As the second entry on this week's Friday Reads I'm having an ARC I had been super excited about but that totally caught me unprepared because September was a weird & busy month and most October ARCs are still unread and when did it become October?? Where did summer go??
A big thank you to Flux Books for always approving my requests on NetGalley and giving me the chance to read this one! As an ARC it is counting towards improving my ratio on NG and also for my 2014 Review Pile Reading Challenge!
Of Scars and Stardust by Andrea Hannah
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is gonna be a hard book to review, mostly cause I don't want to spoil anyone the surprise and the wondering and the confusion and the trepidation this book caused to me and I believe a big part of how the book manage to get me under its hold was going into it knowing as little as possible.
The summary does a great job giving you the bare bones of what's this about without hinting at any of the issues underlaying in the book and if you want to feel the wild ride that this book is for your brain, you'll stop reading right here, knowing that it is one of those books that keeps you guessing, turning pages and lefts you reeling by the last page. A proper psychological thriller through and through. And in case anyone is wondering, nothing paranormal or fantasy about this one.
Claire is out main character and we start the story with her 15th birthday and her best friend planning to leave and a tragic event involving her sister, all of it surrounded by stories of wolves that like cherry flavour and the periwinkle colour. Then Claire is sent to NY with her aunt, to a private school and a counselor and she seems to live in a fog, still scared of the wolves and feeling guilty for the past.
And then something involving her sister again makes her return to her hometown and face the mystery of what happened to her sister and what is really going on with the wolves. And that's such a wild ride... I kept suspecting everyone all the time and I wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't and it simply didn't get any better the longer the book went on! You think your suspicions are right, and maybe they are but not in the way you expected at all!
And that ending? Well, you think you are making sense of things finally and even if you are thinking "woah, this was messed up" then you get to that ending and the definition of messed up changes! A fantastic book that makes you really thinking about mental illness, the powers of the mind and delusions and that will simply unsettled you and leave your mind reeling for a while. Very well deserved 4 stars!
View all my reviews
A big thank you to Flux Books for always approving my requests on NetGalley and giving me the chance to read this one! As an ARC it is counting towards improving my ratio on NG and also for my 2014 Review Pile Reading Challenge!
Of Scars and Stardust by Andrea HannahMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is gonna be a hard book to review, mostly cause I don't want to spoil anyone the surprise and the wondering and the confusion and the trepidation this book caused to me and I believe a big part of how the book manage to get me under its hold was going into it knowing as little as possible.
The summary does a great job giving you the bare bones of what's this about without hinting at any of the issues underlaying in the book and if you want to feel the wild ride that this book is for your brain, you'll stop reading right here, knowing that it is one of those books that keeps you guessing, turning pages and lefts you reeling by the last page. A proper psychological thriller through and through. And in case anyone is wondering, nothing paranormal or fantasy about this one.
Claire is out main character and we start the story with her 15th birthday and her best friend planning to leave and a tragic event involving her sister, all of it surrounded by stories of wolves that like cherry flavour and the periwinkle colour. Then Claire is sent to NY with her aunt, to a private school and a counselor and she seems to live in a fog, still scared of the wolves and feeling guilty for the past.
And then something involving her sister again makes her return to her hometown and face the mystery of what happened to her sister and what is really going on with the wolves. And that's such a wild ride... I kept suspecting everyone all the time and I wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't and it simply didn't get any better the longer the book went on! You think your suspicions are right, and maybe they are but not in the way you expected at all!
And that ending? Well, you think you are making sense of things finally and even if you are thinking "woah, this was messed up" then you get to that ending and the definition of messed up changes! A fantastic book that makes you really thinking about mental illness, the powers of the mind and delusions and that will simply unsettled you and leave your mind reeling for a while. Very well deserved 4 stars!
View all my reviews
lol, I'm glad you enjoyed this one sweetie :D It sounds a bit.. confusing for me, I think. I don't like tons of surprises, hih :) but I'm glad it worked for you. <3 thank you for sharing about this book, Pili :)
ReplyDeleteThank you sweetie! This is one confusing book and weird to boot, but I usually like this kind of books!
DeleteWha—did you say WOLVES?? Me <--- moth to a flame. Hehe! I dislike it when a book's blurb gives too much away, especially when it's one of those stories that you're better off reading blind, so at least the author was conscientious of that when she came up with this title's synopsis. I love a good sneak attach ending, and from the one of your review I gather that Of Scars And Stardust delivers that, and so much more. Nice!
ReplyDeleteThese are not the paranormal wolves though, Carmel!
DeleteOooo I like the sound of this one Pili! I love being kept on my toes and being made to suspect one character only to change my mind the next chapter. And the chapter after that. And so on ;-) Definitely adding this to my list, I'm in the mood for a psychological thriller!
ReplyDeleteIf you like being kept on your toes and if you're in the mood for a psychological thriller, you need to check this one for sure Jenny!!
DeleteOh man this sounds epic!! I love psychological thriller - they're likely my fav kinds of books, and the ones that keep you guessing and only give you enough to hang on too (but not frustratingly so) are the best! I hadn't even heard much of this one before! I looove the sounds of this and will def be adding it to the top of my TBR!!
ReplyDeleteIf you love psychological thrillers, you need to check this one for sure Giselle!!
DeleteAww, nothing paranormal or fantasy. Well, it sounds good despite that! Glad you enjoyed this one, Pili. Excellent review!
ReplyDeleteAlyssa @ The Eater of Books!
Thank you Alyssa!! Yep, nothing paranormal!
DeleteI've heard so many awesome things about this psychological thriller and look forward to picking it up for a thrill ride and shocking ending! Great review Pili, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI do hope you'll pick it up and love it when you read it, Jeann!
DeleteThank you!
Glad you enjoyed this one. It sounds confusing, but still great.
ReplyDeleteI'll try to read as soon as possible.
Thanks for sharing!
It was confusing indeed but amazing! I do hope you'll check it out, Lis!
DeleteI am so with you--how is it already October? This is one of my October ARCs too, and I really needed this as motivation to hurry up and get to it, so THANKS ;) Great review, Pili!
ReplyDeleteI do hope you'll love it Jessica!! It is a very interesting read!
DeleteI have heard some very positive things about this book! It looks amazing, and I feel like it really is a thriller and a good read. I like the idea of the plot and that cover is just great. I am definitely adding this to my TBR.
ReplyDeletehttp://olivia-savannah.blogspot.nl/2014/10/the-guardian-review-giveaway.html