Very nice to see a work of horror fiction make use of pre-Christian religious traditions of Europe and *not* turn the religion itself into the object of fear. I may be mistaken but it seems like that tends to be the case with lots of other works that fold in themes of said religions (or also of native religions of other regions where Christianity may or may not have been what later rose to prominence) that they try to paint the religion itself as being as horrifying as possible, or at least that's sure what the vast majority of people seem to get from these works.

I'd have to read this book again to be able to say much of anything substantial in regards to the story itself, though. So I guess not a super helpful review, but one I felt like leaving anyways. ( )

Strange rituals occur every 7 years on The Day on the island of Lute, and Nina Treadway, married to the Lord of Lute, has been kept uninformed by her husband as to what exactly happens on that eventful day. Well, she certainly finds out, and although it's not as horrifying as it could have been, it's nevertheless fairly entertaining. This story contains hints of two masterful horror stories that I really liked: the short story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, and the novel "Harvest Home" by Thomas Tryon. I thought it was a pretty good debut novel by author Jennifer Thorne. ( )

Lute is one of those books that I really wanted to like more than I did, but I just struggled to get into it as I found the characters to be lacklustre. I think the marketing team did a disservice to the book as well as they gave away too much information about the book in its description leaving no room for the reader to figure out any secret in the story thus reducing any subtle build up that you would experience while reading.

First of all, my favourite character was Matthew, the lighthouse keeper, who kept to himself, and seemed to have this big secret. He seemed to dislike Nina which immediately put him in my good graces and I wanted to know why. Plus, like I said, he seemed to have a secret, something that I found intriguing as no one else seemed to have one. Unfortunately, I just wasn't invested in the other characters, including Nina. And here's why. For seven years she's lived on this island and heard about the Day and how it brings prosperity, but has also heard about the tragedies and doesn't question a thing about it? She just went along with it for almost seven years, clueless, subservient to her husband and his whims, and suddenly she wants to grow a pair and confront him? Nope, didn't work for me at all. To be honest, while I wasn't a fan of the husband and his sudden abusive tendencies, I did appreciate his growing obsession with getting off the island and the reasons for doing so. Plus, I think I am nosy and would have wanted to learn all the superstitions about my new home as I would have found them intriguing. Overall, I just didn't feel much empathy for the characters as I didn't think they were well-written and their personalities were all over the place, written for convenience rather than growth.

I was initially intrigued by the folk lore elements in the story and definitely felt the Final Destination elements in this story, (having just watched the first film in over a decade) and appreciate the random selection of victims which should have made it that much more creepy and tense. Unfortunately, by the time the events started happening, I hadn't developed any empathy with any of the characters so I didn't really care who died or who didn't. It just became a predictable story line, with Nina at the center to save the day, naturally being the only person in a millenia who can figure out what the island needs.

The plot has this weird war going on, and it took me a couple of chapters to understand it wasn't WWII as they were using current technology. I didn't really understand the purpose of the war as it didn't have a relevance to the plot other than make Nina, an American, an enemy? I don't know, but it was silly. Watching Nina interact with the townspeople after realizing she was stuck on the island was a highlight simply because I was curious about the people who were left, not because I developed an interest in Nina. Her complete lack of curiosity in anyone and anything actually drove me nuts from the first page as I just couldn't relate. And there's the completely unbelievable romance that happens in the middle of the books. What?

Verdict
Lute is one of those books that simply didn't work for me. The concept was intriguing and I loved the idea of a story intertwined with folk lore, but there were a lot of inconsistencies within the plot and the characters lacked development. And while a slow burn doesn't typically bother me, it never really stepped up to that level of tenseness and creepiness that would have made the reading experience interesting and exciting. However, I would read another novel by this author as I am curious to see what she will do next, but I found this one to be predictable and flat. ( )

I enjoyed Victoria Blunt's narration of this novel. She did a great job of distinguishing the characters voices making it easy to know who was speaking.

The story itself was very interesting; I like that the island is taking seven lives every seven years and everyone waits together to find out who it will be. I like that each death was different, they weren't excessively gory but you definitely knew the person was dead.

Highly recommend this novel and I am looking forward to reading more books from Jennifer Thorne in the future. ( )

After a whirlwind romance aboard a cruise ship, the newly married Nina Treadway, a Florida Native finds herself on the small British Island of Lute. Nina has always struggled to fit in and is finding it difficult in the small close-knit community especially since she married Lord Hugh Treadway and she is now Lady Treadway. Now, Nina is in her seventh year on the island and is a mother of two. The family is supposed to take a vacation on the summer solstice, but bad luck and circumstance keep the family on the island. Lute has always had a strong tradition around the summer solstice that Nina has never quite understood. The locals simply call every seventh summer solstice The Day. The Day is when the island takes its tithe for good weather, good luck and overall harmony for the next seven years. Hugh's father died seven years ago on the last Day, so Nina is no stranger to what it can bring, but still doesn't believe the superstitions of the people of Lute surrounding The Day; until now, when Nina has no choice to be part of the day as Lady Treadway.

Lute is folk horror combining the mythology of the shining ones with a dash of Midsommar and Final Destination. The horror and tension surrounding The Day builds slowly as Lute prepares. The story is told through Nina's point of view alone, so everything about The Day is new and confusing as an outsider, wondering how an island could possibly make seven people die every seven years. Then, the terror hits, sneaking, taking it's time, making your wonder what is next, questioning every move you make and if it could somehow do you in. I was really interested in the source of The Day, a mysterious, supernatural power. Through Nina, some of the history of the island unfolds, but I really wish there could be a deeper dive. Intense, well-drawn characters create an even more interesting atmosphere. Nina's backstory unravels with the day as she finds her place amongst the town as a leader of Lute while Hugh descends into resentment of his position on Lute and what it means for his family. With all horror, the source of the worst parts aren't what you can't see, but what you can. A surprising ending left me wanting to know more about Lute and its future.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ( )