Looking Glass Sound

Overall, it was a good book, but I did have to use Google to understand the ending. And once I did understand, it kinda made the book feel, I don't know, meh? This is one of those books you'll have to read to understand what I'm talking about. But even with the wonky ending, it was still worth the read.

I requested a copy of the ARC from the publisher, TOR Nightfire, on NetGalley and was approved in exchange for consideration of a review. All opinions discussed are my own and are subjective to myself as a reader.

For those who prefer video format, my non spoiler video review is available here: https://youtu.be/88_MMDUalqY

Catriona Ward has a long list of accomplishments from her works: Winner of Best Hardcover Novel at the ITW Thriller Awards for SUNDIAL, Finalist for the Bram Stoker and Locus Awards, Shortlisted for the British Fantasy Award for Best Horror Novel and a finalist here on Goodreads for Best Horror!

After the mind-bending ride that was SUNDIAL, I knew there would be more Catriona Ward in my future and was delighted to discover NetGalley was offering ARCs for her newest release, LOOKING GLASS SOUND, slated for expected release August 8, 2023.

"Friends can break your heart, it seems, just like love."

Wilder Harlow will never forget when his family began spending summers at the cottage on Whistle Bay in New England. Due to his strange looks and tendency to keep to himself, Wilder had no friends and thought there might be something special about this cottage overlooking the Maine coast. He is quickly welcomed by the friendly, easy-going Nathaniel and his best friend, Harper. The three are almost inseparable - until tragedy strikes, which only serves to bond them closer together - forever.

"People around here don't seem to talk much, but they like to do small kindnesses."

The character of Wilder Harlow is written so well. His loneliness during the school year, unwilling to share the pain with his parents about the constant bullying. He was around the age of 16, Wilder was struggling to understand what love was and if it was tied to a specific gender. I found this confusion to be very relatable. The author made me feel the depth of this child's emotions. When he meets Harper and Nat in New England, watching their friendship form and strengthen was so endearing and charming. Not only did Wilder fall in love with his new pair of friends, he also fell in love with the small town and its people who lived there. I enjoyed watching him emerge from his shell. He had such a kind soul.

"Being scared is fun. But you have to make it feel real to be properly afraid."

In addition to the budding friendship, readers also learn this little town has a dangerous mystery shrouding it - the mystery of The Dagger Man. Who is this mysterious person breaking into occupied homes, yet takes nothing? In fact, the families never know The Dagger Man has been there until they receive the picture in the mail...and the picture is terrifying. As soon as I read my first bit about The Dagger Man, I. WAS. ON. BOARD! I love when a story has high stakes, where a life or lives hang in the balance - that sense of time running out, not knowing if/when this person may escalate or where they may show up next. This mystery, along with Wilder's character development were my favorite things about this book.

'Writing is power,' she says. 'Big magic. It's a way of keeping someone alive forever.'

Isn't this what we love most about reading? The ability to return to our favorite worlds, characters and scenes over and over and over as the years go by? Catriona Ward has once again written a book that impacted me with its insight at how stories we read can shape us in ways that can change us forever. This is only rivaled by how masterful she is at writing characters that mean something to you - whether it be because of shared personal experience or because someone close to you has - how she writes human fragility is utterly captivating.

Another hit for me from this author - I will continue to read more of her backlog as I wait for anything new she publishes!

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

You can find this review and many more on my website, https://thenerdynarrative.com or if you prefer video format, you can find those on my BookTube channel, https://youtube.com/thenerdynarrative

I’m really not sure what to say about this book. While I liked it, there was a point towards 3/4 th through that I had no idea what just happened or where it was going. I thought it first I had accidentally skipped something. I kept going through it and it seemed like it started to make sense again, and then it sort of did again at the end, the writing is really beautiful, but the story is a bit fragmented and hard to follow. I don’t know if I can actually recommend it. I think if you want to view a different way of writing and looking at the world and for sure give it a shot, but I’m not sure if I would, say this fall under any sort of typical format. I’m not sure that’s a bad thing. I’m just struggling figuring out what happened.

This is like bookception

Well this one was certainly interesting. It took me until the very end to have a full grasp of what was going on due to the rollercoaster of competing story and storylines and it was proving difficult to keep them in sync while reading this novel. Once I reached the end and it was clear what was "real life" and what was the novel within the novel, it all made much more sense.

I do have to say I think the prose and word choice was a bit interesting and at times I felt that that prose was a bit too "wordy" but overall the story flowed well, the characters progressed, and the novel was an overall enjoyable one.