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erincaitlin97's review
5.0
Just as incredible as the first book. Kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Lisa Maxwell definitely does not disappoint.
stacylmoll's review
4.0
Once I got going with this book I couldn't put it down. The language gave me some trouble, but after a bit I was able to get into the story.
nicolealycia's review
5.0
I loved this series!
I loved the setting, I loved the characters, and I loved all the voodoo! I found it to be so unique and fun. Did I mention that I love the fact that it's set in New Orleans? Because I love it. It's such a great setting!
I loved the setting, I loved the characters, and I loved all the voodoo! I found it to be so unique and fun. Did I mention that I love the fact that it's set in New Orleans? Because I love it. It's such a great setting!
veronika_wordy_and_whimsical's review
2.0
I received a free e-copy through Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.
One thing I feel like I have to state before going further into this review: I have not read Sweet Unrest, and didn't even know that Gathering Deep wasn't a standalone. Because of that, it's fair to say that some of my problems - especially how disconnected I was from the character - might have been nonexistent, if only I had read Sweet Unrest. Or maybe not, who knows?
Something I know for sure, though, is that Gathering Deep was not for me. To be honest I'd recommend it to either younger audiences, or people who haven't read many books in this genre - because if you have, you won't really find anything new here.
What I liked:
- The setting was pretty well-done, and immediately made me forget that New Orleans is kind of a cliché at this point.
- The Fantasy part of the novel was quite amazing - Chloe's visions were something I very much enjoyed.
Things I didn't like:
- I couldn't connect to the characters, and found them plain and, frankly, boring. Chloe was a good enough character but I want a main character to show more than being simply well-crafted, and that did not happen here.
- I did not like the way Chloe treated her boyfriend Piers, who, in my opinion, only wanted to help her because he cared about Chloe.
Final Verdict: The story was really enjoyable (if only a little confusing at times), but the characters didn't leave a big impression on me. Not sure I'll ever pick up Sweet Unrest after this one.
One thing I feel like I have to state before going further into this review: I have not read Sweet Unrest, and didn't even know that Gathering Deep wasn't a standalone. Because of that, it's fair to say that some of my problems - especially how disconnected I was from the character - might have been nonexistent, if only I had read Sweet Unrest. Or maybe not, who knows?
Something I know for sure, though, is that Gathering Deep was not for me. To be honest I'd recommend it to either younger audiences, or people who haven't read many books in this genre - because if you have, you won't really find anything new here.
What I liked:
- The setting was pretty well-done, and immediately made me forget that New Orleans is kind of a cliché at this point.
- The Fantasy part of the novel was quite amazing - Chloe's visions were something I very much enjoyed.
Things I didn't like:
- I couldn't connect to the characters, and found them plain and, frankly, boring. Chloe was a good enough character but I want a main character to show more than being simply well-crafted, and that did not happen here.
- I did not like the way Chloe treated her boyfriend Piers, who, in my opinion, only wanted to help her because he cared about Chloe.
Final Verdict: The story was really enjoyable (if only a little confusing at times), but the characters didn't leave a big impression on me. Not sure I'll ever pick up Sweet Unrest after this one.
g36's review
3.0
Lisa Maxwell’s debut duology, Sweet Unrest and Gathering Deep were an enjoyable read and illustrated the capability of Ms. Maxwell’ ability to relate an interesting story. But before we gather too deeply into the books, we need to first go over the rules:
Rule #1: No telling them they have an ugly baby. The writer put themselves into the story; they put a lot of work into it and truly believe in it and its merits. Who am I to tell them they created an ugly baby? So even if I am disappointed in it, I will not be cruel and a hater, but will be honest without being mean. On the reverse side, it has to be REALLY AWESOME to earn a 5-star rating. Don’t want to cheapen the rating system by giving out too many 5-star ratings; they have to be earned by golly!
Rule #2: No spoilers! You would not want me in a theater telling you what was going to happen next or expose a pivotal point before you get to experience it for yourself, so why would it be okay to tell you an important part of the story and ruin it for you? Not cool and won't happen.
Rule #3: If it is a series, I will review the entire series instead of each individual book. I may state that one book or part of the story arc is better than another, or that it started off slow and picked up or the reverse, but will review the whole instead of each separate part. This is partly due to my own laziness, but also to provide my opinion on the entire story. Using the movie metaphor again, you wouldn't review half a movie and then come back and review the second half separately, that would be silly. I will review the entire story, regardless if it is a duology, trilogy, or more.
Rule #4: and most importantly, take my review with a grain of salt. Read the story for yourself and make your own decisions. I am only giving my opinion and I may not be as impressed with it as you or you may think I am totally out of my mind and wonder if I read the same story as you. You always have the right to ignore what I write or disagree with me.
Let me state up front it is rather difficult to find a copy of either of these books. I reached out to over five bookstores to acquire a copy w/o any luck. Finally, I was able to order used copies on Amazon, so if you want to read these, happy hunting…maybe your local library will be able to assist.
To avoid confusion let me list the significant characters first:
Lucy: the main character in the first book Sweet Unrest; a teen girl who is uprooted from her home in Chicago the summer before her senior year so her father can take a position managing the historical plantation that was recently bought by the University.
Mama Legba: a voodoo priestess who befriends Lucy and helps her sort out her dreams and figure out what is going on.
Chloe: an employee at the plantation who befriends and helps Lucy, being a student of Mama Legba, she is the one who initially introduces Lucy to Mama Legba. Also, Chloe is the main character of the second book Gathering Deep
Piers: Chloe’s boyfriend who is studying social anthropology in college and helps Chloe and Lucy and ends up with his own problems in the second book.
Armentine: a mulatto girl from the past who Lucy’s visits in her dreams.
Alexandre: a French stud-muffin that haunts Lucy in her dreams and in her waking life. Alexandre who was visiting the plantation from France is the brother-in-law of the plantation owner.
Thisbe: a free black conjure-woman that lived in the times of Armentine, (early 1800’s), known to be extremely powerful and not one to mess with.
Odane: Mama Legba’s nephew that is introduced in the second book and helps Chloe.
Augustine: the slave at the plantation that Thisbe loved. He is introduced in the second book as well as Odane.
Synopsis:
Sweet Unrest, the first book in the duology is a ghost story, a mystery and a love story all intertwined. The setting for both books is mainly on an old plantation in Louisiana on the outskirts of New Orleans. In Sweet Unrest, Lucy arrives in Louisiana with intentions of returning to Chicago as soon as summer is over. She has a history of being plagued with dreams of drowning but once in Louisiana her dreams shift to Armentine. In the dreams Lucy is Armentine and sees things from her perspective.
So, Lucy observes Armentine’s growing forbidden love affair with Alexandre. Not only is the affair illegal, if discovered, it would bring disgrace on Alexandre’s sister and her husband and Armentine could be killed. Lucy quickly befriends Chloe who introduces her to Mama Legba. Mama Legba, hearing of the dreams, becomes interested and helps Lucy to unravel and understand the dreams and why she is having them.
Another slight snag is that Alexandre, who Lucy is dreaming about, is a man she continues to see around the plantation. Of course, she may be inserting him into her dreams due to her own attraction to him, but it could also be that she is seeing a ghost and through her dreams learning his story.
A parallel to the past is that in one of the dreams Armentine discovers one of her friends from the plantation killed, her throat slit and strange symbols carved on her body and during a voodoo celebration they attend, one of Chloe’s friends is found dead with her throat slit and symbols carved on her body. Coincidence? I think not! Lucy learns with the assistance of Mama Legba, Chloe and Piers how the past is related to the present and how Alexandre and Thisbe fit into it. Also, we learn how Armentine’s insecurity allowed Thisbe to betray her and is what Lucy must figure out how to make right. And in doing so, Lucy makes the ultimate sacrifice. Something also happens to Chloe which plays a significant role in the second book Gathering Deep, (sorry can’t state what due to being a spoiler if revealed).
The second book, Gathering Deep picks up pretty much where Sweet Unrest left off. Except instead of the focus on Lucy, Chloe is the main character and the struggles she has once the truth is learned about her heritage.
Her mother has disappeared after it was learned what she was up to and the gang is leary of her returning and creating havoc with Chloe and the others. Chloe’s relationship with Piers is suffering and strained and she feels guilt and some responsibility for what her mother did in the past concerning Lucy. Chloe begins having black outs and visions about Thisbe and Augustine, a proud slave on the plantation, who was trying to organize a revolt against the slave owners. Thisbe loved Augustine, but one day he vanished without a trace, right when the uprising was to take place. Chloe is also showing “powers'' she cannot totally control and is not sure if they are her mother still having power over her, though the bond between them was supposedly broken. Research into the past is once again the main focus for what is occurring in the present and only through understanding what happened in the past with Thisbe and Augustine can they stop Chloe’s mom from her nefarious plans. What are these plans? Chloe’s mom wants to make a bargain with the gatekeeper for the realm between life and death and it is up to Chloe and Odane to stop her.
Overall Summation: The foundation of the premise behind these books was voodoo but only giving it the most succinct nod. Even though it was the major theme for the causes of the occurrences, voodoo was not delved into deeply, except on the most rudimentary level. It was more like part of the landscape since it is set in New Orleans, mainly focusing on the ideas of reincarnation and the recycling of souls. If desired to learn anything about voodoo, this is not really a story to learn anything, though it does bust a few myths about voodoo. It mentioned dark magic but more as a passing comment, much like giving the briefest nod to the difference between wicca and the black arts.
Another minor but important aspect of the story, though mentioned more in passing, was how racism is still extensive. It is obvious during the slave period, of course, but also still prevalent in modern times. One scene in particular exhibits how the police treat Chloe differently than Lucy, and in another instance Mama Legba shows her tenuous relationship and distrust of the police even though she is often called to assist them in their investigations.
Overall, Lisa Maxwell told a good tale here. There were some twists that were unforeseen and she kept the pace at a good measure. The reader was drawn into the story and it was written that it was almost believable, not stretching the reality beyond reasonable limits making the reader accept the absurd. Though some of it was cliché, and could be predicted, it was a good enjoyable narrative, not astounding or an “OMG must read”, but good and I would recommend it if you can find a copy.
Rule #1: No telling them they have an ugly baby. The writer put themselves into the story; they put a lot of work into it and truly believe in it and its merits. Who am I to tell them they created an ugly baby? So even if I am disappointed in it, I will not be cruel and a hater, but will be honest without being mean. On the reverse side, it has to be REALLY AWESOME to earn a 5-star rating. Don’t want to cheapen the rating system by giving out too many 5-star ratings; they have to be earned by golly!
Rule #2: No spoilers! You would not want me in a theater telling you what was going to happen next or expose a pivotal point before you get to experience it for yourself, so why would it be okay to tell you an important part of the story and ruin it for you? Not cool and won't happen.
Rule #3: If it is a series, I will review the entire series instead of each individual book. I may state that one book or part of the story arc is better than another, or that it started off slow and picked up or the reverse, but will review the whole instead of each separate part. This is partly due to my own laziness, but also to provide my opinion on the entire story. Using the movie metaphor again, you wouldn't review half a movie and then come back and review the second half separately, that would be silly. I will review the entire story, regardless if it is a duology, trilogy, or more.
Rule #4: and most importantly, take my review with a grain of salt. Read the story for yourself and make your own decisions. I am only giving my opinion and I may not be as impressed with it as you or you may think I am totally out of my mind and wonder if I read the same story as you. You always have the right to ignore what I write or disagree with me.
Let me state up front it is rather difficult to find a copy of either of these books. I reached out to over five bookstores to acquire a copy w/o any luck. Finally, I was able to order used copies on Amazon, so if you want to read these, happy hunting…maybe your local library will be able to assist.
To avoid confusion let me list the significant characters first:
Lucy: the main character in the first book Sweet Unrest; a teen girl who is uprooted from her home in Chicago the summer before her senior year so her father can take a position managing the historical plantation that was recently bought by the University.
Mama Legba: a voodoo priestess who befriends Lucy and helps her sort out her dreams and figure out what is going on.
Chloe: an employee at the plantation who befriends and helps Lucy, being a student of Mama Legba, she is the one who initially introduces Lucy to Mama Legba. Also, Chloe is the main character of the second book Gathering Deep
Piers: Chloe’s boyfriend who is studying social anthropology in college and helps Chloe and Lucy and ends up with his own problems in the second book.
Armentine: a mulatto girl from the past who Lucy’s visits in her dreams.
Alexandre: a French stud-muffin that haunts Lucy in her dreams and in her waking life. Alexandre who was visiting the plantation from France is the brother-in-law of the plantation owner.
Thisbe: a free black conjure-woman that lived in the times of Armentine, (early 1800’s), known to be extremely powerful and not one to mess with.
Odane: Mama Legba’s nephew that is introduced in the second book and helps Chloe.
Augustine: the slave at the plantation that Thisbe loved. He is introduced in the second book as well as Odane.
Synopsis:
Sweet Unrest, the first book in the duology is a ghost story, a mystery and a love story all intertwined. The setting for both books is mainly on an old plantation in Louisiana on the outskirts of New Orleans. In Sweet Unrest, Lucy arrives in Louisiana with intentions of returning to Chicago as soon as summer is over. She has a history of being plagued with dreams of drowning but once in Louisiana her dreams shift to Armentine. In the dreams Lucy is Armentine and sees things from her perspective.
So, Lucy observes Armentine’s growing forbidden love affair with Alexandre. Not only is the affair illegal, if discovered, it would bring disgrace on Alexandre’s sister and her husband and Armentine could be killed. Lucy quickly befriends Chloe who introduces her to Mama Legba. Mama Legba, hearing of the dreams, becomes interested and helps Lucy to unravel and understand the dreams and why she is having them.
Another slight snag is that Alexandre, who Lucy is dreaming about, is a man she continues to see around the plantation. Of course, she may be inserting him into her dreams due to her own attraction to him, but it could also be that she is seeing a ghost and through her dreams learning his story.
A parallel to the past is that in one of the dreams Armentine discovers one of her friends from the plantation killed, her throat slit and strange symbols carved on her body and during a voodoo celebration they attend, one of Chloe’s friends is found dead with her throat slit and symbols carved on her body. Coincidence? I think not! Lucy learns with the assistance of Mama Legba, Chloe and Piers how the past is related to the present and how Alexandre and Thisbe fit into it. Also, we learn how Armentine’s insecurity allowed Thisbe to betray her and is what Lucy must figure out how to make right. And in doing so, Lucy makes the ultimate sacrifice. Something also happens to Chloe which plays a significant role in the second book Gathering Deep, (sorry can’t state what due to being a spoiler if revealed).
The second book, Gathering Deep picks up pretty much where Sweet Unrest left off. Except instead of the focus on Lucy, Chloe is the main character and the struggles she has once the truth is learned about her heritage.
Her mother has disappeared after it was learned what she was up to and the gang is leary of her returning and creating havoc with Chloe and the others. Chloe’s relationship with Piers is suffering and strained and she feels guilt and some responsibility for what her mother did in the past concerning Lucy. Chloe begins having black outs and visions about Thisbe and Augustine, a proud slave on the plantation, who was trying to organize a revolt against the slave owners. Thisbe loved Augustine, but one day he vanished without a trace, right when the uprising was to take place. Chloe is also showing “powers'' she cannot totally control and is not sure if they are her mother still having power over her, though the bond between them was supposedly broken. Research into the past is once again the main focus for what is occurring in the present and only through understanding what happened in the past with Thisbe and Augustine can they stop Chloe’s mom from her nefarious plans. What are these plans? Chloe’s mom wants to make a bargain with the gatekeeper for the realm between life and death and it is up to Chloe and Odane to stop her.
Overall Summation: The foundation of the premise behind these books was voodoo but only giving it the most succinct nod. Even though it was the major theme for the causes of the occurrences, voodoo was not delved into deeply, except on the most rudimentary level. It was more like part of the landscape since it is set in New Orleans, mainly focusing on the ideas of reincarnation and the recycling of souls. If desired to learn anything about voodoo, this is not really a story to learn anything, though it does bust a few myths about voodoo. It mentioned dark magic but more as a passing comment, much like giving the briefest nod to the difference between wicca and the black arts.
Another minor but important aspect of the story, though mentioned more in passing, was how racism is still extensive. It is obvious during the slave period, of course, but also still prevalent in modern times. One scene in particular exhibits how the police treat Chloe differently than Lucy, and in another instance Mama Legba shows her tenuous relationship and distrust of the police even though she is often called to assist them in their investigations.
Overall, Lisa Maxwell told a good tale here. There were some twists that were unforeseen and she kept the pace at a good measure. The reader was drawn into the story and it was written that it was almost believable, not stretching the reality beyond reasonable limits making the reader accept the absurd. Though some of it was cliché, and could be predicted, it was a good enjoyable narrative, not astounding or an “OMG must read”, but good and I would recommend it if you can find a copy.
jaironside's review
3.0
Arc copy provided by NetGalley
I understand now that this is a companion novel to Sweet Unrest' which I have not read. If I had then this may have had more of an impact on me. As it was I found it to be a good enough piece of paranormal fiction but nothing uncommon. Part of the problem for me is that I tense up when I find something is set in New Orleans. Ever since Anne Rice made it so popular it seems every paranormal writer is setting their book there. I mean come on, pick another city... Still it's dealt with in a reasonably fresh way, looking at the voodooiennes and the practices surrounding that. The dark fantasy element is gritty and not too overdone. And I did want to know what happened. I struggled with the voice a bit. Nothing wrong with it, it just didn't engage me. So while I enjoyed this I probably won't seek out 'Sweet Unrest' (Especially at nearly 8 quid on kindle!)
Good enough for a few hours entertainment though I can see it being someone else's favourite.
I understand now that this is a companion novel to Sweet Unrest' which I have not read. If I had then this may have had more of an impact on me. As it was I found it to be a good enough piece of paranormal fiction but nothing uncommon. Part of the problem for me is that I tense up when I find something is set in New Orleans. Ever since Anne Rice made it so popular it seems every paranormal writer is setting their book there. I mean come on, pick another city... Still it's dealt with in a reasonably fresh way, looking at the voodooiennes and the practices surrounding that. The dark fantasy element is gritty and not too overdone. And I did want to know what happened. I struggled with the voice a bit. Nothing wrong with it, it just didn't engage me. So while I enjoyed this I probably won't seek out 'Sweet Unrest' (Especially at nearly 8 quid on kindle!)
Good enough for a few hours entertainment though I can see it being someone else's favourite.
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