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lexslittlecorner's review against another edition
4.0
I walked into this book not knowing or expecting much, and if I'd been wearing any socks it would have blown them off.
Set in Southern America in the bible belt, I certainly had a few reservations about reading this book but I quickly learned this is not a religious preachy story. It's a story about how despite the differences that people believe should that stop you following what will make you happy?
Alternating between 3 characters POV's as they enter their final year of high school in a small town, we start with our main protagonist Dillard Early. With his father of the same name, a Preacher having been jailed for his sins, Dill struggles with small town life after his fathers convictions. Dill struggles to find out who he is and what he wants to do with his life. With both his mother and father convincing him that he is responsible for his fathers circumstances and that he owes it to the family to leave school and work to pay off the family's debt. Dill doesn't know what he wants, but he knows the end of school means one of his best friends leaving for college and leaving him behind to stack shelves at the supermarket.
Enter best friend #1, Lydia a fashion obsessed blogger looking for her ticket out of this town. She dreams big and believes anyone can achieve their dreams. If you want something badly enough put the work in and you'll get it, is her motto. She tries to show Dill and Travis that they don't have to be stuck doing what their parents did, high school - dead end job - family - issues - depression. Lydia will do anything for her friends and wants to see them happy. Everyone needs a Lydia in their life. Essentially she's Dill and Travis' personal cheerleader.
And then there's Travis best friend #2, the odd ball of a trio of oddballs dressing all in black with his dragon necklace and staff. He surrounds himself in the fantasy world of his favourite book series 'Bloodfall', spending his time in forums discussing plot theories and the upcoming final book release all in an effort to escape his shitty life with his shitty dad.
The Serpent King is a surprising story of how three people all from the same town but all with different family lives want nothing more than a better life, whatever that may be.
Set in Southern America in the bible belt, I certainly had a few reservations about reading this book but I quickly learned this is not a religious preachy story. It's a story about how despite the differences that people believe should that stop you following what will make you happy?
Alternating between 3 characters POV's as they enter their final year of high school in a small town, we start with our main protagonist Dillard Early. With his father of the same name, a Preacher having been jailed for his sins, Dill struggles with small town life after his fathers convictions. Dill struggles to find out who he is and what he wants to do with his life. With both his mother and father convincing him that he is responsible for his fathers circumstances and that he owes it to the family to leave school and work to pay off the family's debt. Dill doesn't know what he wants, but he knows the end of school means one of his best friends leaving for college and leaving him behind to stack shelves at the supermarket.
Enter best friend #1, Lydia a fashion obsessed blogger looking for her ticket out of this town. She dreams big and believes anyone can achieve their dreams. If you want something badly enough put the work in and you'll get it, is her motto. She tries to show Dill and Travis that they don't have to be stuck doing what their parents did, high school - dead end job - family - issues - depression. Lydia will do anything for her friends and wants to see them happy. Everyone needs a Lydia in their life. Essentially she's Dill and Travis' personal cheerleader.
And then there's Travis best friend #2, the odd ball of a trio of oddballs dressing all in black with his dragon necklace and staff. He surrounds himself in the fantasy world of his favourite book series 'Bloodfall', spending his time in forums discussing plot theories and the upcoming final book release all in an effort to escape his shitty life with his shitty dad.
The Serpent King is a surprising story of how three people all from the same town but all with different family lives want nothing more than a better life, whatever that may be.
caveatlectors's review
5.0
I was recommended this as an audiobook from a dear friend. What she didn’t mention to me was that I was going to bawl my eyes out for over a hour. This is my first book by this author and I also didn’t know what it was about. I didn’t read the synopsis so when I found out it’s based in TN I enjoyed it even more because it involved places I’ve visited or wanted to visit. Living in KY means the audiobook also brought out my country accent which I wasn’t raised with.
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It has been quite away since a book has made me hurt and bawl. I enjoyed every second of this, the world I was set into, the friendships, the dilemmas, and giggles it brought out of me. If you’re looking for a good cry, this will do it. It also brings you into a world that I’ve never heard of any other author writing about, the world of priests/preachers handling snakes are part of religious reasoning.
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It has been quite away since a book has made me hurt and bawl. I enjoyed every second of this, the world I was set into, the friendships, the dilemmas, and giggles it brought out of me. If you’re looking for a good cry, this will do it. It also brings you into a world that I’ve never heard of any other author writing about, the world of priests/preachers handling snakes are part of religious reasoning.
mmardybum's review
i thought it wouldnt get to me, but it did. and then it all went downhill with the romance bullshit thingy.
jolierice99's review
5.0
Oh my god, had pretty low expectations for this book, but it was SO GOOD. I just blew through it, and couldn't put it down. But watch out, I also ugly tired for like 20 minutes, so there's that. But totally worth the read, it was heart-wrenching and fantastic, I loved it so much.
girlinthepages's review
5.0
My first Emery Lord read was When We Collided, so the bar for not only expectations, but for creativity and eccentricity as well, was set extremely high. You can imagine my shock when I then immediately after read The Start of Me and You, which while a cute contemporary, felt almost as though it was written by a completely different author. The...tameness...of it compared to When We Collided was shocking. While a romance, the novel focused heavily on female friendships (to varying degrees of success...some of them were great, and some of the girls felt a bit like stereotypes). While fluffy, the undercurrent of the story hinged on a rather morbid, traumatic experience, with Paige having experienced a loss in her past that has overshadowed her high school social and emotional growth. However, though it felt a little young to me, The Start of Me and You did have some sweet moments with depth and had a warm, feel good conclusion that provided the perfect amount of closure for Paige's story.
Overall: A sweet, quick read that has a some swoon-worthy moments over a refreshingly realistic love interest. This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages
Overall: A sweet, quick read that has a some swoon-worthy moments over a refreshingly realistic love interest. This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages
mckinlay's review
3.0
[3.5 stars] Because of everyone's reviews I basically predicted the twist within a couple of chapters. Sadly, I don't know if i would have liked it more had I not called it.
I will say, I think Jeff's writing is very compelling. He makes me feel things. I wanted to climb into the book and beat some asses. As for the characters, I loved Travis the most. I really liked Lydia and how awesome she was in a setting that isn't very conducive to liberal and outspoken women. I actually thought Dil was pretty selfish when it came to his friendship with Lydia. And it annoyed me constantly. But it also annoyed me that he was unwilling to be selfish when it came to his parents.
All in all, if you've managed to avoid people talking about this book, and the synopsis sounds good to you, I'd say give it a go. But TW for abuse, alcoholism, suicide, death, and depression. Probably more that I'm forgetting. It's definitely a very intense book.
I will say, I think Jeff's writing is very compelling. He makes me feel things. I wanted to climb into the book and beat some asses. As for the characters, I loved Travis the most. I really liked Lydia and how awesome she was in a setting that isn't very conducive to liberal and outspoken women. I actually thought Dil was pretty selfish when it came to his friendship with Lydia. And it annoyed me constantly. But it also annoyed me that he was unwilling to be selfish when it came to his parents.
All in all, if you've managed to avoid people talking about this book, and the synopsis sounds good to you, I'd say give it a go. But TW for abuse, alcoholism, suicide, death, and depression. Probably more that I'm forgetting. It's definitely a very intense book.
pixie23's review
3.0
First of all, I'd like to thank Goodreads for the lovely hardback copy of The Serpent King that I received as a prize from a giveaway. I was very excited to read this book!
And now, for a review: I liked this book. I genuinely thought the characters and the setting were likeable, and some passages were poetic and nicely-written. However, it felt like something was missing throughout most of the book; in the beginnings of books, it's natural to have this "calm before the storm" feeling. In The Serpent King, I felt that something in the story was lacking even after. I didn't feel fulfilled. I thought that several moments throughout the book seemed undeveloped and as if they were forced into the story. It felt very checklist-y, like the author had thought he needed to fulfill certain requirements for this to be an original story. The concept of the story was very cool and original, but I think that even with that, I will only remember this book as another young adult tearjerker.
And now, for a review: I liked this book. I genuinely thought the characters and the setting were likeable, and some passages were poetic and nicely-written. However, it felt like something was missing throughout most of the book; in the beginnings of books, it's natural to have this "calm before the storm" feeling. In The Serpent King, I felt that something in the story was lacking even after
Spoiler
Travis was murdered and Dill and Lydia go through their teenage soul-searching/ tragic aftermathmissmary98's review
4.0
It took me a little while to get into this. And I was not expecting to cry. But I did. I actually really enjoyed this in the end, although there were some aspects that I wasn't too keen on.