Music and Malice in Hurricane Town by Alex Bell
Published 4th April 2019 by Stripes Publishing
Star Rating - *****
Goodreads Challenge - 21/50
I was gifted a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis (from Goodreads)
Jude Lomax scrapes a living playing the trumpet on the neon streets of Baton Noir. Then she is invited to play at the funeral of the infamous cajou queen, Ivory Monette. Passing through the cemetery gates, Jude finds herself possessed by the murdered queen’s spirit. And Ivory won’t rest until she’s found the person responsible for her death.
If Jude wants to be rid of the vengeful spirit, she must take a journey deep into the dangerous underbelly of the city, from the swampy depths of the Black Bayou to the velvet opulence of the vampires’ secret jazz clubs. But as Jude untangles Ivory’s web of secrets, she is confronted with a few dark truths from her own past…
If Jude wants to be rid of the vengeful spirit, she must take a journey deep into the dangerous underbelly of the city, from the swampy depths of the Black Bayou to the velvet opulence of the vampires’ secret jazz clubs. But as Jude untangles Ivory’s web of secrets, she is confronted with a few dark truths from her own past…
My Thoughts
I was kindly gifted this from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for review and I'm so pleased I requested it. I was drawn in initially by the cover and then I read the synopsis and knew I had to read it. I loved the reading experience of this one, it's not perfect, but something about it really drew me in and I ended up reading it in 2 sittings.
The first thing about this book that really captured my attention was the setting and the premise. I'm a bit of a sucker for anything set in the Deep South, throw in some supernatural elements and I'm sold and that's just what was on offer in this book. The writing was really compelling, I just wanted to keep going and find out what was going to happen next. There were several twists and turns that I didn't see coming although, I did find the ending to be a bit predictable. Like I said it's not a perfect book, although I enjoyed the writing and found it very quick to read, it was a bit info dumpy at times. I don't necessarily think this bothered me a whole lot though because I was really invested in the world and wanted to know everything about it.
I really liked Jude as a main character too. She was fierce, determined and independent. She was in charge of her family and, although the relationship with her father wasn't always positive, she was still determined to look out for him and make sure hes cared for. I enjoyed the side characters too, I thought Sharkey was really fun and brightened up the story a bit and I was really interested in Sophia and what she could do. I really would of liked for them to have a bit more page time. I was also really invested in The Phantoms story, I enjoyed finding out all about his family and his background. Queen Ivory was quite an interesting character too but I would of liked a bit more evilness. One thing I will say I wasn't a fan of was the relationships in this book. Jude's first relationship was very toxic and then I'm not sure what was going on between her and The Phantom but the whole age thing was a bit off putting for me, I won't say anymore as I don't want to spoil anything.
Overall like I said before this book isn't perfect and I can definitely pick out the flaws however, it was so compelling and I was so engrossed in the story I can't help but give it 5 stars. I loved the premise and the setting. It was dark and thrilling, full of twists, turns and supernatural elements that had me wanting more. The ending was intriguing too and I really hope there's going to be a sequel.
The first thing about this book that really captured my attention was the setting and the premise. I'm a bit of a sucker for anything set in the Deep South, throw in some supernatural elements and I'm sold and that's just what was on offer in this book. The writing was really compelling, I just wanted to keep going and find out what was going to happen next. There were several twists and turns that I didn't see coming although, I did find the ending to be a bit predictable. Like I said it's not a perfect book, although I enjoyed the writing and found it very quick to read, it was a bit info dumpy at times. I don't necessarily think this bothered me a whole lot though because I was really invested in the world and wanted to know everything about it.
I really liked Jude as a main character too. She was fierce, determined and independent. She was in charge of her family and, although the relationship with her father wasn't always positive, she was still determined to look out for him and make sure hes cared for. I enjoyed the side characters too, I thought Sharkey was really fun and brightened up the story a bit and I was really interested in Sophia and what she could do. I really would of liked for them to have a bit more page time. I was also really invested in The Phantoms story, I enjoyed finding out all about his family and his background. Queen Ivory was quite an interesting character too but I would of liked a bit more evilness. One thing I will say I wasn't a fan of was the relationships in this book. Jude's first relationship was very toxic and then I'm not sure what was going on between her and The Phantom but the whole age thing was a bit off putting for me, I won't say anymore as I don't want to spoil anything.
Overall like I said before this book isn't perfect and I can definitely pick out the flaws however, it was so compelling and I was so engrossed in the story I can't help but give it 5 stars. I loved the premise and the setting. It was dark and thrilling, full of twists, turns and supernatural elements that had me wanting more. The ending was intriguing too and I really hope there's going to be a sequel.
Overall Rating
Yay - 5-stars and a kickass herione - I want!
ReplyDeleteI do like the sound of this book. I might just have to add it to my TBR list. Great review.
ReplyDelete