Stygian

3.5 for the story but that cover is an easy 5 stars****

I usually don't read much NA, it can be hit or miss for me, but it's Halloween, it's Santino Hassell and the book has a seriously gorgeous cover so I dove in. I can't say I hated it but I'm also not in love. Can we settle for in-like?

Jeremy Black is clearly a relative of Nate Black from “Insight”, part one of THE COMMUNITY series, however you can read this as a stand-alone.

The author sets up a great southern-gothic ambiance complete with a dilapidated mansion, shrouded in Spanish moss, surrounded by creepy woods, unrelenting heat and gorgeous landlords-cum-suitors who are more and less than what they seem. The band Stygian (note the name) has come from Houston to northern Louisiana hoping to bond with their new drummer, Jeremy Black, write some new material for a sophomore album, and some general R&R. It would be an understatement to say that they definitely chose wrong.

I won't say too much because you'll know pretty quickly what's going on, at least I did, and the enjoyment of the story is in the execution and details. I liked most of the characters but must confess that perhaps they were too Tumblr/emo for my taste. Weirdly, crude and abrasive Brian Watts and his lover/punching-bag Quince, were more appealing to me than our hero Jeremy and his stoic love interest, Kennedy, and there lies my problem with the story. I know and believe Jeremy's back story which is super charged with bad, worse, and tragedy at every corner, plus, if you know about The Community, he definitely carries the Black family genes, but there's definitely too much stomping out of rooms and tantrums. As for the other members of the band there's way too much “let's not talk about this” though the “it” not being talked about is clearly causing all the misunderstandings and problems. This all gives the book a distinct NA feel, though the characters are 21 and 24, and not my favorite kind.

As I said, I liked it, it's just I'd hoped to love it. *sigh Still that cover is heart eyes