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Book Review: Ember of Night by Molly E. Lee

cover art for Ember of Night by Molly E. Lee

Ember of Night by Molly E. Lee

Entangled Teen, 2021

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1649370310

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition ( Bookshop.org |   Amazon.com )

Harley is just about to turn eighteen and escape her abusive father with her younger sister Ray when Draven comes into her life. There’s a chemistry between them she can’t deny, but her life is already full between work and taking care of Ray, and she doesn’t have time for a guy in her life. Her best friend, Kai, warns her against Draven, but Harley doesn’t like being told what to do, and when Kai goes out of town, she discovers that she’s developing a friendship with Draven, who has also befriended Ray.  Unfortunately, the day she turns eighteen, demons attack her while she’s with Draven, and they have to fight them off.  Harley learns she’s not quite human– there’s something special about her blood– and Draven is watching her to see what she becomes. Despite anger, fear, and mistrust poisoning the situation, Harley and Draven are drawn to each other magnetically as they work to solve the mystery of who is behind the attacks, and what exactly Harley is.

Harley is a strongly-drawn character with intense emotions, unafraid to face anyone who challenges her, who has a force of personality that pulls the reader along. The chemistry between her and Draven is powerful. The way she sees herself and others is distorted, though: Ray is pure and must be protected, while Harley is a monster who deserves to be in pain. Author Lee uses vivid imagery to describe demons and villains and create atmosphere.

The physical abuse, trauma, and betrayal Harley endures during this story is difficult to read, more so than any of the attacks by supernatural elements. Although the story doesn’t quite make sense in places, Ember of Night is a compelling read that ratchets up the suspense and sensuality to the very last page and leaves you impatiently waiting for the sequel.

 

Contains: emotional and physical abuse, violence, gore, suicidal thoughts, sexual content.

 

Posted on July 6, 2021 by , Reply

Book Review: Ash House by Angharad Walker, illustrations by Corey Brickley

The Ash House by Angharad Walker

The Ash House by Angharad Walker, illustrations by Corey Brickely

Chicken House, 2021

ISBN:  978-1338636314

Available: Hardcover, audiobook, kindle

 

A chilling and impressive debut.

 

Angharad Walker’s debut novel The Ash House is a strong middle grade horror tale about a group of abandoned children. Stranded at an unusual orphanage, the residents seem to have internalized the strict moralistic ideology of their captors. With newly dubbed names like Freedom and Wisdom, each child acts within prescribed roles and duties to maintain upkeep of the property. They watch recordings instead of attending school and have limited memories of the world outside the smoky mansion. Ash House’s residents complete their chores with single-mindedness and nearly religious obsession, performing “nicenesses” and avoiding “nastiness.” This creates a rigid framework against which the newcomer, renamed Solitude (nicknamed Sol) rebels. As Sol questions the mindset, he also discovers alliances, potential dangers, and the secrets of the house. When the much-feared, cruel Doctor reappears to “help” Sol, the revelations are slow, winding like ivy up a manor, and the payoffs are worth the patience. Brickley’s bleak black and white illustrations and smoke-swirled chapter headings offer exquisite visuals to Walker’s foreboding, atmospheric descriptions.

 

Abandoned children, a missing headmaster, an arrogant and brutal doctor conducting torturous medical experiments, monitored by bird-like drones, hunted by strange beasts in the woods: Ash House is not for the faint of heart, but this immersive world and carefully crafted plot provides a steady study of how friendship, trust, and cooperation clashes with hyper-rule orientation and authoritarianism.  Readers who enjoyed Ransom Riggs’ Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children or who are ready to step into a more speculative world than Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events or Golding’s 1954 Lord of the Flies will find much to enjoy in The Ash House. Recommended for ages 8-12.

 

Contains violence, medical torture.

 

 

Reviewed by E.F. Schraeder

 

Posted on June 30, 2021 by , Reply

Book Review: House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

cover art for House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

Delacorte, 2019

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1984831927

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook

( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

 

House of Salt and Sorrows is the strangest version of the fairytale “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” I have come across to date.

 

The Duke of Salten had twelve daughters. His wife died in childbirth with the last, and the girls have, one by one, died terrible deaths, until only eight of them are left: Camille, Annaleigh, Rosalie, Ligeia, Lenore, Honor, Mercy, and Verity (yes, there are some very Edgar Allan Poe-influenced names). I’ve seen some complaints about the lack of character development in the girls, but the original tale doesn’t make most of them more than placeholders.

 

Inheritance in Salten goes to the eldest child, regardless of sex. With the death of her sister Eulalie, whose funeral starts the book, Annaleigh, the narrator, is sixteen and now second in line to inherit, after Camille. Annaleigh’s father has recently remarried a much younger woman, Morella, who is now pregnant with twin boys and decides that after years of mourning, another year set aside to mourn Eulalie is a year too long, and it’s time to put the black away.  She orders them special dancing slippers, and plans a party to invite eligible suitors. Annaleigh isn’t ready to set her grief aside, but she isn’t given a choice.

 

Annaleigh believes Eulalie was murdered, and investigates with Cassius, a young man visiting Salten, who is soon entangled in the family’s intrigues (he is also the required love interest for the main character in a YA novel). She also discovers her sister Verity has been drawing disturbing portraits of their dead sisters, insisting that she is seeing their ghosts. A rumor has spread that the girls are cursed, and though invitations to Morella’s party are accepted, no one wants to speak or dance with them. Frustrated with their situation, the girls look for a magical door, find it, and go through it to discover it is an elegant ball where they can dance all night.

 

Or is that really what’s going on? I can’t say more without spoiling the story except to say that Annaleigh is an unreliable narrator and this book is really dark, disturbing, and disorienting. I’m still unclear on how much of the ending was real. The grief in the book felt authentic and the author’s world building was incredible. Salten is on an island in the ocean, and the People of the Salt have their own customs and religious traditions. “Aesthetic” is a popular concept on social media right now, and the aesthetic for this book is what I’d call island gothic. The ocean and the tall cliffs of the island permeate everything. This is a very dark tale, and while it doesn’t get violent or disgusting often, when it does, the imagery is vivid, so it isn’t for everyone, but it may be a treat for those who like their fantasy drenched in darkness.  Recommended.

 

Contains: Images of and references to suicide, murder, body horror, childbirth, stillborn children,  sexual situations, violence, gore, sexual situations, blood, decay.

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

 

 

 

Posted on June 26, 2021 by , Reply
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