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The Scary Girls
Male guitarist needed. Talented humans only. Ask for Forsythia.
Trick is looking for a new band. So what the hell, he makes the call. Which is how he meets the Scary Girls. Mysterious, Beautiful, and otherworldly, there’s something downright...scary about them. But the music he makes with them is incredible. Magical. Because of them, he discovers a world within the one he knows, just left of center, hiding around the next corner. A world of magic, improbability, and impossibility. Trick changes. He senses more—he is more. He’s always felt out of place, uncomfortable in his own skin. Now, he’s coming alive. But who is relentlessly and terrifyingly hunting him? Can Trick figure it out before someone gets hurt? All he can do it try. As it turns out, that’s a fine place to start...
Trick is looking for a new band. So what the hell, he makes the call. Which is how he meets the Scary Girls. Mysterious, Beautiful, and otherworldly, there’s something downright...scary about them. But the music he makes with them is incredible. Magical. Because of them, he discovers a world within the one he knows, just left of center, hiding around the next corner. A world of magic, improbability, and impossibility. Trick changes. He senses more—he is more. He’s always felt out of place, uncomfortable in his own skin. Now, he’s coming alive. But who is relentlessly and terrifyingly hunting him? Can Trick figure it out before someone gets hurt? All he can do it try. As it turns out, that’s a fine place to start...
354 pages, Paperback
First published January 9, 2015
312 people want to read
About the author
J.D. Kaplan
2 books49 followersJD currently lives in Woodstock, Illinois with his wife, two kids and very insecure Golden Retriever, Max. He has worked in the software industry for nearly 18 years after a period of failing to publish his poetry. At this stage in life he's actively trying to change careers again to be a full time author of fantasy and science fiction novels.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 27, 2015
The fantasy genre is filled with dragons, vampires, and werewolves, so it was a refreshing change to delve into a world I frankly knew nothing about; Druids, dreamers, wardens…and the Fae. Even the protagonist’s nickname, Trick—short for Patrick—has an existential meaning in the Fae world, though this particular Trick is not a Blood Prince. What he actually is, defines the journey both the reader and protagonist embark upon…with the able assistance of, “The Scary Girls” of course.
Three of the Scary Girls are actually Wardens named after flowering trees; Forsythia, Foxglove, and Jessamine. The fourth “Scary Girl” is a Fae named Hazel. For the reader who’s paying attention, these are your first clues to understand the nature and original treatment of the supernatural forces Kaplan employs in this surprising novel.
What captivated me right off the bat was how normal everything began; a talented guitar player from a popular band had just been dumped by his girlfriend and he’s trying to drown his sorrows at a club where he feels out of place, except for the bar tender—Hazel. The next thing I knew, I was 70 pages into the book.
The main character is extremely visual in his interpretation of the world, the concept of music and feelings are directly interpreted by the resulting colors he sees. Kaplan’s deliberate allusion to color to describe what occurs is no accident. It—pardon the pun—colors every aspect of his narrative, and appropriately so.
The author owns his readers with a captivating plot, carefully crafting the buildup with critically timed information so addictive, you can’t stop reading. Kaplan’s whimsical characters, easy prose and down-to-earth dialogue catches the reader so totally off guard, when he does unveil the revelation, it’s a plot twist that you wouldn’t see coming (unless you re-read the book and actively looked for the various clues he left for the amateur sleuth to discover).
Kaplan’s eclectic tastes ran from fantasy, music, romance and—what tugged most at my heartstrings—was his wonderfully detailed treatment of the ultimate expression of one’s love; the capacity for self sacrifice.
It doesn’t take too many pages to realize that Kaplan is a topflight architect of character design and plot-line.
Three of the Scary Girls are actually Wardens named after flowering trees; Forsythia, Foxglove, and Jessamine. The fourth “Scary Girl” is a Fae named Hazel. For the reader who’s paying attention, these are your first clues to understand the nature and original treatment of the supernatural forces Kaplan employs in this surprising novel.
What captivated me right off the bat was how normal everything began; a talented guitar player from a popular band had just been dumped by his girlfriend and he’s trying to drown his sorrows at a club where he feels out of place, except for the bar tender—Hazel. The next thing I knew, I was 70 pages into the book.
The main character is extremely visual in his interpretation of the world, the concept of music and feelings are directly interpreted by the resulting colors he sees. Kaplan’s deliberate allusion to color to describe what occurs is no accident. It—pardon the pun—colors every aspect of his narrative, and appropriately so.
The author owns his readers with a captivating plot, carefully crafting the buildup with critically timed information so addictive, you can’t stop reading. Kaplan’s whimsical characters, easy prose and down-to-earth dialogue catches the reader so totally off guard, when he does unveil the revelation, it’s a plot twist that you wouldn’t see coming (unless you re-read the book and actively looked for the various clues he left for the amateur sleuth to discover).
Kaplan’s eclectic tastes ran from fantasy, music, romance and—what tugged most at my heartstrings—was his wonderfully detailed treatment of the ultimate expression of one’s love; the capacity for self sacrifice.
It doesn’t take too many pages to realize that Kaplan is a topflight architect of character design and plot-line.
May 10, 2015
Book: ‘The Scary Girls’
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Author: J.D Kaplan
Author’s website: http://www.thedreamside.com
I love colors. Colors have always been a huge part of my life and I usually identify myself through them. That’s one of the reasons I became a photographer, to be able to catch them in a frozen moment of time.
This is also true for Trick MacKenzie, a guitarist in the rock-band 'Fishmonger', but instead of trying to freeze the vibrant colors he experiences when he’s playing, he lives fully through them and this is also the only moment when he feels truly alive. Otherwise he walks through the world more like a spectator than a participant. When he unexpectedly gets involved with a girl band this starts to change and suddenly Trick finds himself a participant in a world more terrifying, more passionate, and more compassionate than he thought existed.
The first lines in a book are crucial for me. If they don’t hook me I usually have a harder time coming around to actually reading the whole story. This book’s first lines intrigued me a lot, urging me to go on and find out what Trick is experiencing with ‘the Scary Girls’, the band members in 'Ex-Sanguinaires' that he hopes to join after difficulties arise in his own band.
The text runs smoothly all through the book and I really enjoyed the way J.D. Kaplan formed his words and sentences. They flowed beautifully and worked well together without any resistance and they kept me immersed throughout the whole novel. J.D. Kaplan’s own love for music clearly manifests in the text through the eyes of Trick.
I also enjoyed the fun chapter names. Instead of calling them Chapter 1, 2, 3, etc., he gives them unexpected names such as ‘Phone call from my mother’, etc.
Nothing in this book is written without a thought. Characters that we get to meet briefly in the beginning have importance later, often in the most surprising way. Speaking about surprising, I didn’t figure out what really was going on until the last two or three chapters. This I think, is one of J.D. Kaplan’s finest talents as an author, to be able to reveal something totally different than the reader expected and to be able to carry that out in a way that makes total sense. I can tell that I did not see this end coming.
To go back to the characters, J.D. Kaplan manages to create characters that are interesting and believable as well as having strengths and weaknesses and a will of their own. Sometimes, however, the individual voices between them get a bit muddled. This, together with a few typos and a formatting that sometimes did not work out well, (I read it on a Kobo, which might explain the formatting problems), are the only things I’d complain about. Otherwise it is definitely a great story; intriguing, well-written and well-weaved. The plot is catching and you keep wondering what’s going on all the way until the last chapters.
I would definitely recommend this urban fantasy novel. It is well worth your time.
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Author: J.D Kaplan
Author’s website: http://www.thedreamside.com
I love colors. Colors have always been a huge part of my life and I usually identify myself through them. That’s one of the reasons I became a photographer, to be able to catch them in a frozen moment of time.
This is also true for Trick MacKenzie, a guitarist in the rock-band 'Fishmonger', but instead of trying to freeze the vibrant colors he experiences when he’s playing, he lives fully through them and this is also the only moment when he feels truly alive. Otherwise he walks through the world more like a spectator than a participant. When he unexpectedly gets involved with a girl band this starts to change and suddenly Trick finds himself a participant in a world more terrifying, more passionate, and more compassionate than he thought existed.
The first lines in a book are crucial for me. If they don’t hook me I usually have a harder time coming around to actually reading the whole story. This book’s first lines intrigued me a lot, urging me to go on and find out what Trick is experiencing with ‘the Scary Girls’, the band members in 'Ex-Sanguinaires' that he hopes to join after difficulties arise in his own band.
The text runs smoothly all through the book and I really enjoyed the way J.D. Kaplan formed his words and sentences. They flowed beautifully and worked well together without any resistance and they kept me immersed throughout the whole novel. J.D. Kaplan’s own love for music clearly manifests in the text through the eyes of Trick.
I also enjoyed the fun chapter names. Instead of calling them Chapter 1, 2, 3, etc., he gives them unexpected names such as ‘Phone call from my mother’, etc.
Nothing in this book is written without a thought. Characters that we get to meet briefly in the beginning have importance later, often in the most surprising way. Speaking about surprising, I didn’t figure out what really was going on until the last two or three chapters. This I think, is one of J.D. Kaplan’s finest talents as an author, to be able to reveal something totally different than the reader expected and to be able to carry that out in a way that makes total sense. I can tell that I did not see this end coming.
To go back to the characters, J.D. Kaplan manages to create characters that are interesting and believable as well as having strengths and weaknesses and a will of their own. Sometimes, however, the individual voices between them get a bit muddled. This, together with a few typos and a formatting that sometimes did not work out well, (I read it on a Kobo, which might explain the formatting problems), are the only things I’d complain about. Otherwise it is definitely a great story; intriguing, well-written and well-weaved. The plot is catching and you keep wondering what’s going on all the way until the last chapters.
I would definitely recommend this urban fantasy novel. It is well worth your time.
May 9, 2015
3rd in the Hidden Gem Awards
Blog:ScookieReviews
Trick needs a new band, preferably one where the lead singer doesn't make out with his girlfriend. That's when he meets the Scary Girls: three beautiful, mysterious, and talented musicians whom Trick instantly clicks with. He soon finds himself playing extraordinary music as well as bumping into otherworldly beings that have him questioning who, or what exactly, is he?
Mixing music with the supernatural, The Scary Girls was the most original book of all the entries. I could tell the writer must be an awesome musician as well as a talented writer.
I liked Trick a lot. There was something very relatable about all the characters - something real and raw, especially with Trick. He's a little uncomfortable in his skin, but rises to the moment, and comes across as very likeable, easy going, and very easy to follow as a main character. If you're tired of strong female leads, then this might be the book for you.
I became really confused at the end. Great twists were mingled together with confusing reveals, and I’m not entirely sure if I understood all of it. There was also a lot of information to take in. While I enjoyed reading about aspects of the Fae which aren't so overdone in supernatural fiction, there were a lot of heavy exposition scenes.
Still, these are broken up with the odd bar room brawl girlfriend drama, and strange visits to another dream-world. I've never read anything else like it!
Blog:ScookieReviews
Trick needs a new band, preferably one where the lead singer doesn't make out with his girlfriend. That's when he meets the Scary Girls: three beautiful, mysterious, and talented musicians whom Trick instantly clicks with. He soon finds himself playing extraordinary music as well as bumping into otherworldly beings that have him questioning who, or what exactly, is he?
Mixing music with the supernatural, The Scary Girls was the most original book of all the entries. I could tell the writer must be an awesome musician as well as a talented writer.
I liked Trick a lot. There was something very relatable about all the characters - something real and raw, especially with Trick. He's a little uncomfortable in his skin, but rises to the moment, and comes across as very likeable, easy going, and very easy to follow as a main character. If you're tired of strong female leads, then this might be the book for you.
I became really confused at the end. Great twists were mingled together with confusing reveals, and I’m not entirely sure if I understood all of it. There was also a lot of information to take in. While I enjoyed reading about aspects of the Fae which aren't so overdone in supernatural fiction, there were a lot of heavy exposition scenes.
Still, these are broken up with the odd bar room brawl girlfriend drama, and strange visits to another dream-world. I've never read anything else like it!
February 20, 2015
Another wonderful book by JD Kaplan. Not only are his characters relateable they are well thought out weaving their way in and out of the Dreamside.
Spoiler alert.
Bringing Collin and the girls along was great. I hope that this trend continues in his future writing, creating an entire cast of familiar beings.
Spoiler alert.
Bringing Collin and the girls along was great. I hope that this trend continues in his future writing, creating an entire cast of familiar beings.
December 19, 2017
* I received this book as a free ARC in exchange for an honest review*
The Scary Girls started off as a story about a sad young man that was just broken up with a humiliated by his ex girlfriend and his band mate. It morphed into an excellent tale of finding yourself and the people that you are meant to surround yourself with. I saw a huge change in how he saw himself and the world once he joined up with the Scary Girls and how each and every person in the group had an affect on each the others, including his contributions. The climatic ending had me in tears at one point due to the harsh reality Trick was forced to confront and the choice he had to make.
The Scary Girls started off as a story about a sad young man that was just broken up with a humiliated by his ex girlfriend and his band mate. It morphed into an excellent tale of finding yourself and the people that you are meant to surround yourself with. I saw a huge change in how he saw himself and the world once he joined up with the Scary Girls and how each and every person in the group had an affect on each the others, including his contributions. The climatic ending had me in tears at one point due to the harsh reality Trick was forced to confront and the choice he had to make.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews