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whiskeywoman79's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Fiction / Mystery / Paranormal / Thriller / Dark / Magic / Magical Realism / Fantasy
Story ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
3.5 rounded up
Narration: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 Narrated by Robin Miles
What an interesting read! I enjoyed most of it! I found the atmosphere the author created alluring and wanted to drive deeper. Maybe it was the narrator but I was hooked. The only aspect I can not get behind is the romance
Story ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
3.5 rounded up
Narration: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 Narrated by Robin Miles
What an interesting read! I enjoyed most of it! I found the atmosphere the author created alluring and wanted to drive deeper. Maybe it was the narrator but I was hooked. The only aspect I can not get behind is the romance
ehowlett20's review
2.0
very hard to follow
As much as I like a twist ending the plot of this story was incredibly difficult to follow and was a disappointment. I thought we would learn more about the mother and the storm but it literally had nothing to do with that.
As much as I like a twist ending the plot of this story was incredibly difficult to follow and was a disappointment. I thought we would learn more about the mother and the storm but it literally had nothing to do with that.
tangleroot_eli's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
The inclusion of Voodou and a scattered amateur sleuth with absolutely no idea what she's doing help this mystery stand out. Definitely interesting enough to pick up the sequel. There is nothing redeeming about Roman Frost, and I cheered in the parking lot scene when he said he was done with Reina. But then he came back at the end, and I'm deeply distraught about that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Death, Police brutality, Confinement, Toxic relationship, and Gun violence
Minor: Medical content, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Sexism, Racism, and Body shaming
Graphic: Police corruption Minor: Questionable consentlibrarystax's review against another edition
2.0
mystery
It was good enough, felt more a showcase for the practice than a story, and I was neither pulled in nor pushed away by anything that happened or the characters themselves. I will certainly forget this plot.
It was good enough, felt more a showcase for the practice than a story, and I was neither pulled in nor pushed away by anything that happened or the characters themselves. I will certainly forget this plot.
clareolivia's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting twist on the modern mystery novel. It was a great read!
ebonyutley's review against another edition
2.0
The Quarter Storm was cool. It was a fine way to pass a handful of hours on a plane, but there’s no need to move it up your to-read list. The denouement was a disappointment. I had trouble envisioning the magic in the main character’s heated conflict. The character in the center of it all chooses not to divulge his entire involvement when confronted, which, I might add, I spent the entire book looking forward to. The mystery that undergirds everything with her mom is never resolved not even a little bit. The best friend’s ailment is never clarified. The dead man's lover is never confirmed. How the murder happened is left up to our imagination. We don’t find out why her car needed new plates. Sure, the plot is resolved but all the other missing pieces, are well, missing. Little things I can give a pass if the bigger things are addressed, but they're not. If you want a narrative with resolution, this isn’t it. I don’t know enough about New Orleans or Vodun to say how much of the context was accurate. The most interesting part of the book for me was her ritual. The way she performed them was inspiring and a reminder to uphold my own. Other than that, you can pass.
thesupremequeen's review against another edition
3.5
3.5 stars, received a copy via Amazon early reads. Super atmospheric book and a beautiful depiction of Vodou. The plot itself was alright, and not really what I cared about within the story. I really cared for the characters and their energies (except for that annoying cop ex boyfriend, he can go fall in a pit).
tstreet's review against another edition
2.0
I did not like this book at all. It was just very confusing and it feels like the author trying to cram a bunch of stuff into this book. I like the mystery aspect and the fact that they had to figure out who killed somebody. The rest of it was just confusing. I would definitely not recommend this book
daniella84's review against another edition
2.0
Thank you to 47North and NetGalley for providing me access to an eARC to review!
I picked this up because I've had Bacchanal on my radar for a little while and thought this might be a good way to introduce myself to the author. Maybe my lack of enjoyment was partly my fault as I wanted to go into it pretty blind so I was expecting this to lean more fantasy/horror like Bacchanal seems to, but it is definitely in the crime/mystery camp (with some fantasy/magical bits sprinkled in).
There were some elements I enjoyed though. The book deals a lot with the city of New Orleans and its development post-Hurricane Katrina, and there were some interesting conversations about gentrification, community, and the commodification of voudou. The main character was also dealing with issues of belonging and identity, especially as she finds herself losing memories each time she uses voudou to try and find her missing mother. The voudou rituals and local dishes themselves were also described in a lot of detail, and the author had clearly done her research in this regard!
I did find the mystery and characters a bit lacking though. A lot of the story is the protagonist just going around talking to people, them warning her away from her investigation, and then her convincing herself that she must continue anyway. Despite all the history included, I feel that the book read at times like you were being presented a lot of facts about New Orleans and its people without being fully immersed in the more intimate elements of the setting. When a lot of the book is the protagonist having conversations with people, I feel you need to really connect with the characters and the situation and I found this unfortunately lacking. I think in particular I didn't understand a lot of the main character's motivations or personality traits - she has a cop ex-boyfriend who is nothing but a douchebag to her and openly discredits her voudou practices but she still swoons over him when he does the bare minimum (he also threatens to beat up her teenage friend and she doesn't seem concerned in the slightest), in the beginning there are a few paragraphs which interrupt the story to explain how much the character wants a child of her own but then we never talk about it again, and she didn't seem to be particularly passionate about her voudou business (though maybe this is part of the commentary on the commercialisation of her spirituality). I was also surprised that the main character is never considered a suspect in the murder despite interacting with his girlfriend the day before and doing a voudou ritual for her, and also being a witness to another murder - perhaps this may have added more tension to the story rather than just having everyone trying to chase her off?
Apart from the rather gory description of the murder, this read a lot like a cozy mystery, but without the charm. In [b:Daisies for Innocence|25361878|Daisies for Innocence (Enchanted Garden Mystery, #1)|Bailey Cattrell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1434472541l/25361878._SY75_.jpg|45105467] there was murder, complicated relationships with exes, and a main character with a small business, but there was also time spent with friends and doing leisurely tasks which made you feel more connected to the characters and the community. I think this would have benefitted from the protagonist having more down time alone or with friends where she was doing things she loved, instead of her being so focused on the mystery the whole time. I also didn't find the mystery element itself very compelling (the dark magic working against her that's mentioned in the blurb never really appeared in my opinion) so I think more elements like the above could have strengthened the overall story. While there was a little of this right at the end, I don't think enough time was spent fleshing out the main characters and the setting to make me want to continue with the series.
I think Henry tries to tackle some big topics - commercialisation of spiritual practice, police brutality/abuse of power, poverty - but these are not interwoven with the central mystery enough to fully explore them and flesh out the world of the story. The inclusion of cultural elements like food and voudou were interesting to read about, but I didn't find the mystery compelling or the characters particularly interesting.
CW: mentions of police murders/brutality, description of dismembered corpse, gun violence, neglected children
I picked this up because I've had Bacchanal on my radar for a little while and thought this might be a good way to introduce myself to the author. Maybe my lack of enjoyment was partly my fault as I wanted to go into it pretty blind so I was expecting this to lean more fantasy/horror like Bacchanal seems to, but it is definitely in the crime/mystery camp (with some fantasy/magical bits sprinkled in).
There were some elements I enjoyed though. The book deals a lot with the city of New Orleans and its development post-Hurricane Katrina, and there were some interesting conversations about gentrification, community, and the commodification of voudou. The main character was also dealing with issues of belonging and identity, especially as she finds herself losing memories each time she uses voudou to try and find her missing mother. The voudou rituals and local dishes themselves were also described in a lot of detail, and the author had clearly done her research in this regard!
I did find the mystery and characters a bit lacking though. A lot of the story is the protagonist just going around talking to people, them warning her away from her investigation, and then her convincing herself that she must continue anyway. Despite all the history included, I feel that the book read at times like you were being presented a lot of facts about New Orleans and its people without being fully immersed in the more intimate elements of the setting. When a lot of the book is the protagonist having conversations with people, I feel you need to really connect with the characters and the situation and I found this unfortunately lacking. I think in particular I didn't understand a lot of the main character's motivations or personality traits - she has a cop ex-boyfriend who is nothing but a douchebag to her and openly discredits her voudou practices but she still swoons over him when he does the bare minimum (he also threatens to beat up her teenage friend and she doesn't seem concerned in the slightest), in the beginning there are a few paragraphs which interrupt the story to explain how much the character wants a child of her own but then we never talk about it again, and she didn't seem to be particularly passionate about her voudou business (though maybe this is part of the commentary on the commercialisation of her spirituality). I was also surprised that the main character is never considered a suspect in the murder despite interacting with his girlfriend the day before and doing a voudou ritual for her, and also being a witness to another murder - perhaps this may have added more tension to the story rather than just having everyone trying to chase her off?
Apart from the rather gory description of the murder, this read a lot like a cozy mystery, but without the charm. In [b:Daisies for Innocence|25361878|Daisies for Innocence (Enchanted Garden Mystery, #1)|Bailey Cattrell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1434472541l/25361878._SY75_.jpg|45105467] there was murder, complicated relationships with exes, and a main character with a small business, but there was also time spent with friends and doing leisurely tasks which made you feel more connected to the characters and the community. I think this would have benefitted from the protagonist having more down time alone or with friends where she was doing things she loved, instead of her being so focused on the mystery the whole time. I also didn't find the mystery element itself very compelling (the dark magic working against her that's mentioned in the blurb never really appeared in my opinion) so I think more elements like the above could have strengthened the overall story. While there was a little of this right at the end, I don't think enough time was spent fleshing out the main characters and the setting to make me want to continue with the series.
I think Henry tries to tackle some big topics - commercialisation of spiritual practice, police brutality/abuse of power, poverty - but these are not interwoven with the central mystery enough to fully explore them and flesh out the world of the story. The inclusion of cultural elements like food and voudou were interesting to read about, but I didn't find the mystery compelling or the characters particularly interesting.
CW: mentions of police murders/brutality, description of dismembered corpse, gun violence, neglected children