A review by brennanlafaro
Clementine's Awakening by Jennifer Soucy

dark mysterious

4.0

Happy Women in Horror Month, people. Still looking for something to add to that lady-led TBR pile for the rest of February? Look no further. Clementine’s Awakening is the latest release from Silver Shamrock, toted as southern gothic horror. While it doesn’t fit perfectly into the subgenre, Soucy keeps the slow-burn elements until she doesn’t. She also displays an essence of quiet horror, until she gets loud.

It’s a truly enjoyable book from start to finish that had me playing the “just one more chapter” game until I ran out of story. There’s a lot on display that works here, as well as a thing or two that doesn’t, but the extent of the success can be boiled down to one word. Clementine. It is her story after all, so shouldn’t the lead be relatable, loveable, and make you enjoy the time you spend in their world? Well, yeah, and Soucy nails every element here. Clementine is thrust into strong environments here. For one, a new restaurant job that reeks of authenticity. Seriously, if you’ve ever worked in food service before, Soucy captures the tension, anxiety, and busyness perfectly. She also captures the disappearing into the basement so people will leave you alone for two seconds perfectly. This is where she meets Rosemary, the ghost of a slave who’s mystery acts to catalyze the rest of the story.

It would’ve been all too easy to lose track of who Clementine is, losing her in the bustling restaurant setting or even the backdrop of Savannah, Georgia which Soucy skillfully brings to life, making the reader feel like they’ve been there. Like they know it’s ins, outs, and secrets. Instead, Soucy grounds the character through the relationship with her mother, something that hit home for me, knowing someone who has been through the same struggles, and through her blossoming friendship with Lula, my favorite character in the story.

My one issue with the story is Henry, Clementine’s love interest. We spend a lot of time developing this character, and as a reader I will rarely, if ever, complain about taking time for character development, but it ultimately feels like we don’t get very far. We know he’s a big guy, a talented musician, and would do anything for Clementine, but in a story where the other characters are so rich, his lack of flaws and problems stand out.

Making him stand apart from Clementine could have caused events toward the end of the book to carry more weight, though this is a small gripe, because the events pull off shock and surprise in spades. This could certainly be attributed to the villain of the piece, Thomas Abernathy. He is creepy as anything, and although we get backstory, there’s enough mystery left over to keep the reader properly looking over their shoulder, as up north as they may be.

Clementine’s Awakening is the first thing I’ve read by Jennifer Soucy, but it sure as hell won’t be the last. An engaging story that brings not only a cast of characters to life on the page, but an entire city. The author should be commended for weaving a magic throughout the narrative that brings the reader in and doesn’t let them leave until every last thread has been unraveled. I can see the endings causing some rifts, but I enjoyed it.