A dark, romantic YA suspense novel with an SF edge and plenty of drama, layering the secrets we keep and how appearances can deceive, from the New York Times bestselling author. In this tiny, terrifying town, the lost are never found. When Araceli Flores Harper is sent to live with her great-aunt Ottilie in her ramshackle Victorian home, the plan is simple. She'll buckle down and get ready for college. Life won't be exciting, but she'll cope, right? Wrong. From the start, things are very, very wrong. Her great-aunt still leaves food for the husband who went missing twenty years ago, and local businesses are plastered with MISSING posters. There are unexplained lights in the woods and a mysterious lab just beyond the city limits that the locals don't talk about. Ever. When she starts receiving mysterious letters that seem to be coming from the past, she suspects someone of pranking her or trying to drive her out of her mind. To solve these riddles and bring the lost home again, Araceli must delve into a truly diabolical conspiracy, but some secrets fight to stay buried...
Heartwood Box by Ann Aguirre - release date July 9, 2019
I honestly wasn't sure about this book when I picked it up because the cover gives off a rustic vibe that I wasn't sure if I would be in to. It did stay true to its initial vibe, but it also had so much more depth to the plot that I was not expecting. There was a lot packed into every page and that took the book in ways I never would have expected when I started reading. The author definitely knows how to make use of the space that she's working in and it made for a great read!
My favorite character in this story was Logan. He wasn't the main character and honestly acted more like a puppy than anything else in the beginning, but there were little quirks about him that really brought him to life for me. I was not a in love with how quickly Araceli fell for Oliver. I liked his character and the concept that they could communicate not only through their box but also through their dreams. What detracted from their relationship the most for me was that it felt like it wasn't necessarily in line with Araceli's character; however, I will say that the author made up for this with the connection that she brought into play at the end of the book! The author also gave just enough of a storyline to all of the side characters that it made them feel more real and present in the plot even when they were no where to be seen.
First off, the author was able to tackle far more in this book than just having the characters solve a simple mystery. It was fun to read a storyline that existed in the same time frame and plane of reality that I am living in and was certainly a change from what I am used to. There were a few points in the book that I thought the author was trying to tackle too much and it seemed like she was stretching the story in odd ways to make it work, but at the same time everything seemed to fit into the plot no matter how outlandish and the characters made it work within the plot in a realistic manner so I appreciated that.
Normally this is not the type of book I would go for, but I found that I genuinely enjoyed reading it! 3.5/5 stars but I am sure that if this is the type of story you like then it would rank much higher in some of your ratings. I read the book in four days and it moved in a fast pace that still managed to balance all of the plot twists the author threw into it!
~Alyse
Reviewed on July 8, 2019
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