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A review by katekate_reads_
The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner
5.0
I almost missed out on this book and am SO GLAD I didn’t. It’s been on my tbr for a long time. I believe it first got there from a podcast rec - either Books on the Nightstand or Bookriot. Then it sat and sat and sat. Then I saw a recommendation on Bookstagram which bumped it back up my list.
But something about it made me think it wasn’t for me. The title? The cover? The description? I’m not sure but for whatever reason, I kept pushing it to “later”. I had the audiobook from the library and it’s due in a few days. I thought about just returning it unread but looked at my friends’ reviews - saw a lot of 5 star reads from friends with similar reading taste. So I thought “Fine! I’ll finally give it a shot. I’ll read a few chapters and not like it and DNF and confirm this isn’t for me!”
I was wrong. I was so wrong. I absolutely loved this book. The audiobook was excellent - with 3 narrators to cover the 3 different POVs in the book. This is a story about 3 high school seniors - Dill, Lydia and Travis. I listened in one shot.
The author did an amazing job of covering a lot of serious topics with the right heft - but also never getting bogged down. The humor is excellent. The characters are amazing - I think Lydia is my favorite but so many that I really loved. I cried - but never felt emotionally manipulated. If you have triggers, I suggest doing some research before deciding if this is for you. If not - I suggest going in without any additional info like I did and just letting it unfold. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
But something about it made me think it wasn’t for me. The title? The cover? The description? I’m not sure but for whatever reason, I kept pushing it to “later”. I had the audiobook from the library and it’s due in a few days. I thought about just returning it unread but looked at my friends’ reviews - saw a lot of 5 star reads from friends with similar reading taste. So I thought “Fine! I’ll finally give it a shot. I’ll read a few chapters and not like it and DNF and confirm this isn’t for me!”
I was wrong. I was so wrong. I absolutely loved this book. The audiobook was excellent - with 3 narrators to cover the 3 different POVs in the book. This is a story about 3 high school seniors - Dill, Lydia and Travis. I listened in one shot.
The author did an amazing job of covering a lot of serious topics with the right heft - but also never getting bogged down. The humor is excellent. The characters are amazing - I think Lydia is my favorite but so many that I really loved. I cried - but never felt emotionally manipulated. If you have triggers, I suggest doing some research before deciding if this is for you. If not - I suggest going in without any additional info like I did and just letting it unfold. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.