A Tea and Crumpets and Skeletons in the Cupboard Type of Book

CHIME: Since her stepmother's recent death, 17-year-old Briony Larkin knows that if she can keep two secrets--that she is a witch and that she is responsible for the accident that left Rose, her identical twin, mentally compromised--and remember to hate herself always, no other harm will befall her family in their Swampsea parsonage at the beginning of the twentieth century. The arrival of Mr. Clayborne, a city engineer, and his university-dropout son, Eldric, makes Briony's task difficult. Clayborne's plan to drain the swamp has made the Old Ones unhappy, particularly the Boggy Mun, who has plagued the village's children with swamp cough in retaliation. When Rose's lingering illness turns into a cough, Briony knows that she must do whatever it takes, even revealing her secrets, to save her sister. While thwarting the advances of an arsenic-addicted suitor, Briony must also deny her feelings for Eldric, even as he helps her solve the puzzle that has become her life. Exploring the powers of guilt and redemption, Billingsley (The Folk Keeper, 1999) has crafted a dark, chilling yet stunning world. Briony's many mysteries and occasional sardonic wit make her a force to be reckoned with. Exquisite to the final word. (Blurb taken from Amazon)

This book is as exquisitely mysterious (or mysteriously exquisite if you prefer) as its cover. I ate up the words, one by one, like I hadn't eaten in a decade.

What I liked about this book: The writing! Franny Billingsley can take an ordinary situation and write it in a brand new, tea-and-crumpets-and-skeletons-in-the-cupboard sort of way.

What I liked about the main character: Briony always underestimates herself, which made me her biggest cheer-leader. Also, she's full of wit minus the snark, which was refreshing. Don't get me wrong! I love snark. But the voice in this book is so unique, I am STILL thinking about it, a week after reading it.

So, if you want something fresh and dark and abstract to read, READ CHIME!

For more fab Bookanista reviews, check out:

Elana Johnson raves about Blood Red Road
LiLa Roecker shivers over A Scary Scene in a Scary Movie
Christine Fonseca is wowed by The Near Witch
Beth Revis loves The Last Little Blue Envelope
Carolina Valdez Miller gushes over The Girl of Fire and Thorns – with arc giveaway
Rosemary Clement Moore is enraptured by Entwine
Stasia Ward Kehoe applauds The Predicteds

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