Thank you so much to Tordotcom for the ARC of Comfort Me With Apples! I received the book for free in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are my own!
The editorial letter states that the book is extremely hard to describe because of spoilers, and that we just have to read it. I completely agree with this! I definitely really enjoyed it and recommend for a short, fast paced fall read with tons of atmosphere
Bookish Quick Facts:
- Title: Comfort Me With Apples
- Series: N/A
- Author: Catherynne M. Valente
- Publisher & Release: TorDotCom – 10/26/21
- Length: 112 pages
- Rate & Recommend: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 for pretty much anyone, it crosses genres!
Here is the book blurb:
A terrifying new thriller from bestseller Catherynne M. Valente …
Sophia was made for him. Her perfect husband. She can feel it in her bones. He is perfect. Their home together in Arcadia Gardens is perfect. Everything is perfect.
It’s just that he’s away so much. So often. He works so hard. She misses him. And he misses her. He says he does, so it must be true. He is the perfect husband and everything is perfect.
But sometimes Sophia wonders about things. Strange things. Dark things. The look on her husband’s face when he comes back from a long business trip. The questions he will not answer. The locked basement she is never allowed to enter. And whenever she asks the neighbors, they can’t quite meet her gaze…
But everything is perfect. Isn’t it?
Other than the book blurb, I don’t want to say too much about the plot itself because the whole thing leads up to the twist! The book lives for the twist.
Sophia is happy, living a perfect life in a perfect community called Arcadia Gardens. The book almost immediately starts introducing some fairy tale elements, but the reader has no idea what direction the story is going in. Is it a fairytale retelling? A fantasy? A new legend? Something out of folklore or mythology? A combination? Why is Sophia finding bones in the house and cracks in the facade of her existence?
With beautiful imagery, a mystery to solve, a general sense of unease, and a deeply atmospheric fairytale tone of voice, definitely you just have to read this one to find out exactly what is going on in Arcadia Gardens.
It lists as a domestic thriller, fantasy, mythology. I think there’s something in it for most readers, and it’s so short that it can be read in one sitting on a breezy October afternoon.
Thanks for reading!
OneReadingNurse.com 