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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
Super fun myths and history of New Orleans coming to life, fascinating post-hurricane setting, palpable sense of place. Character development didn't make sense, so relationships (all of 'em--romantic, friendships) underdeveloped and unbelievable.
Examples (spoilers ahead): Desiree was so mean at the beginning and then suddenly flipped without much examination. Best friend in LA was rude and then protagonist realized why but they didn't have a conversation about it and then suddenly everything was okay? NO idea why protagonist is into Nicco at all, because he has some huge dealbreakers and all he's done is brood around looking handsome, but somehow that makes him different I guess.
Also, it should have been cut by a third.
Loved the unique setting so wish I loved everything else, but sadly I don't think I'll be returning to this series.
Examples (spoilers ahead): Desiree was so mean at the beginning and then suddenly flipped without much examination. Best friend in LA was rude and then protagonist realized why but they didn't have a conversation about it and then suddenly everything was okay? NO idea why protagonist is into Nicco at all, because he has some huge dealbreakers and all he's done is brood around looking handsome, but somehow that makes him different I guess.
Also, it should have been cut by a third.
Loved the unique setting so wish I loved everything else, but sadly I don't think I'll be returning to this series.
I loved this book so much I really loved how it depicted vampires as monsters not just something to romance although a love interest is a vampire that is neither here or there. I loved the characters especially Adele she was at first just a girl that had finally came home for her only to end up in something she did not understand at first involving a curse and vampires she was a really well written character. I loved the plot it starts with a couple people finally coming home after a hurricane moves on to being about witches and vampires a curse involving them and the MC's ancestor I really loved how the story played out and I enjoyed reading the ending looking forward to reading more soon.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was so much fun, will Always love vampires in new Orleans
Review Originally Published at Love, Literature, Art, and Reason Book Review Blog.
The Casquette Girls was awesome! It was set in New Orleans, LA shortly after a major storm that almost completely destroyed the city. Adele returned to the city with her father after spending time in France with her mom. To Adele, New Orleans was a part of who she was. Despite the crumbling façade around her and the lack of government assistance, she refused any and all ideas to send her elsewhere. She would stay right where she was. And figure out why she could move things…
The Casquette Girls was everything I wanted from a YA novel dealing with magic, immortality, and secrets. It was laid out well, not too slow, but not jumping head first into insane plots. As Adele discovered her powers, she unearthed buried secrets from her attic. She discovered new friends and some possible foes as she tried to translate a French journal from one of her ancestors that directly related to the strange events happening in her hometown.
If you enjoy The Originals on CW, this book is totally up your alley without the whole Klaus and Original family drama. The book captures everything I love about the New Orleans atmosphere and legends. Despite having seen some of the elements of the novel before, it felt original and new to me and I enjoyed how the author weaved the plot with familiar legends. Of course we all associate New Orleans with vampires, but it wasn’t just a vampire novel or just a witch novel. Instead, it was a novel that captured the essence of New Orleans.
I’m not from New Orleans, nor have I ever been to the city. I’m only familiar with how other stories portray it. But I have to say, I could tell Adele loved the city and I could picture it from her point of view so well. Perhaps the strongest aspect of the book was how quickly and completely it immersed you in all things New Orleans. I felt like I was there and I loved it just as much. One of my fellow blogging friends is from NOLA and she raved about the book, so I’m just going to assume it’s pretty realistic. Because of how rich the setting was, I felt like I could feel everything else, like the magic surrounding Adele and the fear that lingered when she encountered certain characters.
I highly recommend The Casquette Girls. It surpassed my expectations and was completely entertaining. It was full of action, but mostly it was intriguing. It wasn’t the kind of YA book that constantly throws action and mayhem at you with characters taking 2 seconds to figure out what was happening. Instead, it happened slowly, enveloping the reader in mystery and intrigue while the characters slowly began to realize what was happening. It was very well done and I can’t wait to read more from the author.
The Casquette Girls was awesome! It was set in New Orleans, LA shortly after a major storm that almost completely destroyed the city. Adele returned to the city with her father after spending time in France with her mom. To Adele, New Orleans was a part of who she was. Despite the crumbling façade around her and the lack of government assistance, she refused any and all ideas to send her elsewhere. She would stay right where she was. And figure out why she could move things…
The Casquette Girls was everything I wanted from a YA novel dealing with magic, immortality, and secrets. It was laid out well, not too slow, but not jumping head first into insane plots. As Adele discovered her powers, she unearthed buried secrets from her attic. She discovered new friends and some possible foes as she tried to translate a French journal from one of her ancestors that directly related to the strange events happening in her hometown.
If you enjoy The Originals on CW, this book is totally up your alley without the whole Klaus and Original family drama. The book captures everything I love about the New Orleans atmosphere and legends. Despite having seen some of the elements of the novel before, it felt original and new to me and I enjoyed how the author weaved the plot with familiar legends. Of course we all associate New Orleans with vampires, but it wasn’t just a vampire novel or just a witch novel. Instead, it was a novel that captured the essence of New Orleans.
I’m not from New Orleans, nor have I ever been to the city. I’m only familiar with how other stories portray it. But I have to say, I could tell Adele loved the city and I could picture it from her point of view so well. Perhaps the strongest aspect of the book was how quickly and completely it immersed you in all things New Orleans. I felt like I was there and I loved it just as much. One of my fellow blogging friends is from NOLA and she raved about the book, so I’m just going to assume it’s pretty realistic. Because of how rich the setting was, I felt like I could feel everything else, like the magic surrounding Adele and the fear that lingered when she encountered certain characters.
I highly recommend The Casquette Girls. It surpassed my expectations and was completely entertaining. It was full of action, but mostly it was intriguing. It wasn’t the kind of YA book that constantly throws action and mayhem at you with characters taking 2 seconds to figure out what was happening. Instead, it happened slowly, enveloping the reader in mystery and intrigue while the characters slowly began to realize what was happening. It was very well done and I can’t wait to read more from the author.
This was a compelling read - I kept finding myself reading well past when I should have been going to bed. The descriptions of post-Storm life in the French Quarter were so vivid and immersive, it was really one of the best portrayals of hurricane recovery I've read, and the tableau of characters living in the Quarter were so well developed that it felt true that the main character would feel like coming home to family.
Adele, though... there's an awful lot of Bella Swan/Mary Sue syndrome going on here. Every boy is falling all over himself for her and her biggest problem in the world (a world in which, I might add, her city has no power, no grocery deliveries, no gas, no schools, few living *people*, and there's a gaping hole in her house) is deciding which one to choose. When the story gets away from that, it's great. When it dwells on that, it drags. A lot.
Adele, though... there's an awful lot of Bella Swan/Mary Sue syndrome going on here. Every boy is falling all over himself for her and her biggest problem in the world (a world in which, I might add, her city has no power, no grocery deliveries, no gas, no schools, few living *people*, and there's a gaping hole in her house) is deciding which one to choose. When the story gets away from that, it's great. When it dwells on that, it drags. A lot.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
5 stars out of 5
I can easily say I was recommending this book long before I had even finished it, when I was barely halfway through it. This is the kind of book that within the first 50 pages you know you have been lucky enough to find something amazing. If I could say anything to Alys Arden it would be the following:
Fangirling out of the way, back to business.
The Casquette Girls is the story of a teenage girl headed home to New Orleans after a super-storm that the reader will be able to compare Katrina to. I find this to be a great plot device since that storm is so much a part of our cultural knowledge that expanding it to the proportions needed for the plot is very simple. Before she even makes it home, our heroine Adele starts seeing things beyond the norm and they intensify in both severity and importance as the story progresses until the fate of the entire Crescent City hangs on her decisions.
The ride is amazing, the storytelling is spot on, I loved every minute of my experience reading this. I also enjoyed that it was a standalone, though I will freely admit to wanting more stories both from Alys Arden and from this group of characters. When the story ended I sat on my couch at 3am for a few minutes like this:
To say that I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone who asked would be an understatement. If I had more than 5 stars to give, I would give them to this book. In short
I can easily say I was recommending this book long before I had even finished it, when I was barely halfway through it. This is the kind of book that within the first 50 pages you know you have been lucky enough to find something amazing. If I could say anything to Alys Arden it would be the following:
Fangirling out of the way, back to business.
The Casquette Girls is the story of a teenage girl headed home to New Orleans after a super-storm that the reader will be able to compare Katrina to. I find this to be a great plot device since that storm is so much a part of our cultural knowledge that expanding it to the proportions needed for the plot is very simple. Before she even makes it home, our heroine Adele starts seeing things beyond the norm and they intensify in both severity and importance as the story progresses until the fate of the entire Crescent City hangs on her decisions.
The ride is amazing, the storytelling is spot on, I loved every minute of my experience reading this. I also enjoyed that it was a standalone, though I will freely admit to wanting more stories both from Alys Arden and from this group of characters. When the story ended I sat on my couch at 3am for a few minutes like this:
To say that I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone who asked would be an understatement. If I had more than 5 stars to give, I would give them to this book. In short
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Casquette Girls was a very nice take on the vampire legends. It managed to combine so many pieces of myth into one powerful creature. You mix that with some good old-fashioned voodoo and earth magic and you have quite a tale to tell. At the center of the tale is Adele Le Moyne - recently returned to New Orleans after a massive hurricane has destroyed the city. As she and her father try to put their home back together, strange things are happening around them - one of them is the unusual murders. This is what sets Adele on quite an adventure.
The book is separated into three parts - each one building in tension and excitement. After reading such great reviews I was disappointed in the first part. There was so much build up and not a lot actually going on. Part two and three really took off and once you reach that page you will not want to put the book down. Pieces of the story are told from the past. Sometimes this takes away from what is happening in the present, but in this case the two worlds seemed to merge and become a much bigger place than either was alone.
The vampires aren't obvious. I loved that. We suspect and we wonder and are still surprised when they are revealed. The paranormal isn't limited to just vampires and magic though, there is so much buried beneath the surface of New Orleans that it seemed to be bursting at the seams. This story is a step back to when the vampires weren't always the heros or the good guys. They could be bad - and sometimes down right evil. I loved the return to the darker days and themes of paranormal.
*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*
- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-casquette-girls-by-alys-arden.html#sthash.tCJZcZIJ.dpuf
The book is separated into three parts - each one building in tension and excitement. After reading such great reviews I was disappointed in the first part. There was so much build up and not a lot actually going on. Part two and three really took off and once you reach that page you will not want to put the book down. Pieces of the story are told from the past. Sometimes this takes away from what is happening in the present, but in this case the two worlds seemed to merge and become a much bigger place than either was alone.
The vampires aren't obvious. I loved that. We suspect and we wonder and are still surprised when they are revealed. The paranormal isn't limited to just vampires and magic though, there is so much buried beneath the surface of New Orleans that it seemed to be bursting at the seams. This story is a step back to when the vampires weren't always the heros or the good guys. They could be bad - and sometimes down right evil. I loved the return to the darker days and themes of paranormal.
*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*
- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-casquette-girls-by-alys-arden.html#sthash.tCJZcZIJ.dpuf