3.5⭐

A Lush and Seething Hell is comprised of two books - a novella called The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky, and a short novel called My Heart Struck Sorrow. I read an ARC of The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky last year, so I'm copying my review into this one, and then will talk about My Heart Struck Sorrow below that.

The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky:

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky, and I'm so glad that I picked it up. This story immediately drew me in, and I was hooked the entire way through.

I'm impressed with the author's ability to do a great character study in such a short amount of time, along with having the horror of being exiled from a war-torn country surrounding it. I really enjoyed reading about the characters in this book, and I would continue reading about them if there ever happened to be more stories.

This book is heartbreaking, and it's very easy to get wrapped up in what the characters are feeling. The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky is a solid story across the board. I wish some more of my questions had been answered, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I gave The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky 4⭐.

My Heart Struck Sorrow:

I was really looking forward to My Heart Struck Sorrow since it has a fascinating synopsis, but I had a tough time connecting with this story. Cursed item & music horror stories will always grab my attention.

My Heart Struck Sorrow is very detailed (to the point that it felt overwritten for me). The spooky moments were few and far between, and most of the story was just mundane information about the jobs of the people who worked for the Library of Congress and were researching the music. It felt very repetitive after a while, and it was more like historical fiction with horror tones than the cosmic horror I thought it was going to be. The folk horror elements were intriguing, but I had a difficult time maintaining interest in the story.

I felt that the ending was sort of lackluster - I figured the story was ramping up to something big, but the slow burn just fizzled out. I didn't feel a connection to it as a reader, and there was a lack of emotion due to more telling than showing. This isn't a bad story; I just wasn't the right reader & was hoping for more. I gave My Heart Struck Sorrow 3⭐, so it's a 3.5⭐ for A Lush and Seething Hell as a whole.

A Lush and Seething Hell - Likewise Book Reviews

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