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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
That gorgeous dark, dreamy, moody, mysterious cover by Galen Dara perfectly sets the mood for this young adult urban fantasy/mystery/paranormal romance. If you're not prepared to settle in for a long, leisurely love letter to the City of New Orleans, its people, its history, and its legends, you may not enjoy this. However, if sipping a cafe au lait and nibbling a beignet in the French Market near the bank of the Mississippi while enjoying the local color and dreaming of the ghosts that haunt the city sounds like your idea of a good time, you may love this book as much as I did. Laissez les bon temps rouler!
I really liked almost all of the characters in this book. When I first met our heroine, Adele, I found her easy to understand and relate to. Sometimes she did things I found myself shaking my head at or she was a little slow to put clues together, but she is 16 and has been subjected to some pretty traumatic situations. Thinking back to how I felt and some of the things I said and did when I was her age, I felt that her actions were fairly realistic. What teenage girl doesn't seem a little crazy at times? It's an emotionally volatile time, and Adele's emotional volatility and the strange things that sometimes happen as a result actually becomes a bit of a recurring joke as the book progresses. I thought that was nicely done. Also, I loved her introduction to David Bowie--it seemed so fitting!
I enjoyed how the modern-day story alternated with journal entries from Adele's ancestor, and I loved the incorporation of stories that you might hear if you attend one of the city's famous guided ghost tours (and in fact, stories are introduced when some of the characters go on such a tour). I loved the little snippets of French scattered throughout the dialogue, which reminded me so much of listening to Cajun relatives when I was young.
I noticed a few little typos or minor editing errors (e.g., dairy instead of diary), but the text was pretty clean and the ebook neatly formatted. There's a bit of mild swearing but the language is pretty clean. A couple of kisses but no sex. There are multiple descriptions of violence and death, as well as a city decimated by a storm and flooding, but nothing described with excessive gory detail. This should be appropriate for a wide audience.
I look forward to reading the sequel, which I hope will reveal more about le Comte de Saint-Germain. Why were the vampires so obsessed with him??? That is an open thread that dangles most cruelly!
I really liked almost all of the characters in this book. When I first met our heroine, Adele, I found her easy to understand and relate to. Sometimes she did things I found myself shaking my head at or she was a little slow to put clues together, but she is 16 and has been subjected to some pretty traumatic situations. Thinking back to how I felt and some of the things I said and did when I was her age, I felt that her actions were fairly realistic. What teenage girl doesn't seem a little crazy at times? It's an emotionally volatile time, and Adele's emotional volatility and the strange things that sometimes happen as a result actually becomes a bit of a recurring joke as the book progresses. I thought that was nicely done. Also, I loved her introduction to David Bowie--it seemed so fitting!
I enjoyed how the modern-day story alternated with journal entries from Adele's ancestor, and I loved the incorporation of stories that you might hear if you attend one of the city's famous guided ghost tours (and in fact, stories are introduced when some of the characters go on such a tour). I loved the little snippets of French scattered throughout the dialogue, which reminded me so much of listening to Cajun relatives when I was young.
I noticed a few little typos or minor editing errors (e.g., dairy instead of diary), but the text was pretty clean and the ebook neatly formatted. There's a bit of mild swearing but the language is pretty clean. A couple of kisses but no sex. There are multiple descriptions of violence and death, as well as a city decimated by a storm and flooding, but nothing described with excessive gory detail. This should be appropriate for a wide audience.
I look forward to reading the sequel, which I hope will reveal more about le Comte de Saint-Germain. Why were the vampires so obsessed with him??? That is an open thread that dangles most cruelly!
The Casquette Girls is one of those books that you simply cannot put down as you have to find out what comes next, and from the get-go there is an underlying sense of tension and unease which keeps you on your toes throughout.
Narrated by Adele LeMoyne, she and her father return to an almost dystopian post-Storm New Orleans. Crime is through the roof, looters and vagrants run rampant, and a mandatory curfew has been announced. As they struggle to rebuild their home and their lives, Adele is plagued by strange occurrences which she doesn't understand until she stumbles across the journal of one of her ancestors, revealing that she is tied to the city of New Orleans in more ways than one.
As she uncovers the tale of 'le filles a la cassette' - the casket girls - Adele learns that her friends are not all who (or what) she thought they were...
The Casquette Girls takes the rich history of New Orleans and the French Quarter and wraps it seamlessly with factual events (like the Vatican's involvement in sealing up the Ursuline's Convent attic) and disturbing urban legends which makes the story seem so much more real than your average fiction - I think that is part of the thrall - it could actually be true. This, in conjunction with the Author's vividly descriptive flair has you experiencing everything the book has to offer through Adele's eyes as it unfolds.
Narrated by Adele LeMoyne, she and her father return to an almost dystopian post-Storm New Orleans. Crime is through the roof, looters and vagrants run rampant, and a mandatory curfew has been announced. As they struggle to rebuild their home and their lives, Adele is plagued by strange occurrences which she doesn't understand until she stumbles across the journal of one of her ancestors, revealing that she is tied to the city of New Orleans in more ways than one.
As she uncovers the tale of 'le filles a la cassette' - the casket girls - Adele learns that her friends are not all who (or what) she thought they were...
The Casquette Girls takes the rich history of New Orleans and the French Quarter and wraps it seamlessly with factual events (like the Vatican's involvement in sealing up the Ursuline's Convent attic) and disturbing urban legends which makes the story seem so much more real than your average fiction - I think that is part of the thrall - it could actually be true. This, in conjunction with the Author's vividly descriptive flair has you experiencing everything the book has to offer through Adele's eyes as it unfolds.
I would like to start this review off by saying that I grew up in southern Louisiana, about 40 minutes away from New Orleans. I am going to say that this is just from my experience and that everyone else’s experience is different, so I’m not saying that I’m completely right or whatever. This is only me, talking about how I personally feel.
For one thing, near the beginning of the book our protagonist, Adele, has to go to a private school for the first time. Adele than starts talking about how she has never had to wear a school uniform before, which doesn’t make sense because uniforms are a big thing in southern Louisiana, even in public schools. I lived in Louisiana from 2005 to 2016 and I lived in several different parishes(or county's), but I have never seen a public school not have uniforms. Unless the school Adele went to specifically for some reason doesn’t have uniforms, Adele should have wore a uniform and seen them as the norm.
Another is the French thing. Most people know that Louisiana was a french colony and that some of that culture is still strong there. What a lot of people don’t know is that Cajun french and “real” french are significantly different. If you speak one, it’s going to be very hard to understand the other. The Cajun culture that developed over the years is vastly different from France's current culture.
There’s also the fact that the actual Cajun part of Louisiana is really glossed over. Large parts of this book are dedicated to France and Adele is friends with some french store owners. I’m not saying that there aren’t actually french people in New Orleans but in my experience there is so much more interesting cultures to discover. Where’s the Haitian and creole culture? I once knew a tarot card reader in New Orleans who was from Colombia. It’s not the fact that there’s a lot of French culture, it’s the fact that most of it is just the french culture, which frankly is unrealistic to New Orleans.
Also, why did Adele hang out in Bourbon Street? I’ve been quite a few times and it’s just a dirty street lined with bars and drunken tourists. It’s easily one of the least interesting parts of New Orleans if you cant drink. Wouldn’t Adele be more drawn to some of the side streets of the French quarter? With all the artists, fortune tellers and street perfumers?
(and yes I do know that none of this would be happening after a hurricane, but seriously if you’re not there to drink bourbon street is not that fun.)
I have personally had to evacuate for a hurricane and have stayed for a few and Adele’s experience with it was just so different from I remember that it’s hard to relate. Like Adele just flew away to Paris for a few months, so she didn’t have to deal with the most difficult stuff, the days right after the hurricane. Like how you have to line up for hours in the heat just to get some food and water. Or like how the food that you do get are MRE’s, ready to eat pre-packaged meals, that taste like garbage and can make you throw up. Or having the pipes in her house break, so you can’t even flush the toilet. The author does a disservice by just skipping over some of the worse parts of living after a hurricane.
I’m not going to go into detail about some of the other things that bothered me—because we could be here all day—but, the New Orleans in this book feels like a sanitized, postcard-esque shell of the real New Orleans.
Finally getting away from my New Orleans Rant, in terms of writing this book was really disjointed. Like it was somehow extremely convoluted and extremely cliche at the same time. There was so much going on all at once and yet everything that was going on felt wholly unoriginal. The author tried to mesh together a lot of New Orleans legends and folklore and personally I felt that most of it was just so...boring. In almost every situation I could predict exactly what was going to happen, it’s like the author went with the first thing she thought of that could explain everything.
I will say though, without giving away anything, that I did really like what happened with Adele’s mother. The mother's part was the most interesting and original part in my opinion and it just kinda sucks that it’s the storyline we see the least.
I know I ranted about the New Orleans stuff a lot, and those are just my personal experiences with living in Louisiana, but it was constantly taking me out of the story. And honestly, outside of complaining about how I felt New Orleans was portrayed, there is just not the much for me to talk about. The best word to describe this book is hollow. There were so many interesting concepts, yet almost everything played out in the most predictable way possible.
With such a neat premise, this book could have had so much going for it, but when it came to the execution, it fell fantastically flat.
For one thing, near the beginning of the book our protagonist, Adele, has to go to a private school for the first time. Adele than starts talking about how she has never had to wear a school uniform before, which doesn’t make sense because uniforms are a big thing in southern Louisiana, even in public schools. I lived in Louisiana from 2005 to 2016 and I lived in several different parishes(or county's), but I have never seen a public school not have uniforms. Unless the school Adele went to specifically for some reason doesn’t have uniforms, Adele should have wore a uniform and seen them as the norm.
Another is the French thing. Most people know that Louisiana was a french colony and that some of that culture is still strong there. What a lot of people don’t know is that Cajun french and “real” french are significantly different. If you speak one, it’s going to be very hard to understand the other. The Cajun culture that developed over the years is vastly different from France's current culture.
There’s also the fact that the actual Cajun part of Louisiana is really glossed over. Large parts of this book are dedicated to France and Adele is friends with some french store owners. I’m not saying that there aren’t actually french people in New Orleans but in my experience there is so much more interesting cultures to discover. Where’s the Haitian and creole culture? I once knew a tarot card reader in New Orleans who was from Colombia. It’s not the fact that there’s a lot of French culture, it’s the fact that most of it is just the french culture, which frankly is unrealistic to New Orleans.
Also, why did Adele hang out in Bourbon Street? I’ve been quite a few times and it’s just a dirty street lined with bars and drunken tourists. It’s easily one of the least interesting parts of New Orleans if you cant drink. Wouldn’t Adele be more drawn to some of the side streets of the French quarter? With all the artists, fortune tellers and street perfumers?
(and yes I do know that none of this would be happening after a hurricane, but seriously if you’re not there to drink bourbon street is not that fun.)
I have personally had to evacuate for a hurricane and have stayed for a few and Adele’s experience with it was just so different from I remember that it’s hard to relate. Like Adele just flew away to Paris for a few months, so she didn’t have to deal with the most difficult stuff, the days right after the hurricane. Like how you have to line up for hours in the heat just to get some food and water. Or like how the food that you do get are MRE’s, ready to eat pre-packaged meals, that taste like garbage and can make you throw up. Or having the pipes in her house break, so you can’t even flush the toilet. The author does a disservice by just skipping over some of the worse parts of living after a hurricane.
I’m not going to go into detail about some of the other things that bothered me—because we could be here all day—but, the New Orleans in this book feels like a sanitized, postcard-esque shell of the real New Orleans.
Finally getting away from my New Orleans Rant, in terms of writing this book was really disjointed. Like it was somehow extremely convoluted and extremely cliche at the same time. There was so much going on all at once and yet everything that was going on felt wholly unoriginal. The author tried to mesh together a lot of New Orleans legends and folklore and personally I felt that most of it was just so...boring. In almost every situation I could predict exactly what was going to happen, it’s like the author went with the first thing she thought of that could explain everything.
I will say though, without giving away anything, that I did really like what happened with Adele’s mother. The mother's part was the most interesting and original part in my opinion and it just kinda sucks that it’s the storyline we see the least.
I know I ranted about the New Orleans stuff a lot, and those are just my personal experiences with living in Louisiana, but it was constantly taking me out of the story. And honestly, outside of complaining about how I felt New Orleans was portrayed, there is just not the much for me to talk about. The best word to describe this book is hollow. There were so many interesting concepts, yet almost everything played out in the most predictable way possible.
With such a neat premise, this book could have had so much going for it, but when it came to the execution, it fell fantastically flat.
4.25 chocolate kisses
This was not a typical ya novel for me and I enjoyed that. Even though the characters were of the high school age, there was just a dusting of the ya angst that really sends me for a loop. I confess, I was an angsty teen once, but that was LONG ago and I hate reliving it in my reading for relaxation.
With that said, I totally enjoyed this book and was kept guessing as to what would happen next. And I loved the setting in New Orleans after their biggest storm.
I would have liked a little more gritty social atmosphere that probably would have more accurately represented the city after such a happening, but it was ok. This was pleasant light reading that sometimes reminded me of the Vampire Diaries. Damon in particular. But not overly much. It was good and robust. That is all.
This was not a typical ya novel for me and I enjoyed that. Even though the characters were of the high school age, there was just a dusting of the ya angst that really sends me for a loop. I confess, I was an angsty teen once, but that was LONG ago and I hate reliving it in my reading for relaxation.
With that said, I totally enjoyed this book and was kept guessing as to what would happen next. And I loved the setting in New Orleans after their biggest storm.
I would have liked a little more gritty social atmosphere that probably would have more accurately represented the city after such a happening, but it was ok. This was pleasant light reading that sometimes reminded me of the Vampire Diaries. Damon in particular. But not overly much. It was good and robust. That is all.
I’m sure some have you have seen The Casquette Girls floating around the interwebs. I’ve gotten better at ignoring the hype. However, a book friend totally sold me on this book by mentioning witches, vampires, and New Orleans. If those elements sound enticing, then I definitely suggest you pick this up.
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On a more personal note, let me tell you why I loved this book so much. I lived in New Orleans (from fall 1999 to fall 2004). I got my first degree (Anthropology) at Tulane and I stayed a year after I graduated working in the service industry. This book is set post-Katrina (called The Storm), and the setting and sentiments are so authentic. You can tell the author is from the city because you can’t capture these details if you’re only a tourist. She manages to capture so many things perfectly ... the eccentric characters, voodoo elements, service industry culture, strong French influence, the special NOLA accent, and so much more. I moved away from New Orleans a few months before Katrina hit, and I didn’t go back for months afterward. However, I know the author has only done justice to the destruction and devastation that NOLA natives experienced. The nostalgia hit me hard reading this, and it made me love the story more.
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Added bonuses include elemental witches, sexy Italian vampires, historical fiction elements, and more books to come. I gave this first book a solid 4 stars, and I’ve already started on The Romeo Catchers.
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On a more personal note, let me tell you why I loved this book so much. I lived in New Orleans (from fall 1999 to fall 2004). I got my first degree (Anthropology) at Tulane and I stayed a year after I graduated working in the service industry. This book is set post-Katrina (called The Storm), and the setting and sentiments are so authentic. You can tell the author is from the city because you can’t capture these details if you’re only a tourist. She manages to capture so many things perfectly ... the eccentric characters, voodoo elements, service industry culture, strong French influence, the special NOLA accent, and so much more. I moved away from New Orleans a few months before Katrina hit, and I didn’t go back for months afterward. However, I know the author has only done justice to the destruction and devastation that NOLA natives experienced. The nostalgia hit me hard reading this, and it made me love the story more.
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Added bonuses include elemental witches, sexy Italian vampires, historical fiction elements, and more books to come. I gave this first book a solid 4 stars, and I’ve already started on The Romeo Catchers.
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Oh my! I absolutely loved this book! I'm a big fan of New Orleans to begin with (I honeymooned there). So that was a win from the start. I loved the look into the city after the Storm. Such heartbreak there. I loved the characters. There's a bit of a love triangle that develops and still honestly can't say which boy I prefer. Although, the romance is a pretty minor bit of the book.
The paranormal aspects of the book are much different from what I've read before. To start I was being diligent in highlighting parts of the book I liked or felt was important. But then there just came a point where I just needed to find out what was happening and couldn't be bothered to take the time to highlight.
There is so much in this book that I honestly feel like I could go back right now and reread this book and catch things I didn't see the first time around. Good thing book 2 is available in KU. I've already put it in my KU library. Note that the book does not end on a technical cliffhanger. There are just things that you know will continue on. It's kind of hard to explain without spoiling the book.
The paranormal aspects of the book are much different from what I've read before. To start I was being diligent in highlighting parts of the book I liked or felt was important. But then there just came a point where I just needed to find out what was happening and couldn't be bothered to take the time to highlight.
There is so much in this book that I honestly feel like I could go back right now and reread this book and catch things I didn't see the first time around. Good thing book 2 is available in KU. I've already put it in my KU library. Note that the book does not end on a technical cliffhanger. There are just things that you know will continue on. It's kind of hard to explain without spoiling the book.
Not my thing. Really 2.5 stars as I definitely like the premise and can see why people would love it, but it wasn’t working for me. The plot felt very slow throughout most of the book, I didn’t really care about any of the characters (and thought Adele’s love triangle was boring and unrealistic), and some of the plot lines felt too convoluted for me. Still not quite sure what the deal is with Adeline’s dad? Maybe that’s in the next book? Overall, not a terrible book but not one I enjoyed.
I enjoyed the setting for this book. I didn't feel super connected with the characters, but still enjoyed their story. Great twist at the end to make you want to read book two! I also got to enjoy an author chat with the book club, Words & Whimsey!
Review first appeared on my blog: Book Addict 24-7
I received a copy via Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review
I can understand why so many people would love The Casquette Girls by Alys Arden. It has the allure and magic of New Orleans, the morbid fascination that one gains when a story takes place in a nonfiction post-disaster setting, and of course, vampires and brooding romance. I did enjoy Arden's novel for the most part, but at times it felt difficult to continue reading because of various reasons.
Adele, the protagonist, is a girl who returns to New Orleans with her dad after the hurricane that destroyed the beautiful city. I found her to be a tough character at first, keen on getting back to her old life and desperate to not go back to Paris, where her mom had immediately shipped her off to boarding school. Though she was artsy and opinionated, there were times where she just annoyed me. For example, what is it with girls and going all Bella and Edward and ignoring the good guy in front of her for the bad guy who has admitted that she should never trust his kind?
I will admit, however, that the pacing is pretty good, for a huge book. Compared to all the other books I've read this year, this one took the prize for being a brick. Unlike other tomes, however, this one used its size well. It allowed for Arden to fully develop her story and not leave any gaping plot holes behind. I liked the development of Adele's ancestor's storyline and I felt that it was well integrated into the story. She also offered enough unanswered questions to lead us to a sequel, which has already been announced.
What I didn't like so much about the size was how quickly my attention waned. I constantly kept going to other books, just so I could get pumped up to read again. So, despite Arden's novel being a good book, I felt like the size kind of turned me off at times. (But that could just be because I was on a deadline.)
The French mixed into the dialogue was fun and it reminded me of just how much French I can somehow understand. It added a bit of authenticity to the storyline, making it more lyrical and realistic, unlike other novels that have Spanish text that is completely awkward and grammatically incorrect.
The Casquette Girls IS a good read. Save for the moments where I was annoyed and imagined that I was reading a Twilight adaptation set in New Orleans, I almost always wanted to know more. When I finally truly got into the book (this happened around the halfway point), I couldn't put it down. The characters, whether I liked them or not, were vibrant and added colour to the text.
Will I be reading the sequel? I'm not sure. I'm not much of a sequels person, but who knows? For the moment, however, I'm pretty satisfied with this one and if it weren't for all of the unanswered questions and hints for more developments given in this installment, I think this could have been a standalone book.
I recommend this one to lovers of the weird, dark, and spooky. If you like vampires that are on the cheesy side, yet inspire a bit of fear, then you might like this. Adele is a strong character, but like many vampire enamoured protagonists before her, she does have a soft spot for a particular vamp.
I received a copy via Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review
I can understand why so many people would love The Casquette Girls by Alys Arden. It has the allure and magic of New Orleans, the morbid fascination that one gains when a story takes place in a nonfiction post-disaster setting, and of course, vampires and brooding romance. I did enjoy Arden's novel for the most part, but at times it felt difficult to continue reading because of various reasons.
Adele, the protagonist, is a girl who returns to New Orleans with her dad after the hurricane that destroyed the beautiful city. I found her to be a tough character at first, keen on getting back to her old life and desperate to not go back to Paris, where her mom had immediately shipped her off to boarding school. Though she was artsy and opinionated, there were times where she just annoyed me. For example, what is it with girls and going all Bella and Edward and ignoring the good guy in front of her for the bad guy who has admitted that she should never trust his kind?
I will admit, however, that the pacing is pretty good, for a huge book. Compared to all the other books I've read this year, this one took the prize for being a brick. Unlike other tomes, however, this one used its size well. It allowed for Arden to fully develop her story and not leave any gaping plot holes behind. I liked the development of Adele's ancestor's storyline and I felt that it was well integrated into the story. She also offered enough unanswered questions to lead us to a sequel, which has already been announced.
What I didn't like so much about the size was how quickly my attention waned. I constantly kept going to other books, just so I could get pumped up to read again. So, despite Arden's novel being a good book, I felt like the size kind of turned me off at times. (But that could just be because I was on a deadline.)
The French mixed into the dialogue was fun and it reminded me of just how much French I can somehow understand. It added a bit of authenticity to the storyline, making it more lyrical and realistic, unlike other novels that have Spanish text that is completely awkward and grammatically incorrect.
The Casquette Girls IS a good read. Save for the moments where I was annoyed and imagined that I was reading a Twilight adaptation set in New Orleans, I almost always wanted to know more. When I finally truly got into the book (this happened around the halfway point), I couldn't put it down. The characters, whether I liked them or not, were vibrant and added colour to the text.
Will I be reading the sequel? I'm not sure. I'm not much of a sequels person, but who knows? For the moment, however, I'm pretty satisfied with this one and if it weren't for all of the unanswered questions and hints for more developments given in this installment, I think this could have been a standalone book.
I recommend this one to lovers of the weird, dark, and spooky. If you like vampires that are on the cheesy side, yet inspire a bit of fear, then you might like this. Adele is a strong character, but like many vampire enamoured protagonists before her, she does have a soft spot for a particular vamp.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I liked the idea of the coven versus the vampires, the way the characters wrestle with having survived a natural disaster is really well handled, and you can feel the love for New Orleans flowing from this book, but in the end, it just didn't entirely work for me.
I was expecting more of a girl-group sort of book from the blurb, and this definitely isn't that. The love triangle is incredibly stupid (it's never really clear what Adele sees in either dude aside from how hot they are), most of the characters are pretty thinly drawn, the phonetically written accents verge on racist parody at points... Also, it really felt like too much of the book was build-up. Once things went nuts a lot happened but there were some pretty long periods of time where nothing really happened or previous points were repeated.
I was expecting more of a girl-group sort of book from the blurb, and this definitely isn't that. The love triangle is incredibly stupid (it's never really clear what Adele sees in either dude aside from how hot they are), most of the characters are pretty thinly drawn, the phonetically written accents verge on racist parody at points... Also, it really felt like too much of the book was build-up. Once things went nuts a lot happened but there were some pretty long periods of time where nothing really happened or previous points were repeated.