Lute
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.BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
One of the main problems with this book is that it doesn’t feel like it knows what it’s supposed to be. Is it horror? Is it romance? Is it YA? Is it adult? I don’t know, and obviously neither does the author.
Nina married a lord on this island in the UK where 7 people die every year as a sacrifice to the island itself. Why? Don’t know. How? We also don’t know. The island chooses at random apparently or you can pick your own adventure so to speak and volunteer but only if the island approves. Even the premise is confusing and doesn’t really seem to know the rules. Also this is set in some weird future where there’s a war going on. What does this add to the story? Absolutely nothing!! The war is also never explained, nothing is explained except the tithe itself, and even that is done in a weird flashback sequence that’s poorly written.
Also, this was marketed as an adult debut but the writing, the characters, the plot, the themes, the execution, all of it screamed amateur YA novel. I honestly think the only reason this isn’t listed YA, is because there are two sex scenes in the book, both of which are random and not good.
I did not enjoy this book at all, nothing was done well and I had to force myself to finish it. I wouldn’t really recommend this to anyone because I don’t think there’s much to get out of it on any sense.
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