Jennifer Thorne

Wicker Man meets Final Destination in Jennifer Thorne's atmospheric, unsettling folk horror novel about love, duty, and community. On the idyllic island of Lute, every seventh summer, seven people die. No more, no less. Lute and its inhabitants are blessed, year after year, with good weather, good health, and good fortune. They live a happy, superior life, untouched by the war that rages all around them. So it’s only fair that every seven years, on the day of the tithe, the island’s gift is honored. Nina Treadway is new to The Day. A Florida girl by birth, she became a Lady through her marriage to Lord Treadway, whose family has long protected the island. Nina’s heard about The Day, of course. Heard about the horrific tragedies, the lives lost, but she doesn’t believe in it. It's all superstitious nonsense. Stories told to keep newcomers at bay and youngsters in line. Then The Day begins. And it's a day of nightmares, of grief, of reckoning. But it is also a day of community. Of survival and strength. Of love, at its most pure and untamed. When The Day ends, Nina—and Lute—will never be the same. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Lute

Deborah Kerr

A spooky survival story with a claustrophobic, cult-like setting but with vague worldbuilding and irritating characters

. The cover was the first thing that drew me in. Look at it; it's eerie and gorgeous! The synopsis sounded good too other than the comparison to 

 comparison that had me hesitating. But I did also end up with three different Suspense/Horror novels set on islands at once. So I ended up putting Lute aside for a couple of months.

The story is about an American woman who marries a titled English lord from a remote island in the British channel. At first, her new life seems like an idyllic fairytale. But her peaceful life is shattered when she discovers that every seventh summer solstice, the island claims the lives of seven people. Though she dismisses the claims at first as superstition and coincidence, she soon finds herself mired in secrets and danger as the island seeks to claim its due.

To start with, I was confused about the location and time of the setting. Apparently it was set on an island in the English Channel in the future. But I had to piece that together through exasperating tidbits that were dropped. There was nothing in the description or reviews I read that mentioned this was set in the future. 

I greatly resent having to piece together such basic info

, and it started me off on the wrong foot with this book. The location was easier to nail down, but the time period was frustratingly vague. At first I thought it was set in WWII because it mentioned war and the Blitz and modern items that meant it couldn't be WWI unless it was the world's worst historical research. But the modern dialogue and narration made it much harder to believe that time setting. So I did initially think it just rubbish writing and a whole lot of anachronisms.

But then it turns out it's set in the future four years into "the Water Wars" which it makes a point of saying isn't called WWIII. But there was almost no worldbuilding about the war or anything else really. Even the island itself left too many questions. It turns out the war exists entirely to create a reason they can't leave the island. I truly think the war was literally just included to keep them on the island. Again, the whole thing left me frustrated.

The story is told in first person, present tense with Nina as the sole narrator. While this made sense (given that the only way to keep the suspense would be to have the ignorant party as the narrator), I simply did not care about Nina. I was not invested in any of the characters as a matter of fact. Which made it difficult to care who died or be driven to find out who would survive.

Nina's trauma about her toxic relationship with her mother was frankly exhausting to read. And her husband wasn’t much better. The romance in this book was so cringe-worthy. The basic setup of “magical island exacting a steep price for people living a blessed life the rest of the time” certainly was not original. I wanted more from the story and certainly more from the worldbuilding. Though admittedly, the story did keep me engaged enough, and the writing was atmospheric. The combination of the frustrating worldbuilding and my dislike of the characters made it hard to enjoy 

Characters and Character Development: 2 Stars

Colleen

A spooky survival story with a claustrophobic, cult-like setting but with vague worldbuilding and irritating characters


I was nervous to read Lute. The cover was the first thing that drew me in. Look at it; it's eerie and gorgeous! The synopsis sounded good too other than the comparison to The Wicker Man (which I hated). It was mainly The Wicker Man comparison that had me hesitating. But I did also end up with three different Suspense/Horror novels set on islands at once. So I ended up putting Lute aside for a couple of months.

The story is about an American woman who marries a titled English lord from a remote island in the British channel. At first, her new life seems like an idyllic fairytale. But her peaceful life is shattered when she discovers that every seventh summer solstice, the island claims the lives of seven people. Though she dismisses the claims at first as superstition and coincidence, she soon finds herself mired in secrets and danger as the island seeks to claim its due.



"We step silently out of the car and, side by side, enter the grove. The oaks suck us in. I hold my breath in the abrupt darkness, feeling, as ever, like something has shifted here like I'm breathing different air, old oxygen."


To start with, I was confused about the location and time of the setting. Apparently it was set on an island in the English Channel in the future. But I had to piece that together through exasperating tidbits that were dropped. There was nothing in the description or reviews I read that mentioned this was set in the future. I greatly resent having to piece together such basic info, and it started me off on the wrong foot with this book. The location was easier to nail down, but the time period was frustratingly vague. At first I thought it was set in WWII because it mentioned war and the Blitz and modern items that meant it couldn't be WWI unless it was the world's worst historical research. But the modern dialogue and narration made it much harder to believe that time setting. So I did initially think it just rubbish writing and a whole lot of anachronisms.

But then it turns out it's set in the future four years into "the Water Wars" which it makes a point of saying isn't called WWIII. But there was almost no worldbuilding about the war or anything else really. Even the island itself left too many questions. It turns out the war exists entirely to create a reason they can't leave the island. I truly think the war was literally just included to keep them on the island. Again, the whole thing left me frustrated.

The story is told in first person, present tense with Nina as the sole narrator. While this made sense (given that the only way to keep the suspense would be to have the ignorant party as the narrator), I simply did not care about Nina. I was not invested in any of the characters as a matter of fact. Which made it difficult to care who died or be driven to find out who would survive.

Nina's trauma about her toxic relationship with her mother was frankly exhausting to read. And her husband wasn’t much better. The romance in this book was so cringe-worthy. The basic setup of “magical island exacting a steep price for people living a blessed life the rest of the time” certainly was not original. I wanted more from the story and certainly more from the worldbuilding. Though admittedly, the story did keep me engaged enough, and the writing was atmospheric. The combination of the frustrating worldbuilding and my dislike of the characters made it hard to enjoy Lute overall.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 3 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 2 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 3 Stars
Originality: 2 Stars

Lute

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