In our family, we keep our magic close, but our secrets closer . . .
Ivy’s summer kicks off with a series of disturbing events. As unnatural offerings appear on her doorstep, she’s haunted by fragmented memories from her childhood, suggesting there’s more to her mother, Dana, than meets the eye.
Dana’s tale starts the year she turns sixteen, when she embarks on a major fling with the supernatural. Too late she realizes that the powers she’s playing with are also playing with her.
Years after it began, Ivy and Dana’s shared story will come down to a reckoning between a mother, a daughter and the dark forces they never should have messed with.
Title : Our Crooked Hearts
Author : Melissa Albert
Format : Physical
Page Count : 352
Genre : YA Fantasy/Thriller/Horror
Publisher : Penguin
Release Date : June 30, 2022
Reviewer : Micky
Rating : ★ ★ ★ ★
Micky’s 4 star review
Headlines:
Hella creepy
Difficult familial relationships
Magic bubbling
This book had a pretty spine-chilling start and that atmosphere pervaded throughout the book. Figuratively looking over your shoulder was on the menu with characters that were very investable in, good and bad.
The story was told between chapters of Ivy a teen, a witness to sinister goings on and then chapters from her mum’s teen years discovering magical crafts. These two characters were not close and reading these stories in tandem worked so well. For Ivy it was about following breadcrumbs, remembering the past and fighting for family.
As a reader, adding up the clues and working out the whole picture was the mission. I had lots of theories along the way and I was not disappointed.
Genre-wise, this is YA with a sense of thriller, fantasy and mild horror (in terms of atmosphere) and one scene that got me a bit freaked. Please always remember I am a wuss when it comes to scary, so many will not find it scary.
Thank you to Penguin for the review copy.
A Take from Two Cities 