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rubeusbeaky 's review for:
Such Pretty Flowers
by K.L. Cerra
The pitch for this book was right up my alley: Southern, Gothic, murder mystery with LGBTQA themes. Chef's kiss!
But the execution was anything but. The book's "Gothic horror" elements are campy, and too well-telegraphed. The protagonist calls attention to the antagonist's suspicious behavior from the get-go, instead of the author allowing the unsettling mystery to build. And the protagonist allows herself to be put into precarious situations, the dangers of which she is NOT naive about, which makes her unsympathetic. For instance, Common Sense 101: Don't accept purple tea that makes you dizzy from the woman you think murdered your brother.
But more than the book's campy, dopey attempts at paranormal horror, the book's biggest flaw is that it actually has too many realistic triggers or cringe-inducing moments. Before you can lose yourself in the paranormal horror, there is a whole third of the book devoted to the death-by-suicide of a family member, and the grief of the protagonist. If, dear reader, you are someone who is sensitive to drama (as I am), you should have fair warning about what's in this book:
- Suicide
- Dead sibling
- Fighting parents
- Parent with cancer/Cancer death
- Drugs and alcohol/roofies
- Dead animals (mice)
- Viscera and exposed organs
- Overhearing roommates having sex
- Overhearing roommates unfriending you in your hour of grief
- Depression, anxiety, avoidance, grief
I started avoiding this book, because instead of getting lost in the fantasy of it all, I was instead being jarringly reminded of all the painful moments from my own life that I /turn to reading/ to help cope with! This book was sloppy, sometimes too over-the-top, sometimes depressing and mundane; it didn't try nearly hard enough to tie its themes together and build a story that makes the reader want to invest in it. This book made me sad, anxious, annoyed and impatient. Not the vibe I was pitched, and not the vibe it was going for I'm sure.
But the execution was anything but. The book's "Gothic horror" elements are campy, and too well-telegraphed. The protagonist calls attention to the antagonist's suspicious behavior from the get-go, instead of the author allowing the unsettling mystery to build. And the protagonist allows herself to be put into precarious situations, the dangers of which she is NOT naive about, which makes her unsympathetic. For instance, Common Sense 101: Don't accept purple tea that makes you dizzy from the woman you think murdered your brother.
But more than the book's campy, dopey attempts at paranormal horror, the book's biggest flaw is that it actually has too many realistic triggers or cringe-inducing moments. Before you can lose yourself in the paranormal horror, there is a whole third of the book devoted to the death-by-suicide of a family member, and the grief of the protagonist. If, dear reader, you are someone who is sensitive to drama (as I am), you should have fair warning about what's in this book:
- Suicide
- Dead sibling
- Fighting parents
- Parent with cancer/Cancer death
- Drugs and alcohol/roofies
- Dead animals (mice)
- Viscera and exposed organs
- Overhearing roommates having sex
- Overhearing roommates unfriending you in your hour of grief
- Depression, anxiety, avoidance, grief
I started avoiding this book, because instead of getting lost in the fantasy of it all, I was instead being jarringly reminded of all the painful moments from my own life that I /turn to reading/ to help cope with! This book was sloppy, sometimes too over-the-top, sometimes depressing and mundane; it didn't try nearly hard enough to tie its themes together and build a story that makes the reader want to invest in it. This book made me sad, anxious, annoyed and impatient. Not the vibe I was pitched, and not the vibe it was going for I'm sure.