A review by rara2018
An Exaltation of Larks by Suanne Laqueur

3.0

An Exaltation of Larks was certainly an interesting book. I found Laqueur to be a really moving writer, but the plot made me extremely uncomfortable at times. Throughout the book, incest was a major plot point in three separate occasions, with two of the relationships being much more than a one off. Ernesto’s and Javier’s messing around gave me an icky feeling because as much as Laqueur tried to justify the relationship by saying they were just drunk, or just experimenting, the two were still cousins who were honestly raised more as brothers and the attraction between the two of them felt gross. The same was with Alex and Val. Despite the two not technically being related, they had still been raised as siblings for a large part of their life and I think their hook-ups and subsequent marriage was kind of a slap in the face to adopted/foster children, emphasizing that no matter how much Alex was part of the family, he was still an outsider in a way. The last incest came as a total surprise to me and is somehow the least gross in a way, but still not great. When Jav discovers Ari and Deane are actually cousins, I expected them to immediately break up, but the parents/guardians are supportive and the kids still were obsessed with each other. I understand this to some extent, and this was somehow less icky to me than the former relationship, because despite the blood relation, they never saw each other as such until the very end, but the encouragement from all parties added to the unsettledness of it all. Despite my many issues with the series, there were a number of really beautiful quotes and I definitely found myself tearing up once or twice. Laqueur wrote a really great book, but I think it could have been greatly improved had she not used incest so religiously throughout.