Finley moved away from her best friend Betty in a small town in Maine to go to college in Manhattan, but their friendship stayed intact. They called, texted, and visited during the summer to keep ties. Then Betty goes missing, presumed by most to have committed suicide. Her ex-boyfriend Calder admitted to drowning her, but the confession is thrown out as coercion. Finley returns to the sleepy town to figure out what exactly happened to her friend.
A Good Idea addresses a lot of issues with teenage girls, friendships, misogyny, and the privilege of the rich. First, the town dismisses Betty's possible murder because she was promiscuous and exhibited erratic behavior beforehand as if it absolves anyone else of wrongdoing. The general attitude is that she brought it on herself or they just want to forget anything bad happened. Betty is a complex, flawed character who is not always likeable. She is dramatic with a vintage style and a bold aspiring actress. Finley remembers the irksome parts of her in addition to the parts she loved. Finley makes a huge amount of mistakes on the journey to solve her friend's disappearance/probable murder. Rash decisions include setting fires and slashing tires, but it still serves to remind the town that something happened and no one is doing anything about it.
On the opposing side, Calder is the hotheaded son of the mayor who always gets his way. After Betty cheated on him, he made sure she would never act in high school no matter how good she was, cutting off the one thing that made her happy. Despite all of his privilege, he still acted like a victim and had the support of the community, both enraging things. Another creepy guy is Owen, much older than the teens but that doesn't stop him from having sex with them. I don't know if I'm supposed to like him, but he very much needs to leave these kids alone. I prefered Serena, Finley's kind of girlfriend. I also appreciated the portrayal of bisexuality that's rare to see. The writing was serviceable, but I wouldn't read the book again. The revelations lose their edge once you already know what it is.
My rating: 3/5 fishmuffins
* A Poison Dark and Drowning
Although she knows she isn't the chosen one, Henrietta must play the role so that others won't despair and to save her best friend Rook, who would be turned away as his dark powers keep growing. Rhlem starts a campaign of horror and blood with the promise it will stop if Henrietta is turned over to him. Now that the shield is no longer active, the sorcerers are fighting a losing battle to save England and its surrouding countries from the threat of Rhlem and his cadre of giant monster and minions.
I didn't like A Shadow Bright and Burning very much, but I decided to give the sequel a try. I found many of the same problems with it. While the monster are horrific and impressive, the horror is always pulled back to make it more palatable. Some of the other ones are seen in more detail like Nemneris, who makes underwater webs and ensnares ships to eat sailors. Rhlem leaves notes to turn over Henrietta, but it comes off as super cheesy and juvenile. If he can meet people in their dreams, why not do that instead? Much more creepy and effective instead of Wicked Witch of the West-like. In terms of world building, the fae world still seems tacked on and at odds with the rest of the mythology instead of an intrinsic part of the world.
Henrietta and Blackwood are so much worse in this installment. She never listens to anyone and twists everything to get her way. Blackwood is as vindictive, childish, uptight, and misogynistic as ever. I don't even know why he's there to be honest except to annoy everyone. There's not much to root for here except Henrietta's new witch friend Maria who I would have loved to see last book. As interesting as she is, she's relegated to the background and just seems like Merida from Brave. Rook's situation plays out incredibly predictably and I have no sympathy for Henrietta at all.
More is discovered about the origins of the monsters, but it's accompanied by lazy deus ex machina type weapons to fight them. There's a random revelation about Rhlem that made me roll my eyes. It wasn't even unique in any way. I always have hope for this series' potential and it always disappoints me. I most likely won't read the next installment.
My rating: 1.5/5 fishmuffins
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