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cortanasreadingnook's review
Thanks to North Star Editions for sending me an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. This does not affect my thoughts about the book in any way.
This is the best possible way I could articulate my thoughts about this book, but it is unfortunately, very terrible. I rarely DNF when I’ve progressed to 41%, but I cannot say anything that makes this book redeemable. I am part of the minority who disliked this and these are just my thoughts.
CWs/TWs: Sexual Assault, Suicide, Depression, Mental Illness, Adult/Minor Relationship, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Sexual Harassment, Sexism
Bell’s writing paints an eerily atmospheric picture. It is poetic and has lots of potential but is very dragging. Almost halfway through and I could see why other readers did not like this at all. With these amount of CWs, you’d think the writer would’ve handled these issues in a manner that compliments the story and its main character’s purpose, but the execution was bad. I am not intentionally being mean, but this story made me so uncomfortable, especially with the Adult/Minor relationship and how Temperance (the fmc) dealt with SA. The FMC’s goal was to provide for and protect her sister, which I have nothing against, and SA survivors do not owe the world their story, but Tempe was clearly protecting her sister and she failed to do so by hiding substantial information from her, defending her abuser by disguising his actions as rejection. This was a constant reminder throughout the book that it just lost how crucial this should’ve been addressed. In the end, her sister ends up with a pedophile who preyed on her emphasizing how he’s “pushing her for another child” despite her not being ready and our main character loses her mind. It strayed away from the purpose of the story as a whole. I am not trying to be harsh here, but if you want to write a book that says “fuck the patriarchy” then don’t write a book where men still win.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicide, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Grief, and Sexual harassment
bookended's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this E-Arc.
I give this read a 4.5! What a terribly beautiful read. It’s been a while since I’ve been hooked on a book so much that I cannot put it down. This did just that and more ! Every chapter left me with such a eerie feeling that had me at the edge of my seat. It was as though i was right there in the fog with Temperance! I usually do not read horror of any kind but I feel like this read might’ve changed my mind !
I rated it 4.5 because the epilogue didn’t feel too *final* for me!
TW: Suicide, Physical/Sexual Abuse, Parental Death, Murder
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexual violence, Suicide, Death of parent, Grief, Death, and Murder
camiclarkbooks's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“The Lamplighter” by Crystal J. Bell is an eerie young adult historical horrors, making it the perfect fit for readers in search of a haunting read. Set in a nineteenth century whaling port, the town of Warbler is famous for its lucky ship figureheads and infamous for people going missing in its fog. In such a community, the lamplighter is a valued position that offers protection from the fog. It’s a job that Temperance takes on following the suicide of her father.
After a girl goes missing the same night two of Tempe’s lamps go out, her job thus the means to support her mother and younger sister, hangs in the balance. She is determined to uncover what really happened and prove to the town authorities that she should keep her position as lamplighter. During her investigation, Tempe makes an unsettling discovery about the renowned figureheads and her father’s death. But every time she warns someone about the monster lurking among them, she’s ignored. Tempe must decide whether to look the other way when more of her neighbors disappear or to make herself heard about her discoveries, which might doom herself and her sister to go missing next.
“The Lamplighter” was a haunting tale that perfectly suited the dreary winter weather my area had while I read it. I like a spooky book and this one was almost a little too spooky for me but I still enjoyed it!
Bell’s main character, Tempe, was a strong girl fiercely determined to protect her mother and younger sister after her father hanged himself on a lamppost after his route. Tempe does regularly face adversity from the townspeople regarding her holding the respected position of lamplighter as a woman, but it genuinely added to the plot and felt grounded without beating the reader down. The constant tragedies did that instead!
It took a few chapters for the plot to really get going, but when that ball was rolling it didn’t stop until the acknowledgements section at the end! I was on the edge of my seat as soon as Tempe made her first discovery about the mysterious disappearances and my jaw hit the floor at the twist ending. Although this is clearly a standalone novel, I would love to know what happened after the epilogue.
As with most historical books I read, there’s always a section where I say “I’m a professional historian and there was a part that was so inaccurate I couldn’t get over it.” This one is admittedly very petty, but would have been a very easy fix which is why I’m still going to mention it—Tempe references using bobby pins at several times through the book. The book is set at some point in the 1800s, but bobby pins weren’t invented until after World War I (“bobby pin” was originally a trademarked brand name, chosen for the bobbed hair styles of the 1920s and how the pins helped secure those hairstyles! Eventually bobby pin became the ubiquitous name, sort of like Kleenex.). Instead, Tempe should have been using either hair pins or a hat pin, depending on the situation. Does the use of bobby pins ruin the book? No, but I wouldn’t have been pulled out of the story so many times if Bell had used the correct terms.
Bobby pins aside, “The Lamplighter” is a haunting, atmospheric read. It gives all the autumn and winter vibes and would be a great addition to your TBR. But if you’re reading it after hours, consider keeping a light on…
I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, Suicide, Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, Murder, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcohol, Kidnapping, Blood, and Alcoholism
not_another_ana's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher
Set in a whaling town in the 19th century the story follows Temperance, a young woman who's been forced to take up her late father's job as a lamplighter in order to provide for her mother and younger sister. It's a very important job, the fog in this village is dangerous and it's common for people to disappear in the dark. The responsability is heavy on her shoulders, not helped by the distrust of the men in power who consider her less competent for being a woman. When a girl goes missing the same night two lights go out not only is Tempe's job on the line but also her safety, as something is haunting the streets and endangering everyone.
The concept is quite solid, I picked this up because I was intrigued by the choice of a lamplighter as a protagonist. The writing is good and I generally liked the characters. My issue with this book was how much the middle dragged. The first chapters do a great job of setting the scene and the plot, and then the book just meanders until the middle or so when a very obvious reveal happens. After that it starts picking up again but the previous slog had lost my attention.
There was something else that took me out of the immersion and it was how heavy handed the author handled certain messages. I get it, it's a YA but the constant (very obvious!) references to how bad the misogyny was and how men were ruining everything felt like getting hit in the face by a shovel. I think a lot of my complaints can be traced to me not being the target audience for this book and that's fine, perhaps a young teenaged girl will appreciate the message way more. I will say I did enjoy the ending, it felt like a perfect way to wrap up the book. I'm glad the author decided to go there, this is (after all) a horror book. I also want to mention the cover, the illustrator did a fantastic job.
Set in a whaling town in the 19th century the story follows Temperance, a young woman who's been forced to take up her late father's job as a lamplighter in order to provide for her mother and younger sister. It's a very important job, the fog in this village is dangerous and it's common for people to disappear in the dark. The responsability is heavy on her shoulders, not helped by the distrust of the men in power who consider her less competent for being a woman. When a girl goes missing the same night two lights go out not only is Tempe's job on the line but also her safety, as something is haunting the streets and endangering everyone.
The concept is quite solid, I picked this up because I was intrigued by the choice of a lamplighter as a protagonist. The writing is good and I generally liked the characters. My issue with this book was how much the middle dragged. The first chapters do a great job of setting the scene and the plot, and then the book just meanders until the middle or so when a very obvious reveal happens. After that it starts picking up again but the previous slog had lost my attention.
There was something else that took me out of the immersion and it was how heavy handed the author handled certain messages. I get it, it's a YA but the constant (very obvious!) references to how bad the misogyny was and how men were ruining everything felt like getting hit in the face by a shovel. I think a lot of my complaints can be traced to me not being the target audience for this book and that's fine, perhaps a young teenaged girl will appreciate the message way more. I will say I did enjoy the ending, it felt like a perfect way to wrap up the book. I'm glad the author decided to go there, this is (after all) a horror book. I also want to mention the cover, the illustrator did a fantastic job.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Suicide, Body horror, and Sexual harassment
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