anticipated 2023 release – Chapter Malliumpkin

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ARC was given by NetGalley & Delacorte Press in exchange for an honest review.

This review is being published before the release date (June 27, 2023)

Content/Trigger Warnings: Loss of a loved one, grief, depictions of anxiety, brief mentions of dead animals, depictions of claustrophobia, abduction, death, murder, depictions of blood, scene of suicidal ideation, scene of forced drugging/sedation, manipulation, scenes of emesis, mentions of starvation (in the past), talk of cannibalism (in the past), graphic deaths recounted, scene of drowning

“The wind whispers, sending chills down my spine. It almost seems to call my name. Silkily, a caress against the back of my neck. Starling.”

This was such a captivating read! Wow, friends. Truly, my curiosity was running wild with this book. I won’t lie, there were a few moments where I thought this might not live up to my expectations or I should, my high hopes for loving this book. After finishing this book, I can happily say that this was such a great read, perfect for the wintery season to give you some light goosebumps or tingles. And you can rest assured, I’m looking forward to what this author will have instore for us next!

Kit Starling is grieving the loss of her father, a huge inspiration to her and why she wants to become an author. When Kit finds out that she has a grandmother, after all this time, she and her mother set out to Rosemont. Filled with many questions of why her father lied and now even more secrets seem to be spilling out before her, on top of her mother missing Kit has more questions than ever. Something isn’t right in Rosemont, something much darker and it’s all linked back to her family, the Starlings.

“What they had was imprinted on us forever. It will never die,” Agatha said. It will die, I silently vow. I’m going to be the one to kill it.”

I was a bit nervous, I won’t lie. Books surrounding mother-daughter relationships just haven’t been my cup of tea as of late. I have struggled with the dynamic for a while now and officially decided to bench it. So when I learned this have a very close-knit mother-daughter bond, I was a bit hesitant. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this dynamic. Despite my worries, I really enjoyed the bond Kit and her mother have. In their grief, it seemed to solidify their relationship and the way Kit’s mother is written, it’s very obvious how much she loves Kit and how devoted she is to her. I just really loved it and even Kit being fully determined to find her mother was really nice to see. I just really loved the both of them and their bond they share with one another.

Speaking of Kit, I was a little worried with Kit’s character, as well. There were moments where Kit almost came off as extremely oblivious and almost like she couldn’t put the bigger picture together, but despite that, I loved that her love for her mother was the fire that caused her to keep pushing forward, to seek out the answers she needed, and to ultimately put the bigger picture together. I was very pleasantly surprised by that. I appreciate the author made sure to not box Kit’s character into a particular hero role. Throughout this whole book, Kit truly just craves family and we see moments where she’s crumbling to pieces, but also finding family in places where she didn’t think she could have it. I really adored that. And I have to mention Kit is either bisexual or pansexual. There are two characters in this book that Kit is attracted to and let me just say, I love a good F/F romance where one of them is a monster girl. That’s all I’ll say.

“She tastes like salt and sugar and darkness, and the promise of light just barely beneath it. I shouldn’t want to kiss her this much. But I do it anyway.”

Okay, that’s not all I’ll say. Let’s talk about about ‘Sabelle because I truly, with my whole chest, need fan art of this character. I fell madly in love with ‘Sabelle’s character. Now, I might be a little bias because I love anything with monsters, but her character really hit my intrigue when we get her first appearance. Truly, one of the best entrances for a character I’ve ever seen. ‘Sabelle’s whole personality reminds me of the wind, how it’s very light, but ever changing depending on seasons and weather. Honestly, I’m a little salty that it took a hot minute for her to come back into the storyline and I wish she would have been brough back sooner, but I still love her character and the scenes we do get were chef’s kiss.

Though there were many things I loved about this book and so, so many quotes, there were a few things that really held me back from fully loving it the way I hoped I would. While this is a subtle thing, it still irked me and there were a few scenes where Kit’s weight was brought up. Now, if it was to show the passage of time then I probably wouldn’t have an issue with it, but that wasn’t the case. There was a huge emphasis of how thin Kit was and it didn’t really serve any purpose. It was just a little annoying and felt like it took away from the story at times. I think my biggest issue with this book was that it became very predictable of the direction the book was going to go. Two of the big plot twists, I predicted right around the 40% mark and that kind of hindered my enjoyment once they were both confirmed. Though I will say, despite predicting those plot twists, the ending still surprised me and saved the book for me.

“So I’ll say, when you get a chance run. And never look back. Or maybe just fight, like I’m not brave enough to do.”

Overall, I’m trying so hard not to say too much. I genuinely believe the best way to go into this book is to go in not knowing a lot about it. I think if I would have know more about this book than I did, I don’t think I would love it the way I do. This was a really fun read though. I went into this book expecting mystery, maybe a little romance, and that’s exactly what I got, with some added bonuses. I loved the cover, I have so many quotes highlighted, and the important side characters like Beth and Miles just have my whole heart. If the cover of this book doesn’t entice you, let me just recommend that you give it a chance because it truly deserves it.

The quotes above were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

This post contains affiliate links; if you use these links to make a purchase, I may earn a commission. Thanks for reading!

ARC was given by NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

This review is being published before the release date (February 21st, 2023)

Content/Trigger Warnings: Death, murder, depictions of blood, loss of loved ones, grief, abandonment, underage drinking, mentions of cancer (in the past), trauma, talk of rape, mentions of drugging, gun violence, violence

“The land had always been parched but it’s thirst for blood was learned.”

Wow, friends! I absolutely devoured this book! In two days, TWO days, I read and finished this book! It was just one of those books that I just couldn’t put down. I had to know what was about to happen next, I had to know if any of these characters would redeem themselves, and let me tell you, this book didn’t disappoint. It was a great, spooky, thrilling time and I was here for it! Plus, the cover, the sunflowers, lured me in and I didn’t realize how big of a role they would play!

“Where blood had been spilled, sunflowers grew over the unmarked graves.”

Our story follows the four perspectives of four friends who have all lost their mothers in the small town of Bishop, Kansas. Yet this is nothing new as women of all ages seem to disappear in the town of Bishop for a long while now. Delilah, the one who looks out for everyone, trying to keep them all safe, but who also wants to move on with her boyfriend, Bennett Harding. Whitney, twin sister to Jude, who’s grieving for the loss of her mother, but the loss of her girlfriend, Eleanor. Jude, who fines it hard to communicate with everyone, but who had a fling with Bennet Harding that summer and find herself still in love. And then there’s Bo, a soul full of rage for many a reasons and demanding answers for all the odd things that don’t add up or make sense. As strange things begin to happen and secrets come to light, these four girls will have to decide how far they’ll go to uncover the truth and to protect each other.

I had a lot of mixed feelings on these characters and I feel like I have to say, these characters aren’t perfect. They’re flawed and morally grey, and they may not be quite what you expect. Though, I really loved Bo and Whitney as characters. Both of these characters felt raw in their own way and I really loved the way the author built them up to the very end of the book. I think they both got the endings they deserved and even though both of their endings were still emotional, it was still nice to see their story wrap up the way it did. However, I really didn’t like Delilah or Jude, especially Jude. Even at the end of the book I still felt Jude hadn’t redeemed herself in anyway possible and I almost wish she had been killed off or the author went the obvious route with Jude’s character. Delilah, on the other hand, I just didn’t personally connect with. And I also want to say that the way Delilah’s character is written, it almost seems like Delilah has a sensory disorder or sensory sensitive, but then later on in the book it’s addressed as some special ability to “detect evil” and it made me feel a little weird and uncomfortable at times. So that was a whole thing that added to the mixed feelings about Delilah’s character as a whole. Needless to say, I had a 50/50 split when it came to these characters.

“So much had happened in the last two years. They had all lost so much. But no one had lost all that Bo had. No one wanted to be found as much as she did.”

The mystery of this whole story was so captivating and I’m so glad I was wrong about the sunflowers. Look, I can’t help that the cover made me believe there might be killer sunflowers in this book, okay? I’m so glad I was wrong though! Sunflowers hold the meaning of adoration and loyalty, but it can also hold other means in other cultures like harvest and bounty in Native/Indigenous culture or good fortune, vitality, and long life in Chinese culture. So naturally, from my own sentimental connection to them, I adored the sunflowers, the role the sunflowers came to hold within this book, and the way the truth about them unfolded at the end of the book had me so soft and emotional in the way things seemed to come full circle. It was all beautifully done and I’m probably being more sentimental about the sunflowers than I should be. I digress! We do get some paranormal elements laced into the story as well. However, I like how they weren’t a huge part of this story. It was just casually sprinkled in and I think it was just the right amount. Plus, it kind of plays a tiny, key part of Whitney’s perspective. It was a nice touch!

The book as a whole is very atmospheric and very mysterious. It really has the small town vibes to it and as we all know, small towns come with their secrets and sometimes dark histories. I think that’s what pulled me in the most at the beginning, the way this small town was established. I love stories that play to the small town vibes and take that theme, and run with it as far as they can. I think the author did a really good job at making you feel like you’re in a small town that holds a dark secret, just waiting to be discovered. I also want to mention that the storyline builds up quickly and especially near the end, you can feel how high the stakes are.

“There had always been something strange about this place. The sunflowers that hovered around them all like a threat. The wat they watched. How they were a little too sentient to be just seeds and petals.”

However, I did have some issues with this book. I think my main issue with this book was a lot of things felt very obvious in the direction it was going to go. For example, it was very obvious there was going to be a betrayal from one of the main characters we follow. If not, multiple betrayals from that one particular character. Another example would be the way the book ended. It’s just very obvious from the 75% mark and it kind of chipped away at the mystery a bit. The other thing I didn’t really like was a scene where Bo decides to end things and honestly, it was anti-climatic. It felt like there should have been more to it except there wasn’t and it just turned out the way it did. It felt too easy and like there should have been more. Honestly, that part was a bit of a disappointment and I just wanted more especially since Bo’s character has so much rage within her.

“She ran straight into the sunflower fields, praying she’d come out on the other side alive.”

Overall, I really enjoyed my time reading this book. As I mentioned above, I read this book in two days! It’s been a while since I’ve read a book that quickly in such a short amount of time that wasn’t a novella or short story. I also don’t want to reveal too much in this review because so much ties in with main plot or climax moments, but it was so good friends! I really enjoyed my time reading this and the need to know all the secrets and mystery behind what’s happening was a great pull. If you’re looking for some new books to put on your anticipated 2023 release list or if you’re looking for mystery thrillers with small town vibes, this is one to keep your eye out for!

Buddy read with Ashley ♥