Reviews

Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy

llohman3's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

A real mixed bag. I might recommend it, but certainly not as a top choice. I listened to the audiobook and I thought I would never make it out of the first chapter, which is basically a "telling, not showing" monologue from the main character as she shows off her ability to create an endless string of similes. That first chapter is a slog. And overall, there are too many similies in the whole book. 

There was an imbalance in the backstory vs present-day mystery. More often than not the mystery was second or even third-fiddle. I feel like Sister Holiday's backstory could be teased out more over the span of the series as opposed to the seemingly random info dumps we get. Obviously, we need some flashbacks to get a feel for our heroine,

but the whole story about her brother being raped and her attempt at revenge or plot line of her ex coming to visit for half a chapter served no great purpose or connection to the story.

Many of the flashbacks seemed to be built-in redundancy as an attempt to solidify the nature of Sister Holiday's character. We get it - She's a mess and she's trying to be better.

Figured out who the fire bug was, but the more I think about it the more holes in the logic I find.  

Finally, as someone who lived in Louisiana for decades, the Nola descriptions were clearly written by someone who has not spent serious time in the area. Yes, it's hot and humid as hell - Sister Holiday should have been more worried about heat stroke than arson. And yes, the author got street names right, but the city was so overly romanticized (even for the genre) when it could have been portrayed as a gritty survivalist to mirror Sister Holiday. 

cmcmurry's review against another edition

4.0

4.5/5

“Scorched Grace” is an original and compelling take on the classic noir mystery where the “hard-boiled detective” is a punk-rock lesbian nun. The story beautifully, if a little clumsily at times, explores second chances, religion and religious trauma, and what it means to find God on the margins of society. The mystery was genre-savvy without being pedantic, even if the pacing was sometimes a bit stilted. Where “Scorched Grace” really shines is in its narration and imagery, where Douaihy evokes a rich material world as a means through which her protagonist searches for physical absolution and spiritual answers.

awhit's review

challenging dark mysterious 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
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

bigleoenergy's review against another edition

2.25

I really wanted to like this, but it ended up being so ponderous. When it came time for the final confrontation and reveal, the book could have used a good dose of “show, don’t tell,” but instead opts to lay everything out in a handful of overly simplistic lines of dialogue.

carc19's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Self harm, Rape, Alcoholism, Drug use, Homophobia, and Suicide

hilaire's review against another edition

This kept getting recommended to me so I started it but it felt like I was forcing myself to listen to it and embrace the story in spite of all the religion but no dice. The story is kind of boring and doesn’t justify my needing to put aside the nun stuff to enjoy it.

cylas's review against another edition

adventurous reflective tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

bookwyrm76's review against another edition

5.0

Unusual, intense, a bit nonlinear and beautifully written. The main character is a queer, smoking, musician who is also a nun close to taking her permanent vows. Sister Holiday has her own past, which is unraveled as she investigates the fires and deaths at the Cathlic School where she teaches.

sandles81255's review against another edition

2.0

A more arrogant main character for me would be hard to find. I finished only because it was for book club.
Called the arsonist early on. Not sure if that’s good or bad.

emilyjaco25's review against another edition

3.0

This is a really fun premise but kind of pretty basic when it comes to the writing/plot.