Reviews

Tripping Arcadia by Kit Mayquist

lilystarrrrrrr's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

itsmandaaa's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

oleaceae_18's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

I liked the book and the gothic aspects a lot. I really enjoyed the glamorous parties and how shocking the wealth gap was between Lena's word and the Verdeaus. I think I was expecting more from the big reveal though, there was so much great buildup and mystery but they figured out the biggest part too early so that when it was fully explained at the end it just kind of seemed to fall flat. I was expecting it to be a red herring and that there was actually something else going on with Jonathan but it turned out to pretty much be exactly what was suspected earlier on.

vidhi26p's review against another edition

4.0

“Something sinister had settled into me. A sort of power, or a godly and energizing force that could only come with creation and only be fueled by a secret.”

What a hauntingly gorgeous novel. Riddled in secrets down dark corridors and families hell-bent on ruining everything they touch, this was a novel that captured my attention and refused to let it go. I finished the last half of this book in one sitting, the “just one more!” temptation had me hooked. It wasn’t a novel I would categorize as horror, but the dark and twisty tale was utterly engrossing.

lezreadalot's review

4.0

The human body, I believe, if it possesses a soul, can only contain so much anger before it surrenders.

3.5 stars. I'm ending it on a mostly good note, but there were several moments in this book where I just didn't know how to feel about it. I felt like the book itself didn't know what it was about. For the longest time, I was not a fan of Lena. I'm very cool with unlikeable protagonists, but I kept feeling like I was meant to be relating to her, and I just could not. To start from the top, this is about Lena, a med school dropout who finds employment with a rich family as the assistant to the family doctor. She feels an alluring attraction to the daughter, and a slow growing friendship with the son/patient, but there are dark secrets surrounding the elite family and she soon finds herself playing a dangerous role in the name of vengeance. 

So like, angry queer girls, revenge, punching up at the rich? I'm ALL ABOUT IT. But the start of the book did very little to convince me of anything. I don't really need a huge reason for a character to want to hit back at the rich, but Lena was so disconnected from her family (her mother and father and brother) that her crusade against Martin seemed sudden and overwrought, especially the extent to which she took it. And trust me, I can't believe that's something that I'M saying. But I just felt like whatever hook there was that was supposed to get us on board with Lena's plans... it just wasn't strong enough. I moved through the book with the sense like... yeah, I know why I should be rooting for Lena (and I'm not saying I wasn't; I was) but the text just didn't go far enough in taking me there, you know? IDK. I was dissatisfied, as I so often am dissatisfied, with most of the class commentary attempted. Lena's mother and father and friends could and should have played a way bigger role imo, especially near the end. That was when we needed some disparate voices, and the lack was sorely felt.

That said, the ending did end up making up for some of my earlier disappointment, and was what made me round up instead of down on this 3.5. The relationship between Jonathon and Lena was beautiful, and I ended up loving them just as much as I loved the romance with Audrey and Lena. Romance isn't really central to the novel, but I did enjoy that it was very deeply interwoven. The novel does live up to the tagline: it has a very gothic, lonely feeling, amidst all the elite partying and debauchery. I'm tempted to make a Gatsby comparison, even as someone who's never read or seen it. The light mystery aspects were good (though it's a stretch to call this a mystery) and even though I found the ending far too rushed to really love it, I did like the elements of it?

Listened to the audiobook as read by Carlotta Brentan, and it was probably what I enjoyed most about the book. Really good performance. Ultimately, I liked this enough and had a good enough time with this author's writing that I'll definitely try him again. This just wasn't all I wanted it to be.

Content warnings:

Spoiler

alcoholism, drug addiction, medical abuse, parental abuse, suicide ideation and attempt

.

branwynnemay's review against another edition

3.0

I loved this story until too many people were all basically botanists and it started to feel forced. The characters didn’t come alive for me, and by the end it felt meh. 

vannahsun's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Overall, I enjoyed this read and found it pretty easy to get through. I was a little underwhelmed by the novel’s execution and was expecting more based on the premise and description. I felt as if some of the twists, plot, and characters weren’t fully fleshed out and the character choices were sometimes odd and didn’t make sense. I was hoping for more romantic moments and chemistry between Lena and Audrey but the opportunity never fully presented itself. I loved the moments with Jonathan in Europe that was probably my favorite part of the novel. Ultimately, I feel like this novel had great potential and premise surrounding conversations of wealth, class, and power but I’m not sure if it fully hit the mark for me. The twists and ending felt rushed and not fully fleshed out which left me confused as a reader. Loved the cover art though! 

foolgender's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

3.75

tewspicy's review

4.0

it’s been a year and i still think about this book all the time. it felt like a fever dream. it wasn’t perfect but it was perfect for ME

flowerwineandbooks's review

3.0

First of all. My name (amber) is in this book 9 times and never once used to describe someone's eyes (like literally every fantasy novel written) and I just appreciate that so much.

The medieval history + botany + medicine was a unique twist and I really loved that premise!

The writing for the first half of the book was beautiful and lyrical and flowery and fit the atmosphere so well!
But by the second half, that wasn't the case. I was left a bit confused by the reveals toward the end and even unable to picture what was happening. It felt like reading the story but some key sentences were just removed.

I love the characters. Jonathan and Audrey being the highlights for me. Ant the antagonistic characters were so wonderfully easy to despise. Jonathan's bookshop moment was my favorite scene in this book by far, it was so wholesome and lovely to see him peel back those layers and truly be happy for a moment! Martin crushing this moment was almost too much to bear.
However, I wish the connections between characters felt more fleshed out. Where did the friendly maid/cook go to support Lena? Did Lena's Aunt really mean that much to her, she was barely there? Why were Anna and Rumi in the book at all? Audrey and Lena had no chemistry and wasn't there a ginger man who loved Jonathan, where did he go?