This stalled out until a blur of things happened at the end. I struggled to stay interested. Avoid the audiobook, it’s terribly produced and does the book a huge disservice 😒.  

 

Energy: Guarded. Hesitant. Stately. 

 

Repetitive, dull romantic ponderings. Current day romance felt forced. Too contradictory… Shanice is suspicious and prone to over-thinking, but at convenient times she’s a totally different person blindly trusting strangers and ignoring huge red flags. Spotlighting plot twists with character inaction. 

 

Terribly edited audio was so jarring, what was that? There were huge differences in volume mid-sentence from muffled (standing in a different room?!) to WAY too loud (like standing too close to the mic) and parts were obviously re-recorded but not spliced in properly. 

 

🐕 Howls

Gaps in the story that were hard to overlook. Switched tone and style in an erratic way at times (felt unfinished?). Didn’t get any gothic or horror vibes from this. 

 

The concept. Intriguing 1920s timeline. Estelle’s character arc. 

Scene: Set in Washington DC (current timeline) and New York City (past timeline). 

Perspectives (2): An unpaid intern trying to get into the magazine industry after giving up their well-paying job to follow their dreams. A talented artist confined by racism gets a chance to invest in their work with a too-good-to-be-true offer. 

Timelines: Current (2020s). Harlem Renaissance (1920s). 

🔥 Fuel: Emotional investment in characters. Foreshadowing. Crossing paths and layered mysteries. Past meets present. What’s the story of the painting? Would someone kill to get it? Why? Will Shanice get over her break-up and trust again? Is Estelle in danger as a commissioned artist?  

📖 Cred: Blended historical suspended disbelief

 

Metro card. Grandma’s bungalow. Art appraisals. Coast-side mansions. Parking garage.  

 

Content Heads-Up: Racism, classism (prejudice, bias, slurs, exploitation). Murder. Relationship Break-up. False accusation. Theft, burglary. Panic attacks, hyperventilation (on page). Unemployment, financial insecurity. Generalized anxiety disorder. Car accident (fatal). Loss of parent (as child). Loss of family. Confinement (in room). Abortion (discussion). Forced pregnancy. Stalking, home invasion, threats. Sexual content (consenting). 

 

Rep: Black, White, Indian American. Nutmeg-hued, brown, peachy, pale, and freckled skin tones. Cisgender. Hetero. Generalized anxiety disorder.

 

📚 Format: Everand Audio