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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
3.5 stars. There are a few too many twists in the final act, but overall it's not a bad read.
2.5 rounded down.
This started off strong and then it just felt so long. There were *so* many different plot points that just never really came together or overall didn't matter to the overall narrative. You could have plucked them out of the story and nothing would have changed. The Mary and Joy storyline should have been its own storyline. I didn't feel it was as fleshed out as it could have been, so when the narrative switched to those POVs it just took me out of the main storyline.
There were also quite a few harmful plot points used that just shouldn't have been. They should have been cut out by an editor.
This just had Too Much. Too many tangled plot points, too many harmful depictions, just too much. The writing is pretty strong, this just definitely needed an editor.
This started off strong and then it just felt so long. There were *so* many different plot points that just never really came together or overall didn't matter to the overall narrative. You could have plucked them out of the story and nothing would have changed. The Mary and Joy storyline should have been its own storyline. I didn't feel it was as fleshed out as it could have been, so when the narrative switched to those POVs it just took me out of the main storyline.
Spoiler
And then when we get the final twist of that plot line? A little bit much. And what was with the serial killer brother storyline? Like...why?>There were also quite a few harmful plot points used that just shouldn't have been. They should have been cut out by an editor.
Spoiler
These include: harmful depictions of Black foster parents and children; related the previous, we have a strong white savior complex with the MC (woof); the only gay folk are closeted; the villain is faking their disability.This just had Too Much. Too many tangled plot points, too many harmful depictions, just too much. The writing is pretty strong, this just definitely needed an editor.
The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor
What a horrifying title, especially because it's referring to two young girls being burned, after being tortured, all in the name of religion. This happened 500 years ago, when eight protestant martyrs were burned at the stake, in Chapel Croft. Now, Reverend Jack Brooks and her fifteen year old daughter are in Chapel Croft so that Jack can tend to the parish, after the last reverend hung himself. Although the location might have some slight resemblance to the TV show Midsomer Murders, as Jack will mention, things run much deeper and darker in Chapel Croft. Jack has her own murky path, covered in controversy, blood, and death and there is a violent stalker, who has just been released from prison.
Things immediately go badly when Jack and Flo arrive at their new home, with a bloody child arriving at the chapel, stories of sightings of the two burning martyred girls, and secretive and unwelcoming parishioners. Flo becomes friends with a strange, awkward boy, Jack is having terrible nightmares of the past and present, and few people want to discuss what has happened in the past. There is also the parish history of two teenage girls disappearing thirty years ago. And Jack is left a box that contains an exorcism kit and a scriptural warning. Jack is leaving a bloody controversy behind but seems to have landed in even more trouble than she has left.
I really enjoyed this story a lot although the teenage vicious bullying was more horrifying to me than the legends and sightings of the burning girls. But the bullying isn't just from teenagers, there are parishioners that are bullies, too. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree...parents need to beware of behavior that they may be passing on to their children. This is a complex tale with several timelines and with lots of characters to follow. After I finished the story, I had to think about what I'd read to figure out everything that had happened. It was less scary in a ghostly way but instead in real life "humans are cruel" way.
Publication: February 9, 2021
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books and NetGalley for this ARC.
What a horrifying title, especially because it's referring to two young girls being burned, after being tortured, all in the name of religion. This happened 500 years ago, when eight protestant martyrs were burned at the stake, in Chapel Croft. Now, Reverend Jack Brooks and her fifteen year old daughter are in Chapel Croft so that Jack can tend to the parish, after the last reverend hung himself. Although the location might have some slight resemblance to the TV show Midsomer Murders, as Jack will mention, things run much deeper and darker in Chapel Croft. Jack has her own murky path, covered in controversy, blood, and death and there is a violent stalker, who has just been released from prison.
Things immediately go badly when Jack and Flo arrive at their new home, with a bloody child arriving at the chapel, stories of sightings of the two burning martyred girls, and secretive and unwelcoming parishioners. Flo becomes friends with a strange, awkward boy, Jack is having terrible nightmares of the past and present, and few people want to discuss what has happened in the past. There is also the parish history of two teenage girls disappearing thirty years ago. And Jack is left a box that contains an exorcism kit and a scriptural warning. Jack is leaving a bloody controversy behind but seems to have landed in even more trouble than she has left.
I really enjoyed this story a lot although the teenage vicious bullying was more horrifying to me than the legends and sightings of the burning girls. But the bullying isn't just from teenagers, there are parishioners that are bullies, too. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree...parents need to beware of behavior that they may be passing on to their children. This is a complex tale with several timelines and with lots of characters to follow. After I finished the story, I had to think about what I'd read to figure out everything that had happened. It was less scary in a ghostly way but instead in real life "humans are cruel" way.
Publication: February 9, 2021
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books and NetGalley for this ARC.
CJ Tudor’s “The Burning Girls” is probably one of the most complex plots I have ever experienced. Despite this complexity, the flow and delivery of the novel could not be better.
In addition to the brilliant plot, there is still a surprising amount thrown into the mix, from vicars and priests, purges and exorcisms, to paranormal experiences. Quite simply, there is a lot going on in this book! Not to repeat myself (but it deserves repeating), CJ Tudor delivers it all with a precision and sleekness that is praise worthy.
I also really loved the characters, in particular Reverend Jack. Her honesty, flaws, background, and above all her relationship and dynamic with her daughter Flo are exceptionally well written. Some might say they would love to see more of her, but if this were to have been the first book in a series, we would have robbed by the holding back of some of the information/characteristics that make her so endearing.
After loving CJ Tudor’s “The Others”, I was initially thinking that this book wasn’t quite living up to the grandiose expectations I had for her new novel. But in all honesty, the book just got better and better to the point whereby I was battling to put it down. And what an epic twist at the end!
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for a review copy
In addition to the brilliant plot, there is still a surprising amount thrown into the mix, from vicars and priests, purges and exorcisms, to paranormal experiences. Quite simply, there is a lot going on in this book! Not to repeat myself (but it deserves repeating), CJ Tudor delivers it all with a precision and sleekness that is praise worthy.
I also really loved the characters, in particular Reverend Jack. Her honesty, flaws, background, and above all her relationship and dynamic with her daughter Flo are exceptionally well written. Some might say they would love to see more of her, but if this were to have been the first book in a series, we would have robbed by the holding back of some of the information/characteristics that make her so endearing.
After loving CJ Tudor’s “The Others”, I was initially thinking that this book wasn’t quite living up to the grandiose expectations I had for her new novel. But in all honesty, the book just got better and better to the point whereby I was battling to put it down. And what an epic twist at the end!
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for a review copy
DAMN, I did not see that coming!
Loved this, loved the twists.
Loved this, loved the twists.
dark
mysterious
tense
Reverend Jack and her 15-year-old daughter move to a quiet village to become its new vicar and to escape a scandal at her previous chapel. Their new church, Chapel Croft, is not as quiet as they expect, especially when Jack is given an exorcism kit upon arrival. All Jack knows is that several Chapel Croft Protestants were burned alive in the 1500s by Queen Mary I, then 30 years ago two teenage girls disappeared, and the vicar Jack is replacing hanged himself in the chapel just weeks ago. Are these events all related and why does Jack’s daughter keep seeing two burning girls around the grounds?
I absolutely loved “The Burning Girls”, making this the second book I’ve read by Tudor and I love her writing. The chapters are super short, with lots of cliff hangers, and dual point-of-views (mainly focusing on Jack). The “Burning Girls” is more of a thriller, with some horror thrown in but still good. It was a super quick read and I couldn’t put it down.
I absolutely loved “The Burning Girls”, making this the second book I’ve read by Tudor and I love her writing. The chapters are super short, with lots of cliff hangers, and dual point-of-views (mainly focusing on Jack). The “Burning Girls” is more of a thriller, with some horror thrown in but still good. It was a super quick read and I couldn’t put it down.
Bloody brilliant! Part horror, part thriller, plenty of pop culture references, a spunky female vicar. Very original and lots of strands coming together to a fantastic end. I loved it.