House of Ivy & Sorrow
by Natalie Whipple
Published: April 15, 2014
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Format: eARC (352 pages)
Source: For Review
Josephine Hemlock has spent the last 10 years hiding from the Curse that killed her mother. But when a mysterious man arrives at her ivy-covered, magic-fortified home, it’s clear her mother’s killer has finally come to destroy the rest of the Hemlock bloodline. Before Jo can even think about fighting back, she must figure out who she’s fighting in the first place. The more truth Jo uncovers, the deeper she falls into witchcraft darker than she ever imagined. Trapped and running out of time, she begins to wonder if the very Curse that killed her mother is the only way to save everyone she loves.
My biggest thought about the House of Ivy & Sorrow is that it could have been more. The voice was there, but it didn’t come out as much as it could have. The conflict definitely needed more to it. Even with a twist, the conflict came with an explanation already just based on how the world works and it made it hard for me to stay connected to the story. I almost didn’t finish this one because about a third of the way through I didn’t feel like I would learn anything new about the conflict. To be honest, I didn’t learn anything new about the conflict at the end. It came out like I thought it would. But the way it was resolved was interesting. I liked that the resolution came from the girls and their friendship. Girl power!
I liked the magic and the characters in this book. The idea of magic coming from places was creative. The character Nana was one of my favorites. She had the strongest personality in the book and I enjoyed reading about her. The love interest seemed a little boring at first, but he came with an interesting twist of his own. The romance was a little cheesy for my taste, but it was still cute for the most part.
I didn’t enjoy the writing. There were a few cliche moments, but luckily it didn’t go to the extreme or I would have definitely chucked this book across the room. The dialogue was interesting, but I found that the main character said “No” a lot, in big long strings, when things didn’t go her way. Maybe it’s a little much to expect someone to realistically be eloquent in moments of stress. I don’t know.
I was disappointed, to say the least, when I found out the villain’s motivation. I think this goes along with the weak conflict. The villain and conflict just needed to be turned up a notch and it would have been awesome! And then the villain had to go and be all tacky. He was cheesy enough to make me cringe a little. If only he had a mustache to twirl….
Overall, the magic and characters were good but without a strong conflict or interesting villain motivation this book just didn’t keep my interest.
Content Rating: Mild, for a few brief kissing scenes and pain used for magic that is mildly disturbing (e.g. pulling out fingernails and teeth etc.)
This post contains affiliate links and I receive a small percentage of sales made through these links. I received this book for review from the publisher, HarperTeen, in exchange for an honest review. I was not told what to say, I was not paid to write this review and all the opinions expressed are my own. I read an Advanced Reading Copy for this review.
About Natalie Whipple
Natalie Whipple, sadly, does not have any cool mutations like her characters. Unless you count the ability to watch anime and Korean dramas for hours on end. Or her uncanny knack for sushi consumption.
She grew up in the Bay Area and relocated to Utah for high school, which was quite the culture shock for her anime-loving teen self. But the Rocky Mountains eventually won her over, and she stuck around to earn her degree in English linguistics at BYU. Natalie still lives in Utah with her husband and three kids, and keeps the local Asian market in business with all her attempts to cook Thai curry, Pho, and “real” ramen.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
My name is Jessica. I love to read Young Adult and classic literature. I’ve been a book blogger for six years and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. I’m a very curious reader. Writing about all the questions and thoughts I had while reading a book is the best hobby ever.
I agree with what you’ve said although I did enjoy the book more than you did. I think it was because the magic interested me so much as well as the friendship between the girls. It was easier for me to forgive the lack of depth with the conflict and the not-quite-amazing romance. It wasn’t as good as I was hoping for but it was fun enough. I hope you enjoy your next book more!
I definitely don’t enjoy cheesy villains, especially those without good motivations but I’m still intrigued enough by the book synopsis to give it a go. However, I’ll probably pick it up from the library over purchasing it.