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A review by kblincoln
The Impending Possession of Scarlet Wakebridge-Rosé by Samantha L. Strong
4.0
I requested a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. I have to admit, the cover TOTALLY drew me in. What a gorgeous cover, and what a tantalizing title.
I love multi-ethnic urban fantasy and from the cover blurb, was thinking that is what this would be. However, it wasn't quite what I expected-- not so much an urban fantasy as a horror-based, slow-moving tale of the nuances of evil in the context of multiple lives at the crossroads of magic/catholicism.
The titular heroine has felt haunted her whole life an oily, evil shadow. She is facing growing relationship issues with her wife and teenage daughter and decides to turn to exorcist Father Angelo for help.
She is drawn into several exorcisms, but also begins to discover the thing that is haunting her has had her in its clutches before, and intends to use her current life as a way to torture her and her family. Meanwhile, Father Angelo has to come to grips with his dark-magic past and estranged relationship with a former mentor who may be Scarlet's only hope.
The book's pacing is a bit uneven-- the beginning is a slow dance between Scarlet and Angelo and the Catholic church and what it will permit. Lots of layers of what is "sin" and "evil" etc.
The last third of the book gets quite Exorcist-tastic. Lots of creepy blood and mayhem and horror. I felt a little frustrated in that I felt we were getting a peek at some truly intriguing characters (Angelo's former mentor, a surprise visit at the end only hinted at throughout the book) but weren't provided enough emotional fodder to appreciate their awesomeness. About halfway into the book, I realized "companion novel" was printed right there on the cover, and suspected that reading the whole series would give me access to the full emotional richness of the complicated relationships we just barely glimpse the outline of in this book.
This glimpse is enough to make me head over to Amazon to go read the blurbs and reviews of the main series to consider buying it.
I love multi-ethnic urban fantasy and from the cover blurb, was thinking that is what this would be. However, it wasn't quite what I expected-- not so much an urban fantasy as a horror-based, slow-moving tale of the nuances of evil in the context of multiple lives at the crossroads of magic/catholicism.
The titular heroine has felt haunted her whole life an oily, evil shadow. She is facing growing relationship issues with her wife and teenage daughter and decides to turn to exorcist Father Angelo for help.
She is drawn into several exorcisms, but also begins to discover the thing that is haunting her has had her in its clutches before, and intends to use her current life as a way to torture her and her family. Meanwhile, Father Angelo has to come to grips with his dark-magic past and estranged relationship with a former mentor who may be Scarlet's only hope.
The book's pacing is a bit uneven-- the beginning is a slow dance between Scarlet and Angelo and the Catholic church and what it will permit. Lots of layers of what is "sin" and "evil" etc.
The last third of the book gets quite Exorcist-tastic. Lots of creepy blood and mayhem and horror. I felt a little frustrated in that I felt we were getting a peek at some truly intriguing characters (Angelo's former mentor, a surprise visit at the end only hinted at throughout the book) but weren't provided enough emotional fodder to appreciate their awesomeness. About halfway into the book, I realized "companion novel" was printed right there on the cover, and suspected that reading the whole series would give me access to the full emotional richness of the complicated relationships we just barely glimpse the outline of in this book.
This glimpse is enough to make me head over to Amazon to go read the blurbs and reviews of the main series to consider buying it.