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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
Not bad at all, especially for a paranormal YA novel. I will admit I began this book with trepidation because it could easily have been very bad. Luckily, the author is a good writer and the story actually turned out to be a fun, entertaining read. Around a quarter of the way into the story it did begin to drag a little, but it quickly picked up again. The numerous hot guys/male interests were a little eye rolling, but I wouldn't say completely unrealistic; she is a teenage girl after all. That kinda stuff goes with the territory. Also, early on in the story I forgot I was reading a YA novel so I was disappointed when she started talking about going back to high school. Thankfully the high school stuff was short and not at all the focus of the story; thank God! I give it three stars overall. The Casquette Girls wasn't mind blowing but it was definitely an entertaining read!
Summary:
The Casquette Girls was an immersive, uniquely New Orleans experience, and I loved every step of it. The ending was marginally disappointing, but understandable if this is the beginning of a series, as I sincerely hope it is.
Rich, lush, and remarkably vivid, Alys Arden has committed to paper what all Louisianians experienced in the months after Katrina. She has perfectly captured that blend of mystery and intrigue that permeates New Orleans as well as the semi-dystopian state of the city in the aftermath. Her usage of New Orleans’ checkered past of magic and murder is expertly done. I can feel the love that was put into the crafting of this story in every sentence.
The Review:
I’m from Southern LA myself, near Houma, so I was honestly prepared to be at least a little disappointed by this book. I’ve read many books set in New Orleans that read more like they were set in Paris or Venice than the French Quarter. That definitely was NOT the case with this book! The rich descriptions of the overgrown parts of the Quarter after the Hurricane were really immersive, and the overall description of the setting were just amazing.
The only inconsistency I saw was the fact that there was no gas available in the city, and generators usually require a good bit of gas. They never seemed to need to refill their generator either, which stuck out to me only because of my up-close-and-personal relationship with my own generator after a big storm. The gas prices also skyrocketed to unbelievable prices after the storm, and affording that gas would have been hard for Adele and her father before the bar opened back up.
The usage of french seemed a little gratuitous at first, but I really enjoyed it later on in the story. I will admit, I loved the fact that I could understand so much of the french used. While it wasn’t specifically cajun french, many terms are similar and are widely used in cajun culture today. There was no acknowledgement that Cajun french and Parisian french being different, which disappointed me a little, but these are small issues that didn’t overshadow the larger experience of reading this book.
My ONLY Beef:
My only major issue with this book is how Adele turns to Isaac at the end. It seems uncharacteristic that she wouldn’t put two and two together and realize Isaac and Niccolo planned for ___ to happen. Her blaming Niccolo was unexpected and frankly it annoyed me. But hopefully a sequel will address this. The only thing keeping this from a 5/5 is that ending… But I look forward to reading more nonetheless!
Recommended for:
Fans of Voodoo, New Orleans, and Magic. Fans of dystopian fantasy will also love this book for its unique environment.
The Casquette Girls was an immersive, uniquely New Orleans experience, and I loved every step of it. The ending was marginally disappointing, but understandable if this is the beginning of a series, as I sincerely hope it is.
Rich, lush, and remarkably vivid, Alys Arden has committed to paper what all Louisianians experienced in the months after Katrina. She has perfectly captured that blend of mystery and intrigue that permeates New Orleans as well as the semi-dystopian state of the city in the aftermath. Her usage of New Orleans’ checkered past of magic and murder is expertly done. I can feel the love that was put into the crafting of this story in every sentence.
The Review:
I’m from Southern LA myself, near Houma, so I was honestly prepared to be at least a little disappointed by this book. I’ve read many books set in New Orleans that read more like they were set in Paris or Venice than the French Quarter. That definitely was NOT the case with this book! The rich descriptions of the overgrown parts of the Quarter after the Hurricane were really immersive, and the overall description of the setting were just amazing.
The only inconsistency I saw was the fact that there was no gas available in the city, and generators usually require a good bit of gas. They never seemed to need to refill their generator either, which stuck out to me only because of my up-close-and-personal relationship with my own generator after a big storm. The gas prices also skyrocketed to unbelievable prices after the storm, and affording that gas would have been hard for Adele and her father before the bar opened back up.
The usage of french seemed a little gratuitous at first, but I really enjoyed it later on in the story. I will admit, I loved the fact that I could understand so much of the french used. While it wasn’t specifically cajun french, many terms are similar and are widely used in cajun culture today. There was no acknowledgement that Cajun french and Parisian french being different, which disappointed me a little, but these are small issues that didn’t overshadow the larger experience of reading this book.
My ONLY Beef:
My only major issue with this book is how Adele turns to Isaac at the end. It seems uncharacteristic that she wouldn’t put two and two together and realize Isaac and Niccolo planned for ___ to happen. Her blaming Niccolo was unexpected and frankly it annoyed me. But hopefully a sequel will address this. The only thing keeping this from a 5/5 is that ending… But I look forward to reading more nonetheless!
Recommended for:
Fans of Voodoo, New Orleans, and Magic. Fans of dystopian fantasy will also love this book for its unique environment.
Beginning was a bit slow but I really enjoyed this one.
I honestly have no idea how I felt about this book. Enjoyed some of it, was confused by some of it, wasn't sure if some of it was racist or homophobic rather than true depictions of communities. It made me want to visit New Orleans again, but I don't think that was the goal. Wouldn't recommend.
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.
I really enjoyed this book. I loved the setting and how it depicted a very real situation of life after a natural disaster, but I also loved the supernatural elements. I was wary because of the historical flashbacks, afraid I'd get bogged down in them, but Adeline's story quickly became as interested as Adele's. I loved Isaac so much and overall, just a really fun, well written and well researched story.
This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. I don't have enough good things to say about it, or the new spin on a much-used formula for YA fiction.
The atmosphere is so well-crafted, the author knows her setting and her characters, and the story is fantastic. People have claimed in other reviews I've read that Alys Arden is the next Anne Rice, but honestly, I'd say she's better.
I was so disappointed to find the next book hadn't been released yet, and can't wait for it!
The atmosphere is so well-crafted, the author knows her setting and her characters, and the story is fantastic. People have claimed in other reviews I've read that Alys Arden is the next Anne Rice, but honestly, I'd say she's better.
I was so disappointed to find the next book hadn't been released yet, and can't wait for it!
I heard Alys Arden speak at a panel on sci-fi/fantasy at New Orlean's bookfest. The panel was entirely women (#praisehands) and something about Arden's persona intrigued me enough to immediately pick up her book (instead of leaving it on my forever long list of books to read).
YA will always have a soft spot in my heart and this book does in particular as it is based in my city. I loved how it was infused with New Orleans culture and characters. I loved that I knew exactly where the author was talking about when she described locations within the French Quarter and surrounding areas. I loved that it tied in the paranormal stories that exist with New Orleans lore.
Like most YA however, the love triangle eventually seems to supersede the sci-fi/fantasy aspects of the story but 🤷. I still highly enjoyed reading it and have already picked up book 2 in the series.
YA will always have a soft spot in my heart and this book does in particular as it is based in my city. I loved how it was infused with New Orleans culture and characters. I loved that I knew exactly where the author was talking about when she described locations within the French Quarter and surrounding areas. I loved that it tied in the paranormal stories that exist with New Orleans lore.
Like most YA however, the love triangle eventually seems to supersede the sci-fi/fantasy aspects of the story but 🤷. I still highly enjoyed reading it and have already picked up book 2 in the series.
I wanted to like this I really did. I was lured in by pretty covers and an interesting blurb.
This might be your thing. But sadly it’s not mine.
This might be your thing. But sadly it’s not mine.