Reviews with content warning for Self harm - Lute

This book was just so dull. I was excited for a creepy, dark story about a remote island and the mysterious ritual that happens every seven years. Instead I had to follow along for a character deep dive on a protagonist I didn't really find all that interesting. Honestly this read FAR more like woman's lit than it ever did a horror novel. Now that I think more on it, It was absolutely woman's literature with a small sprinkling of dark fantasy. More like a dash.

Honestly I hated this. 2 stars because I think it was written well and I think it could be enjoyed by an audience looking for this. But I am not that target audience and I feel very deceived by the description.

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bookcaptivated's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

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mirificmoxie's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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bookishbutch's review against another edition

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challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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rusereviews's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Lute by Jennifer Marie Thorne is a slow burn folk horror novel. I listened to the audiobook, which clocks in at nine and a half hours and is narrated by Victoria Blunt. We follow our main characters with a first-person point-of-view.

Every seven summers--on The Day--seven people die on the idyllic British island of Lute. Every seven summers, the island takes its tithe. The Treadway family helps to protect the island. Nina became Lady Treadway after marrying Lord Treadway, but she was originally born in America. She thinks The Day is just superstitious nonsense. But then it begins, and nobody who ever goes through it is ever the same.

This is the first horror novel I've read that I can describe as gentle horror, or slow-burn horror, or even minimalist horror. But I really dug the vibe and I'd love to read more books like this.

The narrator does a great job here. Her voice suited the character of Nina perfectly. I find it interesting that Blunt is a British actor using an American accent here, but in the book Nina describes herself as taking on some of the local lilt to her speech after living nearly seven years on the island, so that tracks for me.

I really enjoyed watching Nina grow as a character throughout this book. I also really liked the direction Lord Arthur Treadway takes in here as well. The community as a whole was lovely and I enjoyed getting to know everyone.

While this book is mostly character-driven, I listened to this book in large chunks because I really wanted to know what was going to happen next! The reader knows how many people are still to die so they go into each new scene with an "ok who's next?"

I could take or leave the inclusion of this all being set in the near future during WWIII where America is on the opposite side of the war from the United Kingdom. It didn't have much to do with the story itself and in my opinion was unnecessary.

I liked the epilogue, though I've seen that some other reviewers think it's more of a cop-out.

If you liked stories like The Lottery by Shirley Jackson or the Final Destination movies, you might like this book! This is a great spooky vibes kind of book for Spooky Season.

Tropes: oblivious American, fish out of water, small town, ancient traditions, local superstitions

CW: attempted self-harm, firearms, death, murder, grief, parent death (mentioned), emotional abuse, child death

The publisher provided a audio ARC of this book for me to review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

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enchantressreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Lute is a perfect read for spooky season. Although it takes place during the summer, the vibe of the story is mysterious, dark, and scary. I’m a huge fan of folk horror, and Lute does not disappoint.

Nina Treadway moved to the Isle of Lute seven years ago, and is soon going to experience her first “Day” on the island. The Day of the Tithe requires a sacrifice of seven souls in order to keep Lute happy, healthy, with good weather and good luck. With a war going on, it is imperative that they keep Lute and its residents safe.

There are many different parts of this story that I love and they combine to create a great folk horror. It’s a small town, where everyone knows each other. There’s somewhat of a cult, since there’s ancient pagan gods involved. There’s family secrets, because Hugh Treadway is exceptionally secretive about his past. There’s a strong female main character. Nina is a wonderful lead character, and she really grew into her role by the end of the book.

The story is told in time increments until the end of The Day. I think this really gave it another push towards being scary. It adds a layer of anxiety that really wasn’t there before. I always love a good countdown in a story. Add this to the generally creepy vibe of the book, and you have a perfect folk horror story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for this advanced review copy. All opinions are my own. Lute releases on October 4th.

CW for death, fire, blood, infidelity, child death, suicide attempt, war, vomit, self-harm, emotional abuse, death of a parent, and animal death

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