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A review by camillessi
Extasia by Claire Legrand
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
2.5
*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher. (Thank you!)*
Firstly, I wanted to express how surprised and disappointed I am that there is no official trigger warning list for this book. I searched the author's website and the publisher's site and did not find any. With the amount of disturbing and potentially triggering content that is in this novel, I think that would warrant at least a warning, especially as this is a book written for teenagers. That said:
CONTENT WARNINGS: Gore, body horror, sexual assault, abuse (domestic abuse, child abuse, religious abuse), animal death, cannibalism, misogyny, minor character death
Claire Legrand's books tend to be hit-or-miss for me, but with how much I loved Sawkill Girls, I was excited for another horror novel from her. This did not, however, live up to my expectations. As always, the prose was generally beautiful and mostly flowed well, and the way the plot fit together was clever. The atmosphere throughout was dark and heavy, well-fitting for a horror novel.
But the downfalls (to me) were too many for me to say I really enjoyed it (and certainly not to the extent that I enjoyed Sawkill Girls). I felt that this book relied too heavily on the violence and the shock value of it in efforts to get its point across. It becomes clear rather early on that the men of Haven are the villains in this story. But the constant gruesome deaths and murders of these men seemed gratuitous and made it feel like I was getting hit over the head repeatedly with the "ALL MEN ARE HORRIBLE" message. I can understand the message fine without men getting mangled until they are unrecognizable every other chapter. It wasn't even just the men's deaths either—everyone who dies in this novel reaches a gruesome end that is described in painstaking detail. This could be attributed to Legrand's excellent imagery in her prose, but I also felt that after a while, it became tedious. I found myself skipping past paragraphs and pages describing torture and mutilation, and really didn't feel like I missed out on anything in my reading experience by doing so.
The catalyst for the protagonist Amity's quest I also found rather confusing. I reread the passage several times trying to figure out why it made sense for her to make the decision she did just based on a vague fable from her town. The quest itself was interesting and brought plenty of tension that eventually I was able to ignore that it didn't make sense. But it certainly pulled me out of the story for a while.
Furthermore, the big reveal near the end felt anticlimactic and reminded me too much of other post-apocalyptic novels.
Overall, this book might be great for people who don't mind the unsettling content and enjoy straightforward messages. The female friendship was strong here, despite it feeling slightly underdeveloped. I also liked how a supporting character was given a (rushed) redemption arc—I think they deserved one.
I think this book was not to my personal tastes, which is fine. I wanted to put it down many times, but felt I needed to finish it in order to write an honest review. I can't really say I enjoyed reading it, but it did hold my attention after about the halfway mark. Additionally, I haven't read YA novels in a few years now, and so found some moments in here cheesier than I might have previously. But those who are used to reading in that category may not be bothered by it at all!
Like I said at the beginning, this author is always a hit-or-miss for me, so even though I didn't enjoy this book, I will still be on the lookout for more releases from her.
Firstly, I wanted to express how surprised and disappointed I am that there is no official trigger warning list for this book. I searched the author's website and the publisher's site and did not find any. With the amount of disturbing and potentially triggering content that is in this novel, I think that would warrant at least a warning, especially as this is a book written for teenagers. That said:
CONTENT WARNINGS: Gore, body horror, sexual assault, abuse (domestic abuse, child abuse, religious abuse), animal death, cannibalism, misogyny, minor character death
Claire Legrand's books tend to be hit-or-miss for me, but with how much I loved Sawkill Girls, I was excited for another horror novel from her. This did not, however, live up to my expectations. As always, the prose was generally beautiful and mostly flowed well, and the way the plot fit together was clever. The atmosphere throughout was dark and heavy, well-fitting for a horror novel.
But the downfalls (to me) were too many for me to say I really enjoyed it (and certainly not to the extent that I enjoyed Sawkill Girls). I felt that this book relied too heavily on the violence and the shock value of it in efforts to get its point across. It becomes clear rather early on that the men of Haven are the villains in this story. But the constant gruesome deaths and murders of these men seemed gratuitous and made it feel like I was getting hit over the head repeatedly with the "ALL MEN ARE HORRIBLE" message. I can understand the message fine without men getting mangled until they are unrecognizable every other chapter. It wasn't even just the men's deaths either—everyone who dies in this novel reaches a gruesome end that is described in painstaking detail. This could be attributed to Legrand's excellent imagery in her prose, but I also felt that after a while, it became tedious. I found myself skipping past paragraphs and pages describing torture and mutilation, and really didn't feel like I missed out on anything in my reading experience by doing so.
The catalyst for the protagonist Amity's quest I also found rather confusing. I reread the passage several times trying to figure out why it made sense for her to make the decision she did just based on a vague fable from her town. The quest itself was interesting and brought plenty of tension that eventually I was able to ignore that it didn't make sense. But it certainly pulled me out of the story for a while.
Furthermore, the big reveal near the end felt anticlimactic and reminded me too much of other post-apocalyptic novels.
Overall, this book might be great for people who don't mind the unsettling content and enjoy straightforward messages. The female friendship was strong here, despite it feeling slightly underdeveloped. I also liked how a supporting character was given a (rushed) redemption arc—I think they deserved one.
I think this book was not to my personal tastes, which is fine. I wanted to put it down many times, but felt I needed to finish it in order to write an honest review. I can't really say I enjoyed reading it, but it did hold my attention after about the halfway mark. Additionally, I haven't read YA novels in a few years now, and so found some moments in here cheesier than I might have previously. But those who are used to reading in that category may not be bothered by it at all!
Like I said at the beginning, this author is always a hit-or-miss for me, so even though I didn't enjoy this book, I will still be on the lookout for more releases from her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Cannibalism, Body horror, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Animal death, Death, Gore, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault