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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
eviethebookworm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Lamplighter by Crystal J. Bell is a haunting historical fiction tale.
Tempe is a stubborn and ambitious character who has plenty on her shoulders. We join her just as Warbler starts experiencing more missing locals and other incidents that shake the community.
A highlight of this debut YA novel is the way the narrative crescendoes as we follow Tempe's efforts to untangle Warbler's strange past and present. As the truth is uncovered, I found myself unable to put the novel down – I simply had to know what was going to unfold.
I would recommend this novel if you enjoy entry level horror, something a but spooky, and a strong female lead.
Tempe is a stubborn and ambitious character who has plenty on her shoulders. We join her just as Warbler starts experiencing more missing locals and other incidents that shake the community.
A highlight of this debut YA novel is the way the narrative crescendoes as we follow Tempe's efforts to untangle Warbler's strange past and present. As the truth is uncovered, I found myself unable to put the novel down – I simply had to know what was going to unfold.
I would recommend this novel if you enjoy entry level horror, something a but spooky, and a strong female lead.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Suicide, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Murder, Sexism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Mental illness
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