B.J. SikesReseñas

I won this book in a giveaway. I wanted to really give this book a chance but after about 25% of the way through, I realized I was slogging and forcing myself to read it. The shift between Clara's perspective, Elsie's perspective, Irene's perspective, etc. etc. --- I'm sure it'll all come together but the pacing of the story and the prose became tedious to read.

Once I started reading this book, I couldn't stop. The interwoven stories of the characters create a rich and interesting narrative about responsibility, control, and family.

Clara and her children are called to the Bahamas, where her husband has been working for the past five years. Rather than the comfortable home they expect to find, the family is brought to a compound intent on finding spiritual enlightenment, lead by a cruel eyed man. Meanwhile Irene, a resident of the island, hopes to make a better life for her family by selling a potion to the compound's inner circle. As she gets to know Clara's children and learns the secrets of the compound she begins to wonder if her actions are enabling the compounds crimes.

I enjoyed the interweaving of the stories. Clara's struggle to find control in her own life, Elsie's resourcefulness and care for her younger brother, and Irene's strong will and leadership. All the characters had their own motivations and value which made for a colorful cast. I did wish there was more on the spiritualist powers that Elsie and Clara seem to have. While it came into the story at times, I felt that it could have used some more explanation. That said the novel is a nice quick read, with a satisfying ending, and wonderful prose.

I enjoyed the dramatic styling in this book. I think there are places that things could have been more flushed out and others that were too verbose. I really felt for the children as the mother of the 1900s was NOT what we consider very mothering in today's society, but probably very realistic for an upper class mother of that era.

Steampunk adjacent versailles focusing on artists mostly. The most interesting parts were the world building but for fans of true steampunk this novel may feel a bit light.
Read this book mostly because I was given a copy of the sequel to review and I am conceptually opposed to reading sequels before experiencing the original

3.75 // Starting off, this is certainly a unique and interesting story. It takes place in the early 1900s; a mother and two children are called to a remote island by her husband who has been there for several years under the guise of work. Clara (mother) appears to have some psychic abilities, though the extent of them wasn’t very fleshed out.

“The child had reached the age when the spirit world opened to her”

They arrive on the island and later realize that nothing they had heard about the island was true. As you can tell from the title, the island is home to a small cult that relies on medicinal herbs from the indigenous islanders. The bulk of the story details her and her children’s experiences in the cult and her fading trust in her husband and peers.

I found the beginning to be quite slow but the last half went by so quickly, I got through it in one read. The book takes on several perspectives, most commonly Clara and her daughter. I struggled initially with the shifting perspectives as I couldn’t tell whether Clara and Elsie’s chapters were occurring simultaneously or chronologically. It became more clear as the book went on.

I liked the pace of the book and it definitely could have been drawn out more as there were so many details and potential plot points to draw from. But I appreciated the brevity. At times the conversations between characters felt dull, probably accurate for the 1900s, but not the best reading. We could grasp some aspects of the cult including the hierarchy, mechanism of control, punishments, etc. I think it could have been fleshed out a little more, like what brought these people here; why hasn’t anyone tried to leave, what happens if they leave etc. The book alludes to various practices like sedation, abuse, starvation, and “physical degradation.” Later on there are references to blood letting which I didn’t fully understand until quite literally the very end. Basically this cult isn’t supposed to be conniving, they’re all just dumb, high, lunatics who think they’ve figured out the secrets to life. I think ward’s motives weren’t entirely clear either. Like obviously his main goal was clear and he was a nasty evil dude. I just assumed he wanted all of those members for their money, but there could have been another underlying psychological reason.

The ending was very action-packed and had me really feeling for the characters, where in the beginning I found them cold and not relatable. The very end of the book felt a little too easy, but it felt satisfying. I don’t like when books try to wrap up all the loose ends - it just makes the end long and too idealistic. The ending was at the right point and vague enough that it wasn’t overdoing it. I liked that we saw the final scene from the main characters point of view; they had one singular goal and the rest of the “loose ends” didn’t matter to them or the reader.

I could definitely see this being a horror-ish movie, maybe like a Jordan peele style. Overall I think the story was great but I felt that I didn’t understand the characters as well as I should have.

I was given an advanced reader’s copy for review.

I found myself completely captivated by the characters and storytelling in THE ARCHIMEDEAN HEART. Set in an alternative Paris in the late 1800s, there is much unrest politically due to the conflict between Scientists, who have adapted robots and other machines to control the weather, saving France from starvation by creating a favorable climate, and have advanced prosthetics to the point humans can be altered to be almost entirely robot, and the Naturalists, who are against this and think it is creepy. Henri and John are half-brothers and both artists and Naturalists. I actually read book two in the series first as I came upon it first as an ARC read and I loved how this book focused even more on their story. There’s a strong sense of suspicion and danger throughout the book, where even talking about the wish for a different France is treasonous, and the author writes that well. John is summoned to paint a very special portrait, and this causes him to discover an important truth about someone in power, and also to meet Marie-Ange, a courtier he falls in love with despite their difference in social station. I loved the star crossed lover storyline, set against the rising revolution within Paris, as Henri is set on an assignment of his own involving talented scientist Dr. Adelaide Coumadin (I loved her in this book, too.) These characters are amazing. I flew through this book, eating up every word and I can’t wait to see what BJ Sikes writes next! 5/5 stars.

I LOVED The Vitruvian Mask. This was a book where I was sucked right in to the story from page one and just binge read. So good! Adelaide Coumain is a roboticist and scientist working in historical France during a time when the Naturalists are persecuting scientists. I loved the steampunk vibe of this book! She’s also about to give birth, and won’t reveal the father of her baby. Henri is an artist and Naturalist, and he and his brother John have been living in exile in England for the past year. We slowly learn more of their story and why they were in exile and how they and Adelaide are connected over the course of the book. Adelaide eventually comes to stay at a hospital and to work with veteran soldiers in need of mechanical adjustments to their robotic prosthetic limbs. I really loved what a strong character she was portrayed as. There are some neat surprises and twists in store all the way to the end in this one. Highly enjoyed it! 5/5 stars.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary ARC copy of this book from the author for review purposes.