Reviews with content warning for Murder - Summer Sons

A southern gothic queer horror story full of folklore & hauntings sounded like the perfect book to transition from summer to autumn & it definitely was.

Honestly I had a hard time getting into the story for about half the book, it took me a while to understand the basics of the story, especially the way the hauntings worked. I also didn’t like how much the characters evolved around car races, which is just bc I personally cannot connect with that.
But around half the book the story took me really in & I loved the last 20% of it.
If the whole book had more focus on the folklore and murder mystery, like the last chapters did, this would have been a a 4-5 stars read for me, but as I said I had a hard time connecting with the first half of the book.
Even though I figured out the mystery pretty early on, I still liked the way it was written and it remained exciting to me.
I also ended up liking the romance way more than I did.
So overall a pretty good reading experience but far away from being a favorite.

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kakenn21's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

The first half the book was slow and Andrew's lack of emotional availability is tedious. But once he opens up to Riley and Sam a bit and the mystery gets going I enjoyed it. Writing was wordy and the lack of a large cast of characters made the reveal anti-climatic.

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friends2lovers's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

My favorite aspect of the story is definitely Andrew’s internal conflict over Eddie’s death and his burgeoning relationship with Sam—confronting his true feelings for Eddie while simultaneously acting on his desires for Sam, and eventually letting go of the relationship he could have had with Eddie so he can have a future with Sam. Thematically, the story is ultimately about grief and I think the intertwining of character and theme is done well. However, Andrew’s internal struggles and reflections are too often sidelined to move the lackluster horror/suspense plot forward.

Furthermore, I did not care for the tedious writing style at all and it significantly detracted from my enjoyment. The prose is somehow both wordy and vague. Figurative language is used in a way that makes it difficult to visualize what is happening in some scenes, especially the supernatural ones. I frequently had to pause or reread passages, which slowed down my reading pace. Since the descriptions are more confusing than evocative, I did not find this to be a creepy, immersive read, which is what I expected and wanted. 71% into the book, I noted in my reading journal: “I have to admit the reason I’m feeling compelled to pick it up and keep reading is not because of the story but because I want to finish it and move on to a different book.”

All that being said, the ending (

Come on. I love you, but this is no life.

) moved me to tears. And as frustrating as the writing is, there are a handful of passages I thought were worth bookmarking. So, I have mixed feelings about this book and my star rating is subject to change. For now, I’m going with 2.5-stars because overall I thought it was somewhere between okay (2-stars) and good (3-stars). If later I’m feeling more generous, I’ll probably round up to 3-stars.

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valerian_honeybee's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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eleasofia's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

this book is not something i typically read, i'm not really interested in horror and supernatural things, but i enjoyed it nevertheless. the horror/ supernatural elements are important to the story but not too prominent. the writing in general was good, nothing crazy poetic or beautiful, but definitely not simple, and sometimes clever and funny. the pacing felt a bit off to me. the first half of the book felt quite slow and i feel like it could've been a bit shorter/ more condensed. it was always compelling enough for me to keep reading though, so really not a major complaint from my side. the story itself was somewhat predictable, but i was interested and wanted to figure it out, and it took me a while to get what's going on, so it was worth a read. the characters were not super memorable or special to me (clichés dominated: fast cars, drugs, skipping classes etc.), but interesting and/ or likeable enough that, once again, it was worth reading. the book deals with some very heavy topics, mainly grief and loss, but also repressed sexuality and eventually coming to terms with it, so it might really not be for everyone. it did not make me overly emotional, though. overall, i definitely enjoyed it and it's a general recommendation from me, but i doubt i'll ever re-read it.

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thebigemmt505's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.25

“‘We ordered some pizza, but it takes a dick-year to deliver out here, so settle in.’”

Summer Sons is the story of the sexually repressed and angsty Andrew as he moves to Nashville in order to find out what happened to his supposedly dead-by-suicide (boy)friend Eddie. There’s also lots of cars!

I… think I get the most frustrated by books that have every element to be fantastic, intriguing, and meaningful, but aren’t… so needless to say, this one was a doozy for me. I don’t want to write a dissertation (maybe Troth can help me on that one, because I am white! Not a man though 😔) but I have many thoughts.

The positives: Queer repression is real, and while I found it a bit jarring at first, I suppose it’s realistic. Two rich men from the American south weighted down by the generations behind them aren’t exactly gonna accept that they’re a bunch of massive queers immediately. There were beautiful sentences!

“Fire wouldn’t cleanse the history from that earth, but maybe it could put the bones to rest.” “The sepulchral vibe ached in his molars, wreckage all around resting silent and still.”

Among others. I liked the vibe, the aesthetic, and the setting of the book with all its imagery, hot sweat and blood dripping down the bodies of troubled young adults whose mere identities outcast them to the cursed grounds they reside on. I thought that eventually, some of the characters were quite interesting and likeable, and by that I mean West, Riley, Del (who was done horribly wrong in this tale) and sort-of Sam.

Aside from that… dear fucking god. Let’s just make a list.

1 ) PACING: as everyone is saying, the first 200 pages are a slog. There is far too much description and far too little plot progression, especially given the character we’re following is supposedly so determined to uncover the truth about Eddie. Every tiny little detail we uncover is followed by a paragraph of Andrew putting clothes in a washing machine, Andrew going into his or Eddies car, Andrew moping around and some variation of, “but did he REALLY know Eddie?” It takes at least two dick-years to get to anything of substance. Even in the latter half of the book, the pacing is still jarring, and the last 50 pages (you know, the interesting bit) felt so rushed in comparison to the rest.

Where was all the atmosphere in the Troth stand-off?

2 ) CHARACTERS: Andrew and Eddie were perfect for each other, because they both sound utterly insufferable. Stories can center around morally imperfect or awful characters, but that requires intrigue. I get the impression the Andrew was written as a privileged white boy whose redemption arc is unveiling the family curse he inherited and accepting his gayness, but he never grows likable. None of his dialogue, thoughts, or anything feels much more distinctive or interesting than, “well, that’s a dude!” Same with Eddie. As I stated, there are other characters who are fine, but through the lens of Andrew, whose relationships apparently involve little more than violence or eye-fucking

(haha, quite literally there at the end)

, there is only so much we can be interested in. These characters’ chemistries are implied and not earned, a trend I’m seeing far too often in queer media (fuck you Love, Lies, Bleeding.)

3 ) STORY: Andrew is dumb as fuck dude.

(Why don’t you fucking TALK to Eddie’s friends? Why don’t you read his notes? Why do you keep just fighting everyone who could help you? Why don’t you suspect Troth more? Why GO TO HER HOUSE and DRINK COFFEE she gave you when you were aware it was all a trap?)

The story had such jarring genre shifts and scenes it made the whole narrative a mess.

(Why does everyone keep racing with like, no verbal agreement? Why is there a romantic sub-plot sex scene smack dab in the middle of this book where 40 pages ago all the characters still hated each other? Why does the whole structure of this book amount to “nothing-burger convo, drive, hang out, drive, drive, DRIVE, haunt, wake up, drive, useless conversation with one tiny clue, DRIVE” I get we’re in America but MAAANNNN)

And honestly, when all is said and done, it’s just disappointing and honestly a little goofy.

(Wee-woo, Troth dies, Sam fucks up his eye, Andrew burns shit and bittersweet ending yay!)

The writer could’ve put all that lovely description into the lore of the land and the

Fulton curse

but used it mostly on “for-the-vibes” passages, and the lack of real build up made everything feel flat. Also, it really likes to insist on how “southern gothic” it is when like… the characters… Vanderbilt… fuck it.

4 ) WRITING: we all have flaws. Writing is hard. It is for me! But just… the fucking dialogue, or lack thereof, was poorly done. There are too many bizarre and unnecessary adjectives

(why the fuck are we describing a chair as “utilitarian” and the climatic fire at the end of the book as “respectable”)

and other needlessly complex, bordering on haughty words that negatively impact the reading experience. The haunt scenes were very difficult to visualize. It’s all hard to read and not in the “good challenge” sort of way, minus the addition of a couple cool words to my vocabulary. Just… not as well thought out as it should’ve been and also very not my speed. Perhaps a lowly dyke like me isn’t intellectual enough for this book! (Okay, too snarky.)

I could go on and on. Clearly, this author has talent and put a lot into this book. I don’t doubt the heart and it’s far from the worst trash ever written (I’m just harsh.) Clearly, the writing is especially not jibing with me personally. Admittedly, once I start disliking something I’ll tend to nitpick too, so that contributes. But… god man. I could’ve loved this book. I did not.

Honestly, do what you want, but I don’t recommend this one.

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hellavaral's review against another edition

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medium-paced

4.25

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rhi_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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