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aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition
medium-paced
3.5
Check trigger/content warnings!
Overall I liked the writing and the characters and the premise. I thought the ending was pretty decent too at the very least it was satisfying enough. I think some of the more sinister feelings/thoughts could have been more amped up especially when it was talking negatively about the rich and the mystery of Jonathan's illness. I think the realization of what his illness was was a bit rushed feeling. I wish there was more focus also on Lena's knowledge/execution of plant knowledge.
I would be willing to check out more from this author in the future even though I didn't love this.
Overall I liked the writing and the characters and the premise. I thought the ending was pretty decent too at the very least it was satisfying enough. I think some of the more sinister feelings/thoughts could have been more amped up especially when it was talking negatively about the rich and the mystery of Jonathan's illness. I think the realization of what his illness was was a bit rushed feeling. I wish there was more focus also on Lena's knowledge/execution of plant knowledge.
I would be willing to check out more from this author in the future even though I didn't love this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
singalana's review against another edition
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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Sorry to say that this book didn’t quite live up to the hype. It had a promising premise and start, but it all fell a bit flat in the end.
Tripping Arcadia is marketed as a gothic novel perfect for fans of Mexican gothic. To be honest, it’s more of a thriller than anything else, apart from a few dreamlike sequences that read a bit like horror.
Being Kit Mayquist’s debut novel, it’s pretty decent, but it suffers some of the problems that are quite typical for debut novels. Our main character, Lena, is a medical school dropout forced to return from Europe to help her parents deal with their financial troubles resulting from her father being injured and laid off. Lena lands a job as an assistant to the family doctor of an extremely wealthy family, helping the doctor deal with the sickly heir to the family company. Soon, Lena discovers the sinister side of the patriarch of the family and decides that he should be taken down a peg.
The main character, Lena, feels a bit basic, and she easily lets other people talk her into things. She also has divided loyalties pretty much throughout the book. Then we have Audrey, the eldest child of the wealthy Verdeau family. Audrey is stylish and easily approachable; Lena is immediately drawn to her. The chronically ill heir to the family fortune, Jonathan spends his days abusing various substances but has a surprisingly poetic side to him. He has his own doctor, Prosenko, to take care of his health. Above everything else is the patriarch, Martin Verdeau.
The writing style was fine, even though it was a bit hard to read at times, especially towards the end. In the action-packed scenes, it felt slightly hard to follow what was happening and who was doing what. Neither the characters nor the prose managed to raise emotions in me.
Now we venture into spoiler territory, so be warned.
At that point, the story shifted from a poor vs. rich narrative to a cat-and-mouse game of poisons. It became less interesting and less believable. Would someone born into wealth take Lena into their confidence like that? Besides, Lena’s attraction to both Audrey and Jonathan was completely unnecessary, and I didn’t buy her chemistry with Jonathan AT ALL. With Audrey, it felt more organic.
The ending was very convoluted and confusing, and the motives, not to mention the methods, were so strange! The whole story behind Jonathan’s illness was completely unbelievable. And whatever happened to Prosenko? If it was mentioned in the book, I completely missed it. I think the “happy ending” didn’t fit the book's tone, especially not the first half.
This book had so much potential but missed the mark for me.
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
our_bookish_reads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
What an amazing debut novel! Bravo Kit Mayquist, bravo! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
The events that transpire are so well written that they're believable. Even the characters were believable! My favorite character was Jonathan, I just felt for him and he seemed the most real in this. I was so sucked into this book that I had to force myself to peel it away from my eyes! I was shocked by some of the twists in here and did NOT expect the last few bombshells! I can kind of get how this is compared to The Great Gatsby in that it compares the filthy rich to the absolute poor.... it also had a slight mysterious ambience while still staying in the Psychological Thriller genre.
I could go on and on about this book all night, I really could, but I don't want to give away the whole story!
Drug abuse, alcohol, suicide ideation and attempt are very heavy in this, so if that is a trigger, I'd advise you to skip this one.
The events that transpire are so well written that they're believable. Even the characters were believable! My favorite character was Jonathan, I just felt for him and he seemed the most real in this. I was so sucked into this book that I had to force myself to peel it away from my eyes! I was shocked by some of the twists in here and did NOT expect the last few bombshells! I can kind of get how this is compared to The Great Gatsby in that it compares the filthy rich to the absolute poor.... it also had a slight mysterious ambience while still staying in the Psychological Thriller genre.
I could go on and on about this book all night, I really could, but I don't want to give away the whole story!
Drug abuse, alcohol, suicide ideation and attempt are very heavy in this, so if that is a trigger, I'd advise you to skip this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Minor: Abandonment
caseythereader's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Thanks to Dutton Books for the free copy of this book.
- TRIPPING ARCADIA is quite the ride! Blending gothic horror with modern nightmares and a heavy dash of queerness, it's visceral and gripping at every turn.
- I found myself quite invested in the Verdeaus in an unexplainable way just as Lena was.
- Some of the plot machinations were a bit tidy and predictable, but I still quite enjoyed the trip. I'll be interested to see what Mayquist does next.
- TRIPPING ARCADIA is quite the ride! Blending gothic horror with modern nightmares and a heavy dash of queerness, it's visceral and gripping at every turn.
- I found myself quite invested in the Verdeaus in an unexplainable way just as Lena was.
- Some of the plot machinations were a bit tidy and predictable, but I still quite enjoyed the trip. I'll be interested to see what Mayquist does next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
thebookishroo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
5.0
Tripping Arcadia by Kit Mayquist grabbed me and didn’t let go! This modern-day gothic novel kept me on the edge of my seat and up well past my bedtime. Though flawed and not always good people, I cared about the three main characters and rooted for them throughout the book. Mayquist’s writing was engaging, raw, and poetic. It beautifully captured the flawed characters, the debauched Gatsby-esque parties, the anger and compassion of our protagonist, and the gothic decay and beauty of the settings. The book gave a similar feel as The Secret History by Donna Tartt (one of my favorite books!) and had a hint of dark academia within the gothic tale. You will not want to miss this book! I highly recommend pre-ordering Tripping Arcadia, especially with some attractive pre-order incentives available!
Thank you to Edelweiss+ and Penguin Publishing Group for an eARC of this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol
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