“Come on. I love you, but this is no life.” —Andrew Blur, page 365

all of my friends know that i agonized over this book for various reasons. something that is so, so, so geared for me—a queer southern gothic tale—ticks all my boxes and then some. but then i started reading it, slogging through the prose, and it fell short because it felt like a debut. the lyrical prose, while beautiful, felt too congested at times in places where it definitely could’ve been cut. i’m not sure if this is a quirk of mandelo’s writing style or if it’s just a facet of the book, but visualizing what was happened felt off, as if i couldn’t really say what exactly with the characters’ bodies (corporeal or otherwise); i’d know exactly what emotional turmoil or peak they were feeling, but just vaguely. 

okay, cons aside: i fucking LOVE these characters. they’re messy, gay as hell (and fighting it), and so, so, so southern. andrew’s complex grief pushes the narrative forward, dragging everyone along for the ride—unwilling participants and all. and, funnily enough, before a beloved friend told me the author wrote kavinsky fic before, i was telling everyone who’s heard me yap about this book about how it has an older, darker, damper energy of THE RAVEN CYCLE. i laughed! anyway, that’s my review. love n light. good luck n godspeed, etc.