A review by melsbookshelves03
The Summer That Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel

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

4.5

4.5 rounding up to 5 for Goodreads. I really enjoyed this one a lot. I didn't know what to expect when starting in terms of tone or atmosphere, but immediately fell into the small town southern gothic vibes the author was writing on the page. I liked the almost lyricist-esque prose in parts but some may find it a bit much. To me, the writing was fantastic and really cemented me in that time period and place. I listened to this one on audio and thought the narrator was absolutely fantastic. He did an amazing job of giving off the right atmosphere in his narration. The one complaint I have of this book is that Fielding is telling the reader parts of his life story that do not coincide with the summer the main chunk of the book is about. These parts where the timeline jumps to other years and days felt very jarring and confusing at times because there is no signal that lets the reader know he is now talking about another part of his life. Other than that, I found it to be a very atmospherical and enjoyable read (despite all the tragedy within). I think this would be most interesting to reread at some point having the knowledge of the ending at hand.
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