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A review by meggeorge
The Lamplighter by Crystal J. Bell
4.0
Big thanks to North Star Editions and NetGalley for this ARC.
The cover and blurb of this book drew me in immediately. The Lamplighter is a deeply atmospheric historical fantasy with horror elements-- exactly my cup of tea! It follows Temperance, who inherits the position of lamplighter in her small coastal village after her father's death. When a girl goes missing in the night fog Tempe's light is supposed to ward off, her livelihood is made precarious and she takes it upon herself to solve the mysteries of the night.
This story was simply lovely. It gripped me from the very start with its amazing atmosphere and mystery. It has very strong character building and the development arc of the protagonist is a rare gem in YA fantasy. The structure was very good and succeeded in shocking me with some of the twists in the mystery plot, which is unusual for me.
I was let down by the prose in places. Though I do think for the most part it was very fitting for the story, some parts really made me wince. Something else in that vein was the very heavy-handed treatment of the themes of feminism. I understand this is basically a staple of the genre, but it was too on the nose for me in this historical fantasy. On that note, there are some scenes in here that seem like thinly veiled metaphors for sexual assault. Quite a few of them actually, so read with caution.
Unfortunately, I was not very invested in Tempe's romance with Josiah, but I think this doesn't take away from the experience of the story, especially later on. What I mean is, the romance subplot (if you can call it that) won't give you butterflies, but it will do what it was intended to do.
The thing I loved most about this book was the ending, which I won't spoil. For me, it felt appropriate and earned, even though it was very unexpected.
So 4 stars for this lovely book. I will be getting a copy for my own collection on release. I mean, look at that cover!
The cover and blurb of this book drew me in immediately. The Lamplighter is a deeply atmospheric historical fantasy with horror elements-- exactly my cup of tea! It follows Temperance, who inherits the position of lamplighter in her small coastal village after her father's death. When a girl goes missing in the night fog Tempe's light is supposed to ward off, her livelihood is made precarious and she takes it upon herself to solve the mysteries of the night.
This story was simply lovely. It gripped me from the very start with its amazing atmosphere and mystery. It has very strong character building and the development arc of the protagonist is a rare gem in YA fantasy. The structure was very good and succeeded in shocking me with some of the twists in the mystery plot, which is unusual for me.
I was let down by the prose in places. Though I do think for the most part it was very fitting for the story, some parts really made me wince. Something else in that vein was the very heavy-handed treatment of the themes of feminism. I understand this is basically a staple of the genre, but it was too on the nose for me in this historical fantasy. On that note, there are some scenes in here that seem like thinly veiled metaphors for sexual assault. Quite a few of them actually, so read with caution.
Unfortunately, I was not very invested in Tempe's romance with Josiah, but I think this doesn't take away from the experience of the story, especially later on. What I mean is, the romance subplot (if you can call it that) won't give you butterflies, but it will do what it was intended to do.
The thing I loved most about this book was the ending, which I won't spoil. For me, it felt appropriate and earned, even though it was very unexpected.
So 4 stars for this lovely book. I will be getting a copy for my own collection on release. I mean, look at that cover!