Your rating:
Five young women eager for success rely on the unspeakable to make their dreams come true in a chilling novel about martyrdom, ritual, and obsession by the author of We Ate the Dark. Art student Jo Kozak and her fellow classmates and best friends, Caroline, Finch, Amrita, and Saz, are one another’s muses—so close they have their own language and so devoted to the craft that they’ll do anything to keep their inspiration alive. Even if it means naively resorting to the occult to unlock their creativity and to curse their esteemed, if notoriously creepy, professor. They soon learn the horrible price to be paid for such a transgressive ritual. In its violent aftermath, things are changing. Jo is feeling unnervingly haunted by something inexplicable. Their paintings, once prodigious and full of life, are growing dark and unhealthy. And their journey together—as women, students, and artists—is starting to crumble. To right the wrong they’ve done, these five desperate friends will take their obsession a step too far. When that happens, there may be no turning back.
No posts yet
Kick off the convo with a theory, question, musing, or update
Your rating:
Slow start but omg!
As mentioned, this has a bit of a slow start but a few chapters in it picks up and it took me by surprise. A great read, I enjoyed the emotion and depth some of the characters and how it centered on the 5 girls. The mention of the occult gives the story an interesting turn beyond that of just a bunch of girls messing about and I enjoyed the elements of folklore alongside queer representation and a focus on loss and love.
I found it to be a truly powerful read and one that I would happily re-read.