A review by kells30
The Cherry Robbers by Sarai Walker

5.0

I absolutely loved this one, and I’m not sure I even would have picked it up if it wasn’t for the very high praise from my friend Alaina! As billed, this is a gothic ghost story, centering around a set of sisters who live in an old colonial mansion in New England, dubbed ‘the wedding cake’ by our protagonist, Iris. The sisters, all named after a flower, live a confined life very much at home, mostly due to their ‘unconventional’ and strange mother, who never wanted to marry and doesn’t take much interest in them; their father also barely bothers with the girls. Iris is thus very close to her sisters, but ominous winds are blowing as the oldest sister, Aster, gets engaged to be married and is soon to leave them. The tension in this book is brilliant all the way through, I didn’t want to stop reading. The plot is compelling too, even if it doesn’t go anywhere too unexpected there’s a still an element of mystery and suspense that makes you want to keep reading. I liked the setup of the book with the diaries and the sisters, and the dual timeline (Iris recounting what happened growing up and then modern Iris as a successful artist), but I slightly wished they had gone more into Iris’s art towards the end, as I didn’t get too much of a sense of what she painted before the end. I did really like the philosophical character arc for Iris and the way she turned her experiences into a strength, ultimately, was a nice conclusion. But be prepared for a lot of gothic tragedy before you reach that conclusion, this is a very atmospheric read. I may have to get my book club to read it for Halloween as this would be an amazing one to discuss!

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