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A review by bookandcoffeeaddict
Minotaur by J.A. Rock
4.0
Set in the 1930’s, Minotaur is 60% coming-of-age story and 40% monster hunt adventure.
The book opens with 16 year old Thera Ballard coming to live at Rock Point Girls’ Home, an all-girls orphanage, after the last of her family, an elderly aunt, washes her hands of the troublesome teen. Thera is pretty much mad at the world and determined to hate everyone and everything. Despite herself, she makes friends at the home and even finds herself falling in love with one of the other girls there, Alle. This is the coming-of-age part of the story.
Rock Hills, a small coastal town south of the orphanage, was the scene many years ago of the bloody rampage of the Minotaur – a vicious sorceress with her own anger problems stemming from the hand the universe had dealt her. Thera feels a kinship with the Minotaur that becomes a kind of obsession to the point where a few times she actually thinks the Minotaur is literally in her dreams and thoughts (this is never confirmed one way of the other). Eventually, Thera sets out for the labyrinth to confront the object of her obsession. This is the monster hunt adventure part of the tale. This was also my favorite part of the story – the domain of the Minotaur is an almost non-stop horror show of dark, page-turning imaginings.
This book ended up being much deeper than I thought it would be. We spend a lot of time in Thera’s head. She’s the first person narrator of the story, so that’s only natural, but she’s got some issues, some deeply emotional issues, and the action in this book is minimal, taking a backseat to Thera’s thought processes as she deals with the world, people, and events around her. I never really liked Thera, but that’s ok – she doesn’t want you to like her; in fact, at times she thrives on being despised and feared. The only person who’s high opinion she cares about is Alle’s, and even then there are times when, in a fit of pique, Thera purposely tries to make Alle dislike her as well. Thera is a complicated girl, which is what makes her such a fascinating anti-hero.
All in all, I was surprised by how much I ended up enjoying Minotaur. It wasn’t what I expected, but it was beautiful and yet ugly in a way that captivates. I will absolutely be on the lookout for more books by the author.
*I received a copy of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
The book opens with 16 year old Thera Ballard coming to live at Rock Point Girls’ Home, an all-girls orphanage, after the last of her family, an elderly aunt, washes her hands of the troublesome teen. Thera is pretty much mad at the world and determined to hate everyone and everything. Despite herself, she makes friends at the home and even finds herself falling in love with one of the other girls there, Alle. This is the coming-of-age part of the story.
Rock Hills, a small coastal town south of the orphanage, was the scene many years ago of the bloody rampage of the Minotaur – a vicious sorceress with her own anger problems stemming from the hand the universe had dealt her. Thera feels a kinship with the Minotaur that becomes a kind of obsession to the point where a few times she actually thinks the Minotaur is literally in her dreams and thoughts (this is never confirmed one way of the other). Eventually, Thera sets out for the labyrinth to confront the object of her obsession. This is the monster hunt adventure part of the tale. This was also my favorite part of the story – the domain of the Minotaur is an almost non-stop horror show of dark, page-turning imaginings.
This book ended up being much deeper than I thought it would be. We spend a lot of time in Thera’s head. She’s the first person narrator of the story, so that’s only natural, but she’s got some issues, some deeply emotional issues, and the action in this book is minimal, taking a backseat to Thera’s thought processes as she deals with the world, people, and events around her. I never really liked Thera, but that’s ok – she doesn’t want you to like her; in fact, at times she thrives on being despised and feared. The only person who’s high opinion she cares about is Alle’s, and even then there are times when, in a fit of pique, Thera purposely tries to make Alle dislike her as well. Thera is a complicated girl, which is what makes her such a fascinating anti-hero.
All in all, I was surprised by how much I ended up enjoying Minotaur. It wasn’t what I expected, but it was beautiful and yet ugly in a way that captivates. I will absolutely be on the lookout for more books by the author.
*I received a copy of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.