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readundancies's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
I’ve seen some reviews contest the practice of labelling this book as a gothic novel and I don’t agree. It’s not a traditional gothic tale in the sense that the setting is not mid 19th-century with all of the Gothic Revival architecture, but despite it’s more modern take on the genre with it being set in 50s Illinois, it’s still gothic in nature. There’s stronger horror elements paired alongside paranormal aspects, but at its core, this does appear to be historical gothic fiction.
The writing is very atmospheric. It’s gloomy and melancholic, with a main character that’s ill fitting in the world she finds herself in and a mother figure whose misanthropy is steeped in what is either curse or delusion and it’s captivating. The suspense is strong and it helps in traversing the rather slow pace of the novel. I really enjoyed the way that Sarai Walker set the scenes of each chapter and the subdivision of the parts within. However, I think a lot of the foreshadowing was a bit too heavy-handed and in your face as the reader; it reinforced the atmosphere of the story, but also made it seem like the suspense was overly dramatic at times.
There’s also a bit of a misconception that this is more of a mystery novel. Which I can understand, but upon finishing this story, ambiguity is the name of the game and the mystery surrounding the Chapel family is not the focus of the novel. There are no answers given to the reader upon finishing this tale because there are no real questions with which the Chapel curse is of importance. The whys and why nots behind the curse are not addressed, it simply exists and so we instead explore how the Chapel sisters grapple with the curse.
The characters are definitely distinct but what you get as a reader from them is little; they’re not very open to Iris as our narrator and so we don’t get to really see what makes them tick. Iris is an interesting lead character because her interpretation of the world around her and her family is coloured by the fact that she could be an unreliable narrator. I could never be sure that what she was saying about her past was entirely truthful, whether that’s because she was addled in the head like her mother or because of the paranormal events that occur throughout the story.
I will say that I think the ending makes the tale feel rather unfinished. The ending itself is not the problem, I actually think the abruptness and the finality of it works well, but the execution feels a bit muddled. I wanted more of a punch to send me off at the end, more of a tighter KO than the jumbled flurry of things happening that all culminated to a single hanging dash.
The pacing was also slow, and it really started to feel that way by Calla and Daphne’s almost joint demise. Then Zelie just became an annoyance to deal with. It felt too long in that there were almost too many paired sisters (we could’ve stopped at 5 I think because there was also Belinda to contend with), and yet not long enough with respect to how much is packed in that last chapter and glossed over. Sylvia Wren didn’t get enough page time for me in lieu of Iris Chapel’s slow moving story because the synopsis seemed to advertise that we’d get to know this alias a little more than we actually get to.
I think one of the strongest aspects of the novel are the themes that are tackled, especially those of sexuality, misogyny and motherhood. The way that motherhood specifically was explored through Belinda, a troubled mother who never wanted children or marriage, and the impact her actions had on her children, really showcased how poorly women have been treated throughout time and how stifled and powerless their situations often were, even in the context of extreme wealth. The madwomen trope was alive and kicking in this story, and I truly loved how Sarai Walker constructed such a juxtaposition between marriage and weddings (which are normally displayed as positive and happy events) with this idea of incarceration and institutionalization, in that the Chapel girls literally attributed their family home to that of a wedding cake.
All in all, though I didn’t fall in love with this read, I don’t regret picking it up and trying it, and so if you’re in the mood for a gothic novel with strong feminist themes and strange unsettling deaths, this may just fit the bill.
The writing is very atmospheric. It’s gloomy and melancholic, with a main character that’s ill fitting in the world she finds herself in and a mother figure whose misanthropy is steeped in what is either curse or delusion and it’s captivating. The suspense is strong and it helps in traversing the rather slow pace of the novel. I really enjoyed the way that Sarai Walker set the scenes of each chapter and the subdivision of the parts within. However, I think a lot of the foreshadowing was a bit too heavy-handed and in your face as the reader; it reinforced the atmosphere of the story, but also made it seem like the suspense was overly dramatic at times.
There’s also a bit of a misconception that this is more of a mystery novel. Which I can understand, but upon finishing this story, ambiguity is the name of the game and the mystery surrounding the Chapel family is not the focus of the novel. There are no answers given to the reader upon finishing this tale because there are no real questions with which the Chapel curse is of importance. The whys and why nots behind the curse are not addressed, it simply exists and so we instead explore how the Chapel sisters grapple with the curse.
The characters are definitely distinct but what you get as a reader from them is little; they’re not very open to Iris as our narrator and so we don’t get to really see what makes them tick. Iris is an interesting lead character because her interpretation of the world around her and her family is coloured by the fact that she could be an unreliable narrator. I could never be sure that what she was saying about her past was entirely truthful, whether that’s because she was addled in the head like her mother or because of the paranormal events that occur throughout the story.
I will say that I think the ending makes the tale feel rather unfinished. The ending itself is not the problem, I actually think the abruptness and the finality of it works well, but the execution feels a bit muddled. I wanted more of a punch to send me off at the end, more of a tighter KO than the jumbled flurry of things happening that all culminated to a single hanging dash.
The pacing was also slow, and it really started to feel that way by Calla and Daphne’s almost joint demise. Then Zelie just became an annoyance to deal with. It felt too long in that there were almost too many paired sisters (we could’ve stopped at 5 I think because there was also Belinda to contend with), and yet not long enough with respect to how much is packed in that last chapter and glossed over. Sylvia Wren didn’t get enough page time for me in lieu of Iris Chapel’s slow moving story because the synopsis seemed to advertise that we’d get to know this alias a little more than we actually get to.
I think one of the strongest aspects of the novel are the themes that are tackled, especially those of sexuality, misogyny and motherhood. The way that motherhood specifically was explored through Belinda, a troubled mother who never wanted children or marriage, and the impact her actions had on her children, really showcased how poorly women have been treated throughout time and how stifled and powerless their situations often were, even in the context of extreme wealth. The madwomen trope was alive and kicking in this story, and I truly loved how Sarai Walker constructed such a juxtaposition between marriage and weddings (which are normally displayed as positive and happy events) with this idea of incarceration and institutionalization, in that the Chapel girls literally attributed their family home to that of a wedding cake.
All in all, though I didn’t fall in love with this read, I don’t regret picking it up and trying it, and so if you’re in the mood for a gothic novel with strong feminist themes and strange unsettling deaths, this may just fit the bill.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, and Blood
theroyaltyreader's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
4⭐
At first, it was kinda slow but a proper one. It's kinda slow as it wants to build first the characters. Honestly, six daughters presence in this book reminds me of Pride & Prejudice but with a delirious mother. Okay, delirious mother, the beginning of the horror chapter. But, it's kinda cliché when the mother kept giving warning that sounds "something bad is gonna happen". Horror scenes were adequate but it might felt scary if you read it at night. Seems like exorcisms and some scenes were definitely lead to sadness and hollow.
As we progressed more, I noticed that this more onto family curse. Not so haunting-ish type. Still cool. Readers also were introduced on feminism theme which it touched on periods, marriage life, marital rape, educations & woman's mental health perception. love how author mentioned women were always silenced and dismissed the statement for being women. men simply can't believe women just because women herself.
But the curse itself don't have a clear explainatory. I can assumed that because of the family created gun who killed a lot of people, some victims might curse upon this family to not continuing the generation
At first, it was kinda slow but a proper one. It's kinda slow as it wants to build first the characters. Honestly, six daughters presence in this book reminds me of Pride & Prejudice but with a delirious mother. Okay, delirious mother, the beginning of the horror chapter. But, it's kinda cliché when the mother kept giving warning that sounds "something bad is gonna happen". Horror scenes were adequate but it might felt scary if you read it at night. Seems like exorcisms and some scenes were definitely lead to sadness and hollow.
As we progressed more, I noticed that this more onto family curse. Not so haunting-ish type. Still cool. Readers also were introduced on feminism theme which it touched on periods, marriage life, marital rape, educations & woman's mental health perception. love how author mentioned women were always silenced and dismissed the statement for being women. men simply can't believe women just because women herself.
But the curse itself don't have a clear explainatory. I can assumed that because of the family created gun who killed a lot of people, some victims might curse upon this family to not continuing the generation
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Rape, and Mental illness
wateringpages's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I'd like to thank HMH/Mariner Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I'm a huge fan of the gothic genre, and the sort of revival that we've been seeing of the gothic within the contemporary scene has been very enjoyable for me. The Cherry Robbers is no exception. It's a beautifully constructed novel about femininity, sexuality, and grief.
The Cherry Robbers follows the Chapel daughters, who are heiresses to the Chapel firearms fortune. But their story doesn't begin with them, it has always existed. We open with Sylvia Wren, a renowned, yet elusive artist living in New Mexico. We learn that she is, in fact, Iris Chapel, the fifth (of six) daughter of the Chapel family. The majority of the novel is set as a flashback to when the six girls were growing up, and the fates that befell them. We learn that their father is very detached, and their mother, Belinda, never really wanted the life that she has. She's believed to be insane because she thinks that their house is haunted by the ghosts of people killed by the firearms produced by Chapel.
While there's not a lot of horror involved, the eerie atmosphere that Walker sets and maintains is extremely captivating. It took me a while to be fully engrossed because I wasn't sure of the direction the story would take at the beginning, but it's well wrapped-up with a very satisfying arc throughout.
The Cherry Robbers is set to be published in February 2022.
I'm a huge fan of the gothic genre, and the sort of revival that we've been seeing of the gothic within the contemporary scene has been very enjoyable for me. The Cherry Robbers is no exception. It's a beautifully constructed novel about femininity, sexuality, and grief.
The Cherry Robbers follows the Chapel daughters, who are heiresses to the Chapel firearms fortune. But their story doesn't begin with them, it has always existed. We open with Sylvia Wren, a renowned, yet elusive artist living in New Mexico. We learn that she is, in fact, Iris Chapel, the fifth (of six) daughter of the Chapel family. The majority of the novel is set as a flashback to when the six girls were growing up, and the fates that befell them. We learn that their father is very detached, and their mother, Belinda, never really wanted the life that she has. She's believed to be insane because she thinks that their house is haunted by the ghosts of people killed by the firearms produced by Chapel.
While there's not a lot of horror involved, the eerie atmosphere that Walker sets and maintains is extremely captivating. It took me a while to be fully engrossed because I wasn't sure of the direction the story would take at the beginning, but it's well wrapped-up with a very satisfying arc throughout.
The Cherry Robbers is set to be published in February 2022.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Suicide
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, and Mental illness
Minor: Death of parent
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