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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
This book was a little slow to start, probably about the first third of it, but once it got going it was great! A lot of good twists and turns; I couldn’t put it down near the end! Thank you to Goodreads for the ARC giveaway!
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Abandonment
Minor: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Car accident
4.5 stars.
Dark August is a bit of a slow starter but once it picks up speed, it hurtles to a twist-filled conclusion. Lead character Augusta "Gus" Monet is young but tenacious as she pieces together what her mother, Shannon, was doing in the lead up to her death twelve years ago. The storyline is engaging, unique and well-written. The various settings are vibrantly developed and easy to visualize. All in all, an outstanding debut by Katie Tallo that I enjoyed and highly recommend.
Dark August is a bit of a slow starter but once it picks up speed, it hurtles to a twist-filled conclusion. Lead character Augusta "Gus" Monet is young but tenacious as she pieces together what her mother, Shannon, was doing in the lead up to her death twelve years ago. The storyline is engaging, unique and well-written. The various settings are vibrantly developed and easy to visualize. All in all, an outstanding debut by Katie Tallo that I enjoyed and highly recommend.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
Too much of a slow burn. All set up for the first 100+ pages.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Title: Dark August
Author: Katie Tallo
Series: Gus Monet #1
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: June 30, 2020
T H R E E • W O R D S
Twisty • Fluid • Bingeable
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Augusta (Gus) Monet is living an aimless existence with her grifter boyfriend when she learns that her great grandmother--her last living relative--has just died. Ditching her boyfriend, Gus returns to the home she left as a young girl. Her inheritance turns out to be a dilapidated house and an old dog named Levi. While combing through her great grandmother's possessions, Gus stumbles across an old trunk filled with long-lost childhood belongings. But that's not all the trunk contains. She also discovers cold case files that belonged to her mother, a disgraced police detective who died in a car accident when Gus was eight.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I picked up a used copy of Dark August at a library book sale and had been saving it just so I could read it in August. I knew this was a debut novel by a Canadian author, but I didn't know what the plot was about, so I really didn't have an expectations before beginning. I ended up being pleasantly surprised.
Set in and around Elgin, Ontario the small town vibes and familiar places and references were a special treat. It added another level of immersion into the mysterious plot. Dark August develops very slowly and easily could have been 100 pages shorter but I loved unraveling the long buried secrets with Gus. There is a large cast of characters, which could have easily been overwhelming. Yet Tallo developed each one just enough that it was easy to keep track of everyone.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Dark August. Tallo's writing style is unique and at times even cinematic - not knowing where the story would go next. A solid debut and I didn't know this was part of a series, so I'd be curious to pick up book 2.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of an inheritance plot
• readers looking for a Canadian voice
Author: Katie Tallo
Series: Gus Monet #1
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: June 30, 2020
T H R E E • W O R D S
Twisty • Fluid • Bingeable
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Augusta (Gus) Monet is living an aimless existence with her grifter boyfriend when she learns that her great grandmother--her last living relative--has just died. Ditching her boyfriend, Gus returns to the home she left as a young girl. Her inheritance turns out to be a dilapidated house and an old dog named Levi. While combing through her great grandmother's possessions, Gus stumbles across an old trunk filled with long-lost childhood belongings. But that's not all the trunk contains. She also discovers cold case files that belonged to her mother, a disgraced police detective who died in a car accident when Gus was eight.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I picked up a used copy of Dark August at a library book sale and had been saving it just so I could read it in August. I knew this was a debut novel by a Canadian author, but I didn't know what the plot was about, so I really didn't have an expectations before beginning. I ended up being pleasantly surprised.
Set in and around Elgin, Ontario the small town vibes and familiar places and references were a special treat. It added another level of immersion into the mysterious plot. Dark August develops very slowly and easily could have been 100 pages shorter but I loved unraveling the long buried secrets with Gus. There is a large cast of characters, which could have easily been overwhelming. Yet Tallo developed each one just enough that it was easy to keep track of everyone.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Dark August. Tallo's writing style is unique and at times even cinematic - not knowing where the story would go next. A solid debut and I didn't know this was part of a series, so I'd be curious to pick up book 2.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of an inheritance plot
• readers looking for a Canadian voice
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Murder
Minor: Death, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Death of parent
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes