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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
When you try to be Bittersweet In the Hollow and fail.
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was an amazing Southern Gothic book and Xan Kaur can get another read for me. Neera's story became more interesting to me in the latter half of the book although at first he character seemed overshadowed by the other characters. Her character truly sings in the second half, pun intended.
I loved the twists. They were believably foreshadowed and not too overdone. I was delighted by the themes of classism woven into the lush southern setting. The scenery was written so well, I could hear the cicadas when I read.
This book does start off more slowly than your average YA and picks up towards the last quarter of the book but if you enjoy slowly unwinding well done mysteries and gothic tales then you will enjoy it!
I loved the twists. They were believably foreshadowed and not too overdone. I was delighted by the themes of classism woven into the lush southern setting. The scenery was written so well, I could hear the cicadas when I read.
This book does start off more slowly than your average YA and picks up towards the last quarter of the book but if you enjoy slowly unwinding well done mysteries and gothic tales then you will enjoy it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Gore, Physical abuse
Minor: Racism, Suicide, Xenophobia
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
When Devils Sing is definitely a vibe! I really liked the premise and the lore created for the world. I’m also a sucker for any story told in podcast segments, no matter how small!
There’s a pacing issue and a lack of urgency overall. The pacing felt a little all over the place, and it was difficult to tell what was happening when. I do feel like I needed at least one character to freak out about the devils. I know all the characters are used to the stories, but surely not all of them believed the devils were actually real? Or like, there are no real reveals because it seems like the characters knew more than they should? It just took some of the fun out of the story.
I think When Devils Sing loses itself a little in the end in an effort to bring the story to its conclusion. I think there were just too many threads to tie together, and it feels like something were forgotten or just written off quickly to bring some semblance of closure. The ending just feels a little messy.
I like some of the ideas and some of the real-world implications explored in When Devils Sing. Ultimately, I think it tries to do too much and tries to cover too much ground, so the ending feels rushed and somewhat unsatisfying.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.
Wow, wow, wow. Xan Kaur’s debut Southern gothic horror is a fast-paced novel I couldn’t put down. From the first page, Sam, Neera, Reid, and Isaiah’s stories gripped me. Each character lives a very different, complicated life with a complete mess of a family. The concept of this novel—three devils in total control of a small, corrupt Southern town starkly divided by income inequality—was entirely new and brilliant. The play in with the 13-year cicada cycle was gruesome, fantastical, perfect.
Reading When Devils Sing, I felt like I was back in the Deep South on a stifling summer night, listening to the scream of cicadas as a thunderstorm lights up the thick night sky. Kaur really grips you in & brings you right into the setting. The not so subtle comparison of Lake Clearwater to the real life Lake Lanier was a touch that I thought added some value to the story, although I sometimes felt like the racism of Carrion and Lake Clearwater was only lightly touched on. Those of us from the South know that it runs much deeper than that usually.
The interplay and exchange of POVs from the main characters was great. It wasn’t too many POVs where you lose track of who characters are and why you care, and it wasn’t limited either. This book wouldn’t have worked from just one person’s perspective, or third person. I enjoyed how the four were entangled in their own way, too. Coworkers, friends, lost friends, newfound friends, frienemies—the four of them had to work together to come together and build trust with one another. With each person having such a different background, it wasn’t easy, and really only the mystery and the final act is what really brought them together.
I had to bring my rating down a star because unfortunately the ending left me with some loose ends that I didn’t particular enjoy in that they felt a big plot hole-ish. First and foremost, who was the Third Devil & why did we never meet him? The story tells you there’s one to trick you, one to help you, and one to eat you alive. Is the third Devil the cicadas themselves??? But if the cicadas are the third Devil, but the third Devil appeared as a man to William Langley, why would they be this metaphysical presence instead of a human form like he was in the folk story? And in the end, Jack says he’s released from his burden because his brother is dead. What killed the main Devil, and if he was so powerful, why did we never meet him? I had sort of assumed that the third devil was the Langley family themselves, perhaps passed on generation to generation, but that doesn’t make a lot of sense. The Crow had a huge part of Neera’s story, and Jack Sam’s, but who is the third? That really bothered me, as I felt the entire final 10% that surely the devil himself would be revealed and he just… never was. My next “bothersome” gripe stems from a similar issue with Neera’s plot line. If Jack tells Sam that he’s released from doing his brother’s whims and no longer has any desire to make deals, why is Neera still bound to the deal she made with the Crow? And why was the black goo oozing from the crowd’s eyes during the 4th of July culmination just never explained? What on earth was that? I felt as if Neera really did not get her happy ending. She’s still bound to a man who genuinely enslaved her family, murdered her uncle, and impregnated & ditched her mother. The final line that she was all her own person on the stage felt like a cop out, especially since we know from her deal with Crow that she would accomplish her dreams but her voice will disappear one day. That ending for her when Sam got her happy ending just really bothered me.
If not for those unresolved issues and frustrating lack of justice/resolution for Neera’s story (you mean to tell me all the villains basically perished but Grant Langley is still walking around?), this could’ve been an easy 4.75 or higher. But those aren’t dealbreakers, and the atmospheric quality of the story and its setting, the horror that glues you to the page in the final act, and the characters’ individual stories are still wonderful. This is a solid 4/5.
Wow, wow, wow. Xan Kaur’s debut Southern gothic horror is a fast-paced novel I couldn’t put down. From the first page, Sam, Neera, Reid, and Isaiah’s stories gripped me. Each character lives a very different, complicated life with a complete mess of a family. The concept of this novel—three devils in total control of a small, corrupt Southern town starkly divided by income inequality—was entirely new and brilliant. The play in with the 13-year cicada cycle was gruesome, fantastical, perfect.
Reading When Devils Sing, I felt like I was back in the Deep South on a stifling summer night, listening to the scream of cicadas as a thunderstorm lights up the thick night sky. Kaur really grips you in & brings you right into the setting. The not so subtle comparison of Lake Clearwater to the real life Lake Lanier was a touch that I thought added some value to the story, although I sometimes felt like the racism of Carrion and Lake Clearwater was only lightly touched on. Those of us from the South know that it runs much deeper than that usually.
The interplay and exchange of POVs from the main characters was great. It wasn’t too many POVs where you lose track of who characters are and why you care, and it wasn’t limited either. This book wouldn’t have worked from just one person’s perspective, or third person. I enjoyed how the four were entangled in their own way, too. Coworkers, friends, lost friends, newfound friends, frienemies—the four of them had to work together to come together and build trust with one another. With each person having such a different background, it wasn’t easy, and really only the mystery and the final act is what really brought them together.
I had to bring my rating down a star because unfortunately the ending left me with some loose ends that I didn’t particular enjoy in that they felt a big plot hole-ish. First and foremost, who was the Third Devil & why did we never meet him? The story tells you there’s one to trick you, one to help you, and one to eat you alive. Is the third Devil the cicadas themselves??? But if the cicadas are the third Devil, but the third Devil appeared as a man to William Langley, why would they be this metaphysical presence instead of a human form like he was in the folk story? And in the end, Jack says he’s released from his burden because his brother is dead. What killed the main Devil, and if he was so powerful, why did we never meet him? I had sort of assumed that the third devil was the Langley family themselves, perhaps passed on generation to generation, but that doesn’t make a lot of sense. The Crow had a huge part of Neera’s story, and Jack Sam’s, but who is the third? That really bothered me, as I felt the entire final 10% that surely the devil himself would be revealed and he just… never was. My next “bothersome” gripe stems from a similar issue with Neera’s plot line. If Jack tells Sam that he’s released from doing his brother’s whims and no longer has any desire to make deals, why is Neera still bound to the deal she made with the Crow? And why was the black goo oozing from the crowd’s eyes during the 4th of July culmination just never explained? What on earth was that? I felt as if Neera really did not get her happy ending. She’s still bound to a man who genuinely enslaved her family, murdered her uncle, and impregnated & ditched her mother. The final line that she was all her own person on the stage felt like a cop out, especially since we know from her deal with Crow that she would accomplish her dreams but her voice will disappear one day. That ending for her when Sam got her happy ending just really bothered me.
If not for those unresolved issues and frustrating lack of justice/resolution for Neera’s story (you mean to tell me all the villains basically perished but Grant Langley is still walking around?), this could’ve been an easy 4.75 or higher. But those aren’t dealbreakers, and the atmospheric quality of the story and its setting, the horror that glues you to the page in the final act, and the characters’ individual stories are still wonderful. This is a solid 4/5.
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have to tell you, when this book first mentions the cicadas screaming in the woods, I was hooked.
This was EERIE. I have been incredibly addicted to gothic novels lately, and this felt really on par with that.
“The devil went down to Georgia…”
It is not lost on me that the name of this town is Carrion, and Carrion is “dead and decaying meat”. Novels often use Carrion as a way to describe raw, red meat. The lake of the town, is Lake Clearwater. (Clear water being transparent material).
So, the first clue that this novel will not be what you expect is the intricately picked names.
“There’s the devil you know, the devil you don’t know, and the devil you wish you’d never met.”
This book is a wild ride, and by the epilogue you are wondering if it was all some sort of fever dream.
The cicadas, the crow, the eerie vibes. This was beautifully done, and this felt all too real.
“What can I do when the whole world is watching?”
The way this story unfolded was like yarn unspooling. It felt slow at first and then suddenly there is so much happening. There’s yarn tangled in your hair, there’s yarn in your shoe, you cannot walk for tripping over yarn, and you’re wondering where the dang end is.
I loved how they swapped POV throughout the story, that it was not just one person. You got the same story from multiple POVS, and you got to put the story together yourself. This is not a sanitized tale, this is a haunting story.
When the cicadas appear, people go missing. This is paranormal, and this is amazing.
I highly recommend this story.
This was EERIE. I have been incredibly addicted to gothic novels lately, and this felt really on par with that.
“The devil went down to Georgia…”
It is not lost on me that the name of this town is Carrion, and Carrion is “dead and decaying meat”. Novels often use Carrion as a way to describe raw, red meat. The lake of the town, is Lake Clearwater. (Clear water being transparent material).
So, the first clue that this novel will not be what you expect is the intricately picked names.
“There’s the devil you know, the devil you don’t know, and the devil you wish you’d never met.”
This book is a wild ride, and by the epilogue you are wondering if it was all some sort of fever dream.
The cicadas, the crow, the eerie vibes. This was beautifully done, and this felt all too real.
“What can I do when the whole world is watching?”
The way this story unfolded was like yarn unspooling. It felt slow at first and then suddenly there is so much happening. There’s yarn tangled in your hair, there’s yarn in your shoe, you cannot walk for tripping over yarn, and you’re wondering where the dang end is.
I loved how they swapped POV throughout the story, that it was not just one person. You got the same story from multiple POVS, and you got to put the story together yourself. This is not a sanitized tale, this is a haunting story.
When the cicadas appear, people go missing. This is paranormal, and this is amazing.
I highly recommend this story.