This was very good! 

Death has always surrounded Signa Farrow. Both death & Death actually. She is taken in by extended family & has to solve a murder in order to save her cousin, all while trying to abide by her etiquette handbook & preparing to make her debut …or trying to find her way in life outside of the rigid societal guidelines. 

 

Very spooky & atmospheric 

+a library ghost 👻 

I will definitely be looking for the sequel out in August.

This is my 3rd Tiffany D Jackson,her writing is so consistently heart wrenching & addicting. In this story she takes inspiration from too familiar headlines. Enchanted is 17 meets a singer who entices her by offering her attention, affection &a music career -then manipulates her til she no longer knows if she can trust her own mind. Important social commentary on how society views particularly black girls who are victims of grooming

While I think Emma Gatewood herself is AMAZING, taking the 2050 mile walk at 67 in regular clothes, tennis shoes & a shower curtain to keep the rain off her. She’s certainly a tenacious character. 

But how it is written was not my favorite. Random bits of history (like the HBomb test in Bikini Atoll)& blurbs of others who walked the trail or walked somewhere in general 😂I wish it had more of her own words/postcards/journaling.

Very Hallmark-y 

I liked the characters, the magic of the blackbirds &the setting. But the pace was incredibly slow & no surprises. A decent story of grief & moving on with elements of magical realism. 

❤️Loved it! 

🔮good world building 

🌶️ generous amount of spice but doesn’t overwhelm the story.

For some reason a trope I have noticed in my readings recently is the MC being the child of a serial killer & how the notoriety shapes their lives. & usually I’m like, why would that turn you against them, they were just kids etc. 

 

but Vera gave me the creeps. 

 

Everything is creepy. Multiple plots that would be a horror story on their own. It all works though.

Kate & Curran’s date night for Korean BBQ gets ruined by vampires & a death by jewelry. They meet some neo-Vikings. I like where the are in their relationship & it was an enjoyable story.