Review: The May Queen Murders by Sarah Jude

Title: The May Queen Murders

Author: Sarah Jude

Published by: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Released: May 3, 2016

Summary: In the community of Rowan's Glen, there are rules and traditions to follow. They are a tight knit community. They stay away from the people not part of their community, the Outsiders. Rowan Glen has secrets, a dark past, a tragedy that haunts them.

Ivy has always been happy to live in her cousin's shadow. Bright, vibrant Heather. Then Heather starts pulling away and Ivy doesn't know why. With the May Day Festival coming up and pets disappearing, the community is on edge, yet ready for a bit of fun. On the last May Day celebration, a girl was killed, hopefully the past doesn't repeat itself. With danger lurking in the woods and a past that haunts, Ivy will find out the secrets of the Glen.

My Thoughts: Thank You so much Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Goodreads FirstReads Giveaway Program with supplying me with an arc to read and review. I love getting arcs.

This book wasn't what I was expecting. I thought it was going to be a standard YA murder mystery/thriller, and while it was that, it was more than that too. This book has one of the most unique atmospheres I've read in a while. It was strange, unique, and interesting all rolled into one.

Rowan's Glen is a strange community. They almost have a cult-like vibe, because of the way they live. It's like a mix of the Amish plus the mountain people of Appalachia. It's a community full of secrets, secrets that have come back from the past to haunt the future.

My favorite part of this book had to be the atmosphere. It was just so intriguing, I just had to find out how everything was going to end.

I didn't find Ivy to be the most exciting main character to follow. She's more timid and very superstitious. I didn't hate Ivy, but she wasn't the most memorable.

I really did enjoy all the character names in this. How they were all plant or bird related. Just added that extra spice to the book.

The ending was exciting, but after all the build up throughout the book, it wasn't exactly the ending I was hoping for. Finding out the bad guy was just normal, was slightly disappointing. The ending was also one punch after another, just when you think you've reached the end, it comes at you with something else. My thoughts when reading the ending, was that maybe there are no good guys in this place. The ending was definitely exciting, but maybe had too much going on.

I enjoyed this story. The best part about it is the eerie atmosphere. It wasn't the book I was expecting it to be, and that kept me intrigued. I'd definitely recommend giving it a read. It's an interesting experience.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.5/5

Atmospheric and Intriguingly Strange