Original de: El Extraño Gato del Cuento



Al principio pensé que sería otra de esas novelas donde la protagonista se la pasaría toda la novela lamentándose y llorando porque la llevaron a vivir a otro lugar, maldeciría sus papás y eso. Esos clichés que tienden a malograr una novela paranormal. Lo bueno es que Lucy no es así, es lista. No le gusta su situación actual pero en lugar de quejarse, negocia. Por experiencia sé que si todos creen que eres buena, educada y responsable, cuando haces cosas que no deberías, eres de la última persona que sospechan. Sí, soy un demonio, o al menos lo era. Es que kitten, no podría conquistar el mundo si una gran parte de mí no fuera medio delincuente y estratega.

Mientras leía Sweet Unrest, volvía a sentir eso que sentí cuando leí por primera vez Twilight, esa idea de qué en cualquier momento pasará algo, de qué sí, quizá no sea la historia más desarrollada y demás pero de qué me tuvo sonriendo como idiota y suspirando varias, no hay duda.

Me gustó que pudiéramos ver las dos partes de la magia vudú. No la glorifica así como tampoco la condena, muestra los dos lados, es importante. Las cosas no son siempre blancas o negras.

El romance me gustó un montón, es un poco doloroso por momentos. O sea, ¿un francés de ojos azules con uniforma antiguo? Ya, resístete a eso.

Tenía tiempo sin leer algo de romance paranormal juvenil sin que lo disfrutará tanto como Sweet Unrest.

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READ IN ENGLISH

Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

I'd recently read some other books from Flux that I quite enjoyed so I was more than willing to give this book a try...

Lucy isn't happy when her parents decide to leave Chicago to move to an old plantation in Louisiana where her father will oversee a living history museum. As soon as she arrives, weird things start happening. Also, her terrifying recurring dream returns. And why doesn't anyone else know Alex?

I was less impressed by this book unfortunately. There's no subtlety in the story. Instead of just hinting in the beginning of some mysticism, let's just go visit a practitioner so no one can mistake anything that happens in this book. All the other 'mysteries' are a bit too much in the open as well, which become annoying if the main character herself doesn't (want to) see it.

I believe the story depended too much on the mystique, which gives the story in the end an ex machina feeling. I'd seen the ending coming for some time, as well as the big twist.

The writing was fast but the characters were given (I believe) southern American accents by adding a lot of 'aint's' and triple/quadruple negatives. It was still a very fast read. This is a book for an afternoon of uncomplicated summer reading. ( )

Review
I devoured this book. The Louisiana scenery sucked me in.

Lucy is a character you can love and hate all at the same time. She drives you crazy with her naivety, but makes up for it her bravery and understanding. She acts like a brat at times, and that drove me crazy. I did appreciate the friends she made. She has their back when they need her. Mama Legba was probably my favorite character. She has a big personality, and really shines throughout the book.

The events that take place are pretty creepy. I haven't read many books that feature Voodoo, and I liked seeing that spin on the paranormal part of it. I think the reason it was so haunting is because of the scenery. You have old homes with a lot of history, and a history that seems to repeat itself.

I loved the storyline and it was a perfect read to start off in October.

 
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Please read my original and full review at:
https://nerdybookaddict.wordpress.com/2015/07/27/sweet-unrest/

I actually really enjoyed this book. It had thrilling, on the edge of your seat events that had happened throughout the story. This story is about a girl named Lucy. throughout her whole life she has had these strange and very realistic dreams about her drowning. Her dreams were so realistic that when she woke up she would be gasping for air. When she had moved to her new house in New Orleans with her family, her dreams got even more detailed. I love the way the author had put so much detail into what she was dreaming about. It was easy for the reader to know whether she was awake or in her dream world which she was in quite often in the book. This book was not only thrilling but it had historical references from New Orleans Voodoo history. I did some research and found that a few of the Voodoo facts in the book were very real. This made me even more excited to finish the book and find out what happens next. Now the romance. The romance was sweet. Lucy kept dreaming about the guy that she had met on the plantation and figured that she was just going crazy. To find out the real truth behind it (Not going to give out any spoilers) was shocking. This book is just packed full of ghosts, witches, horror, thrilling events, romance, just everything you could think of. When I had reached the end of the book I just wanted to read more and more. The ending was quite sad, but also happy in a way. I almost teared up, and that is a pretty rare thing for me to have that kind of emotion just over reading a book. I highly recommend this book. You will love it! ( )

I love all things southern gothic, NOLA, voodoo, and so on, so I was excited to read Sweet Unrest. It had all of those things and more. And yet I still had some mixed opinions about the story.

Lucy and her family have moved from Chicago to an historical plantation outstide of New Orleans. It is a place full of history and magic and intrigue and Lucy, despite her practical nature and inate scepticism, falls right into the middle of it. I loved the story line that developed around her... the darkness, the magic, the mystery. The characters were colorful and the stories of each of them were, for the most part, well developed and interesting.

There was a bit near the end, though, that caused me to page back to see if I had missed something. I had, but it wasn't anything written. One of the supporting characters, Piers, suddently alluded to being something more than what he had previously been, somehow more involved. There was no explanation, no nothing. That was jarring and confused me completely.

The ending threw me, too. I am still not sure how I feel about it. It is difficult to talk about without spoiling, so forgive me if I am a little vague. In some ways, it almost felt a little forced. I don't need everything to be tied up in a pretty little bow to enjoy an ending. But it kind of left me with a cheated feeling, like there should have been more resolution.

Things to love...

--The gothic goodness of the story, the voodoo and the intrigue.
--The well-researched flavor.

Things I wanted more/less of...

--More explanation and closure at the end.

My Recommendation

This definitely had all the makings of good southern gothic fiction. The darkness, the magic, voodoo, secrets, and ghosts. Other than the couple issues I mentioned, I really did enjoy most of the book. Even the issues with the character aren't truly enough to deter me. My biggest problem was the ending, but that is other simply a matter of interpretation by the reader, so it is entirely likely that others won't take it the same way. I gave it 3.5 mugs. ( )