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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Not a BAD read. I liked the concept. A nuanced little Appalachian fantasy/horror, with a black female MC, sapphic romance, folkloric/mythical (Titans! š) vibes and themes of nature vs. industry, sustainability vs. progress, and corporate greed leading to willful negligence. The main thing I enjoyed was Motheater's moral dilemma re: her duty to protect the environment vs. the economically vulnerable people of Kiron, who'd have no livelihood without mining Kire.
But, too much about the execution didn't work for me:
ā¢ The multi-POV, dual-timeline structure was ill-suited to the story. Who IS Motheater? What's her real name? Her backstory? Well, the past timeline is from the POV of a witch called 'Ester', so no big ?, there.
ā¢ More widely, it gives stuff away too soon. Who killed Motheater? The FIRST person suggested. Why? For the reason Motheater assumes.
ā¢ Codega's use of (both historical/modern-day) Appalacian dialects was inaccessible. I can't determine accuracy/authenticity, AT ALL, because I'd find a word used in a weird context, look up the meaning in Appalacian English, and find nothing? I finished the book not having understood entire sentences. What's this 'efficiency' that keeps being 'stepped into' or 'closing in' on people?!
ā¢ Bogged down by scripture. Overall, it's hard to read.
ā¢ Motheater's kinda baffling? E.g., someone answers the door to her and says, 'Who calls?' and she's LIVID? And, I'm meant to get why?!
ā¢ Repetitive! Bennie keeps 'realising' the SAME things about her attraction to Motheater, in the SAME language, over and over. Felt like I was going crazy.
I can see this being a hit with the right people. Just didn't do it for me. š¬
š«¶š»THANK YOU to NetGalley and Kensington Books for sending me an advanced copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review!
But, too much about the execution didn't work for me:
ā¢ The multi-POV, dual-timeline structure was ill-suited to the story. Who IS Motheater? What's her real name? Her backstory? Well, the past timeline is from the POV of a witch called 'Ester', so no big ?, there.
ā¢ More widely, it gives stuff away too soon. Who killed Motheater? The FIRST person suggested. Why? For the reason Motheater assumes.
ā¢ Codega's use of (both historical/modern-day) Appalacian dialects was inaccessible. I can't determine accuracy/authenticity, AT ALL, because I'd find a word used in a weird context, look up the meaning in Appalacian English, and find nothing? I finished the book not having understood entire sentences. What's this 'efficiency' that keeps being 'stepped into' or 'closing in' on people?!
ā¢ Bogged down by scripture. Overall, it's hard to read.
ā¢ Motheater's kinda baffling? E.g., someone answers the door to her and says, 'Who calls?' and she's LIVID? And, I'm meant to get why?!
ā¢ Repetitive! Bennie keeps 'realising' the SAME things about her attraction to Motheater, in the SAME language, over and over. Felt like I was going crazy.
I can see this being a hit with the right people. Just didn't do it for me. š¬
š«¶š»THANK YOU to NetGalley and Kensington Books for sending me an advanced copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review!
ARC review; thanks to NetGalley, Kensington Publishing, and Erewhon Books for the access to this ebook. Pub date: Jan 21 2025.
First of all, this cover is STUNNING. I love it. You will like this if you like slow-paced stories, witchy magic, folk horror elements, Appalachian settings, dual timelines, and nuanced characters.
I personally wasn't a huge fan of the story. This claims to be a queer fantasy, but I don't think it fits that description. Yes, there are fantastical elements because there are witches and magic, and there's a dash of queer romance, but it's more a mix of literary and historical fiction with mystery, magic, and a little folk horror.
The writing is lovely, I really enjoyed the prose, but the plot left a lot to be desired in my opinion. It felt very slow and meandering, and I just wasn't gripped by what was happening. I liked a lot of elements of this, mainly the writing style, Appalachian setting, folk elements, and characters, but I didn't like much of what was happening.
The commentary about environmentalism and other themes felt surface-level, the romance felt thrown in, and it didn't make sense to me (I think they should've just been friends or platonic because they had no romantic chemistry at all), and the constant references to Christian scripture got old for me very quickly. That's a preference thing, though. I personally don't like when religion is a big element unless there's commentary around it.
Overall, I don't think this will work for everyone, especially not if they're expecting fantasy, but it will work splendidly for a lot of people. I just wasn't one of them. I still think it's a solid debut and I will keep my eye on this author to see if their future work is better suited for me cause I already love their writing style and creativity.
First of all, this cover is STUNNING. I love it. You will like this if you like slow-paced stories, witchy magic, folk horror elements, Appalachian settings, dual timelines, and nuanced characters.
I personally wasn't a huge fan of the story. This claims to be a queer fantasy, but I don't think it fits that description. Yes, there are fantastical elements because there are witches and magic, and there's a dash of queer romance, but it's more a mix of literary and historical fiction with mystery, magic, and a little folk horror.
The writing is lovely, I really enjoyed the prose, but the plot left a lot to be desired in my opinion. It felt very slow and meandering, and I just wasn't gripped by what was happening. I liked a lot of elements of this, mainly the writing style, Appalachian setting, folk elements, and characters, but I didn't like much of what was happening.
The commentary about environmentalism and other themes felt surface-level, the romance felt thrown in, and it didn't make sense to me (I think they should've just been friends or platonic because they had no romantic chemistry at all), and the constant references to Christian scripture got old for me very quickly. That's a preference thing, though. I personally don't like when religion is a big element unless there's commentary around it.
Overall, I don't think this will work for everyone, especially not if they're expecting fantasy, but it will work splendidly for a lot of people. I just wasn't one of them. I still think it's a solid debut and I will keep my eye on this author to see if their future work is better suited for me cause I already love their writing style and creativity.
Well, this was a book. It wasnāt bad, but I didnāt really enjoy it. I love the setting and the dual time lines, but thatās where my love ends.
First off, I donāt like Bennie. Her overall attitude kind of sucks. Kudos to those around her for putting up with her. I get that sheās upset her friend (and others) died, but thatās not a reason to be rude to everyone else. She pushed her boyfriend away, and he continually tries to offer her support despite her ignoring him and being rude. And she expects an awful lot of help from a woman who is essentially a complete stranger. And sheās flat out mean to said stranger on multiple occasions.
Motheater I canāt quite figure out. I donāt know if I like her or not, but I guess I understand her struggle. She was forced to the edge of society despite doing what she could to rectify a problem she inadvertently caused. However, other peopleās bigotry didnāt allow her to complete that.
Overall, I guess I was expecting more mystery and suspense, so I was left a little unfulfilled.
**Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for access to this title in exchange for an honest review**
First off, I donāt like Bennie. Her overall attitude kind of sucks. Kudos to those around her for putting up with her. I get that sheās upset her friend (and others) died, but thatās not a reason to be rude to everyone else. She pushed her boyfriend away, and he continually tries to offer her support despite her ignoring him and being rude. And she expects an awful lot of help from a woman who is essentially a complete stranger. And sheās flat out mean to said stranger on multiple occasions.
Motheater I canāt quite figure out. I donāt know if I like her or not, but I guess I understand her struggle. She was forced to the edge of society despite doing what she could to rectify a problem she inadvertently caused. However, other peopleās bigotry didnāt allow her to complete that.
Overall, I guess I was expecting more mystery and suspense, so I was left a little unfulfilled.
**Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for access to this title in exchange for an honest review**
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The small-town, Appalachian setting for this novel was absolutely beautiful (to a city girl like me) and the premise of the witch who gets pulled out of the mountain after 150-odd long years fighting the mining industry made for a fantastic allegory for environmental justice. This then becomes further enhanced in a very literal way as the mountain fights back and turns into a horror trope kind of ending, with a physical beast that I really enjoyed! The characters are unique and I felt like I had a personal stake in the lives of each of the main four. However it did feel a bit icky that a white person whose niche is in queer media and has nothing about ethnicity studies/speciality on their website decided to write a Black main character?
Now, I'm calling Bennie the MC because she's the perspective we're fed the majority of the story through, and Motheater is mostly understood through Bennie's own understandings. However it went a little too far for me when they wrote in a scene where she was fearful of a cop for the obvious racial difference - and I just want to say that while white people can understand fear of authorities for a variety of reasons, race will never be one of them and it feels like taking away a voice from a Black person to attempt to replicate this. But the worst part for me was that the entire thing was a non-event, the reason the cop spoke to her went away immediately, and it had so little bearing on the story that literally nothing would change and no references anywhere else would even need to be taken out, just this one scene, which to me says it was gratuitous and self-serving "anti-racism".
On top of this, we've all heard about the ugly stereotype of the Black person whose story purely serves to uplift and further the white person's? Well, that's what this book did. Self-sacrificing Bennie worked the entire book to help others, free her town, aid Motheater's path to redeeming herself and her version of the town from so many years ago, and Bennie, sadly, worked to see her town saved through uplifting the white character.
Disclaimer: I did also consult another source, a Black person, before I shared these thoughts to ensure I wasn't speaking for the Black community etc.
Motheater had a lot of things about it that I loved: the setting, the language, the organic magic and the interesting plot where a mountain is a character. I've never read anything involving like this and enjoy it, for the most part.
What really didn't work for me was the romance. It felt rushed as if it was added at the last minute as a way to get an emotional reaction at the end (which it didn't). I had a hard time getting an idea for Motheater's appearance (at first, I thought she was old, but later, I think it said she was 28?), but all I really need to say is that she has moths perpetually in her hair and pointed teeth. With very little conversation or relationship building, Bennie is completely down bad and cannot stop fantasizing about fucking Motheater. Also, Motheater cannot remember her actual name, so you have to read the name "Motheater" like ten thousand times, and it's so annoying at a certain point. I really wish Motheater was just a nickname and that she went by her actual name for most the novel.
With some tweaks and maybe a little more time, this could have been a 4-star book for me. I think the romance needed work (or to be ditched) so readers could focus more on the story. The setting and idea of a mountain essentially fighting back against industry are so cool, and I found the magic to be really enticing to read about.
3 stars. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!
What really didn't work for me was the romance. It felt rushed as if it was added at the last minute as a way to get an emotional reaction at the end (which it didn't). I had a hard time getting an idea for Motheater's appearance (at first, I thought she was old, but later, I think it said she was 28?), but all I really need to say is that she has moths perpetually in her hair and pointed teeth. With very little conversation or relationship building, Bennie is completely down bad and cannot stop fantasizing about fucking Motheater. Also, Motheater cannot remember her actual name, so you have to read the name "Motheater" like ten thousand times, and it's so annoying at a certain point. I really wish Motheater was just a nickname and that she went by her actual name for most the novel.
With some tweaks and maybe a little more time, this could have been a 4-star book for me. I think the romance needed work (or to be ditched) so readers could focus more on the story. The setting and idea of a mountain essentially fighting back against industry are so cool, and I found the magic to be really enticing to read about.
3 stars. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
*Thank you to Erewhon Books and NetGalley for the e-arc. All opinions are my own.*
I. loved. this. Now, I will first preface this by saying if you don't like a slower-paced experience, one might not be for you. This book really take its time. However, it really worked for me. I'm someone who loves an atmospheric experience (often even over that of impeccable writing, plot, etc.). When the vibes line up, I'm locked in until the end, and the vibes were THERE for me in Motheater. Appalachian novels are something I can never get enough of - we're not writing and publishing enough of them, if you as me - and I adored spending time in Kiron. I appreciated the dual timelines. I loved learning about Motheater's past as we navigated the present. I felt like it really added to the tension of the plot. The end felt worth the ride it took to get there, which is a huge feat for a heavy-plot book like this. So frequently am I underwhelmed by the way a story of this caliber is wrapped up, but it felt final and solid which I appreciated. I will note, the one downfall I felt throughout this reading experience is theromance subplot between Motheather and Bennie . It felt rather unnecessary in a book like this and I wasn't feeling the chemistry most of the way through. It felt a bit forced, if I'm being honest. All in all, regardless of that, I had a wonderful time reading this and I can't wait for more from this author!
I. loved. this. Now, I will first preface this by saying if you don't like a slower-paced experience, one might not be for you. This book really take its time. However, it really worked for me. I'm someone who loves an atmospheric experience (often even over that of impeccable writing, plot, etc.). When the vibes line up, I'm locked in until the end, and the vibes were THERE for me in Motheater. Appalachian novels are something I can never get enough of - we're not writing and publishing enough of them, if you as me - and I adored spending time in Kiron. I appreciated the dual timelines. I loved learning about Motheater's past as we navigated the present. I felt like it really added to the tension of the plot. The end felt worth the ride it took to get there, which is a huge feat for a heavy-plot book like this. So frequently am I underwhelmed by the way a story of this caliber is wrapped up, but it felt final and solid which I appreciated. I will note, the one downfall I felt throughout this reading experience is the
I absolutely loved this book, I could not put it down! I am an avid reader of witchy books and this is the very first Appalachian witch Iāve ran across. This book was beautifully written, and it flows easily from present time back to the past. 100% left me wanting more!!!
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC copy!
I have a lifelong love for Southern Appalachian, so I may be slightly biased! This was a delightful magical and queer story with strong anti-opression/ anti-capitalist vibes.
I ended up reading it in like two and a half days because I wanted to see what would happen. The author does a wonderful job of giving you an inkling of where the story will go while still throwing some curveballs on the specfics.
Overall I highly recommend it!
I have a lifelong love for Southern Appalachian, so I may be slightly biased! This was a delightful magical and queer story with strong anti-opression/ anti-capitalist vibes.
I ended up reading it in like two and a half days because I wanted to see what would happen. The author does a wonderful job of giving you an inkling of where the story will go while still throwing some curveballs on the specfics.
Overall I highly recommend it!
This was a lovely story, beautifully written. Brimming with magic and culture. I loved the idea of the earth being a living breathing being.