Artist Paints a Favorable Portrait of Jack Torrance,' is about the potential of inherited addiction and a sympathetic view of The Shining's protagonist.

'I Said Your Name Three Times in a Mirror,' is about grief as a haunting.

'Speed Dating in the Twenty-First Century, or A List of Things You Should Know About Me That Require a Level of Urgency,' is a poem that, in its perfect details, creates a portrait of the author.

All of the poems are lush and heartbreaking, like a raw, beating heart made up of words.

The Chosen and The Beautiful by Nghi Vo

The Chosen and the Beautiful
What if Jay Gatsby really did make a deal with the Devil? That's the premise behind this lush retelling of The Great Gatsby from the POV of Jordan Baker, a young woman whose clever observances are far more interesting than Nick Carraway's. Jordan is Vietnamese and adopted. Nick is vulnerable and easily influenced and very in love with Gatsby. Jordan and Daisy Buchanan (who is as awful as she is in the original) have grown up together and their friendship is somewhat one-sided. All three are drawn to Gatsby's fabulous and fantastical parties, where demon liquor and exotic hook-ups are available. The lyrical descriptions are lush, the characters fascinating. Each is given poignant reasons with a touch of the supernatural, for what they do. With all the glitter of the Roaring Twenties and Jordan's cynical perspective, this is one of my favorite reads of the year.

School for Psychics by K.C. Archer

School for Psychics
Teddy is a con artist who uses her ability to read people at Las Vegas casinos. When she's recruited by a covert government program that teaches psychics to use their powers as secret agents, she meets an interesting mix of people: a former cop who can set fires with his mind; a young woman who can speak to animals; and another young woman who can sense when someone's going to die.
Teddy and her team need to solve a mystery as part of their training, but Teddy learns there may be a traitor in their ranks.
I liked Teddy as an MC--she's reckless and clever-- and the other team mates were interesting. It became a subtle super hero origin story, which I thought was intriguing. Definitely would read a sequel.

You Let Me In by Camilla Bruce

You Let Me In
Told from a first person narrative, by a writer of romance with a tragic past. She may have died. She may be narrating from beyond.
Novelist Cassandra Tipp grew up in a household that was abusive, but this abuse is only hinted at. She finds solace as a child with a vampiric, twisted tree of a fairy man she simply calls Pepper Man. He is with her throughout her life, but is he the one causing her grief or is he the one keeping her alive? I found this book in the mystery section and was delighted by the terrifying and strange descriptions of Cassandra's fairy folk, who are linked with the dead. It's hinted that the fairies might be in her mind, a coping device. But, despite her therapist's insistence, this theory doesn't add up.
This was a fabulous surprise, for anyone who enjoys the darker side of Faery.

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

These Violent Delights
1920s Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet. A monster.
Juliette Cai is from a family of gangsters, the Scarlets. She's just returned from New York and has lost her independence due to family obligations. Roma is the prince of the White Flower gang and hates it. His two best friends are Marshall Seo, an immigrant who works for the White Flowers, and Roma's cousin Benedict.
When people begin to kill themselves in a gruesome fashion, Juliette and Roma must put aside past grievances and vendettas to solve the mystery, before Shanghai explodes with civil unrest.
I loved the characters! Their interactions were interesting and revealed history. And the fascinating historical details provide spectacular world building. The monster's okay, but it was Juliette's ruthlessness that drove the story for me.

Reviews on hold

Reviews will temporarily be put on hold while I finish a monster revision of The Dark Fable (title change), my contemporary, neo noir book with supernatural elements.

Bunny by Mona Awad

Bunny
Samantha attends a creative writing program at a distinguished college in a bad neighborhood haunted by an urban legend--an ax murderer. Her best friend reminds her of a female David Bowie and is awesomely cynical.
Then there are the Bunnies, a blonde clique of girls Samantha nicknames Duchess, Cupcake, and Creepy Doll. They're self-involved and whimsical in a bad way, but their writing scenes are hilarious. Samantha soon learns they are sort of a coven who turn rabbits into young men--whom they gruesomely dispatch with an ax if the transformation goes awry.
Samantha meets a mysterious young man whom she assumes to be the rabbit she attempted to turn and the story becomes a lovely dark fairy tale.
The first part of this novel is horror with a dash of humor, but the second part is a heartbreaking tale of college life and seeking to belong. A glorious dark academia and one of my favorite reads.

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

Legendborn
Bree Matthews is off to college in the south and, as a young Black woman, faces an uphill climb. Add to that the recent death of her mother, which has led to internalized trauma she has yet to deal with.
At college, Bree stumbles onto an eerie scene and is soon enmeshed in a complicated shadow world of King Arthur's descendants. Nick is the golden boy whom Bree falls for because he radiates Hero. He actually is an interesting character. As is Selwyn, the Merlin, dark and mysterious and unfriendly. He is Nick's protector and both loves and resents him.
Bree is the only person of color amidst these privileged, modern, Anglo-Saxon warriors and it's her navigating this perilous and racist world that makes the pages turn. Bree has to put up with a lot, but she makes friends among the Legendborn and discovers a secret about her own ancestry that I hope is followed up in a sequel.
For fans of Cassandra Clare King Arthur.