Reviews with content warning for Suicide attempt - Lute

Nina Treadway is the lady of Lute, but she’s only lived there for seven years, since she got married to Hugh. As a foreigner, she doesn’t believe in the island’s day of the tithe, but as things start going wrong all around her, she wonders if it might be more than a superstition.

Folk horror! A mysterious day of human sacrifice as an island extracts the price of its bounty from its residents! An American abroad! And that cover is so very beautiful, and so very haunting. Alas, Lute didn’t really live up to my expectations.

This is quite an atmospheric read, and the author does a good job of painting a picture of Lute, an isolated, idyllic island that has sinister undertones at times. There’s a lot of talk of Lute “wanting” things, and the author convinced me enough that the island was alive enough to have a will of its own. The close knit community is vivid, the characters both minor and major who populate the island well-sketched.

However, I did think there were some odd choices made in the framing of the plot and setting that felt unnecessary and impacted my enjoyment. For example, there’s a lot made of Nina being unlucky, but her backstory when revealed was underwhelming. There’s apparently a third world war raging in this setting, but it has pretty much no impact on the story. I didn’t really feel Nina’s affection for her children and husband, which decreased any sense of urgency the reader might feel about their welfare.

I read the audiobook version of this book, which is narrated by Victoria Blunt. I thought she did a good job as Nina’s voice, sometimes soothing and sometimes direct. She elevated the story for me – I’m not sure I would have enjoyed it as much as I did had I read a physical version.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Content Warnings

carlywho's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

bluwuberry's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

lacysautekc's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.75

Content Warnings

brigettes's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

thriller, dark and mysterious. a very unique concept. great twist at the end that I only guessed a chapter or two before it happened. a bit gory and hard to read at times, touches on some dark topics and there was lots of constan tension (the attempts at reprise from this weren't great), but overall a good thriller.

Content Warnings

foxgloveandcrow's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

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