A review by mcrespo
A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers

challenging dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

despite the main character being insufferably hypocritical, arrogant, smug, and a truly evil white woman down to her core, i thought that this novel so wonderfully described the complexities of feminine rage, love, and female friendships. summers' prose is rich and a sensory delight, however, i found that at times, the descriptions and literary devices summers employed detracted from the storyline. the repetition became tedious, and the descriptions dragged on for paragraphs at a time. i found myself frequently fighting the urge to skip over a large chunk of text that went into great detail on the process of preparing and consuming duck confit or baked alaska. i can appreciate the way that food tied into this novel, and i understand the importance of creating this idiosyncratic description of food to immerse the reader, but at times, it definitely detracted from the real meat of the story. overall, i was happy to have read this, and i loved the way that themes of love and female relationships were explored, even through this really unlikable character. 
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