#BookReview: Our Crooked Hearts by @mimi_albert

Synopsis: On the way home from a party, seventeen-year-old Ivy and her soon-to-be ex nearly run over a nude young woman standing in the middle of a tree-lined road. It’s only the first in a string of increasingly eerie events and offerings: a dead rabbit in the driveway, a bizarre concoction buried by her mother in the backyard, a box of childhood keepsakes hidden in her parents’ closet safe. Most unsettling of all, corroded recollections of Ivy and her enigmatic mother’s past resurface, with the help of the boy next door.

What if there’s more to Ivy’s mother than meets the eye? And what if the supernatural forces she messed with during her own teen years have come back to haunt them both? Ivy must grapple with these questions and more if she’s going to escape the darkness closing in.

Straddling Ivy’s contemporary suburban town and her mother’s magic-drenched 1990s Chicago, this bewitching and propulsive story rockets towards a conclusion guaranteed to keep readers up all night.



Goodreads | Amazon

Rating: 4 Stars
My Review: This is the love child of the Craft and the new age.  I loved every page of this one and man I wish this was a series.  This new updated cover is so freaking awesome I just have to own it!!  If you love magic and witches and creepy things check this one out! 

Amazon.com Review

An Amazon Best Book of July 2022: Melissa Albert’s dazzling story of witchcraft and power, friendship and betrayal, mothers, daughters, and secrets, is one of the best books I’ve read this year. In the 1980s three teenage girls form an unbreakable bond as they foray into witchcraft with the help of a long-dead occultist’s grimoire. Their experimentation goes deeper and darker until there’s no turning back—the fuse is lit, and their lives are about to be changed forever. Fast-forward to present day, and 17-year-old Ivy, the daughter of one of those girls, sees something—someone—and starts asking questions she’s buried deep in her mind, about her mother and herself. As the novel flips between past and present the suspense is nearly unbearable (in the best way), and I was torn between an urgent need to see how it ends, and a desperate wish that it not end at all. Our Crooked Hearts is fresh, bold, and absolutely spellbinding. —Seira Wilson, Amazon Editor  --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

A Most Anticipated Book of the Year (USA Today, Tor.com, BuzzFeed, PopSugar, LitHub, Bustle, Publishers Weekly, and more)!
#1 Indie Next Pick

"A tale both spellbinding and bingeworthy. " ―Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Riveting, creepy, and utterly bewitching; do not miss this one." ―Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"A standalone novel so precise and enthralling that the only possible explanation is that Albert herself is a witch . . . a novel that will be devoured as well as savored. It takes risks and, magically, succeeds. And whether or not Albert is in fact a witch, one thing is for sure: her words are magic." ―Booklist, starred review

"A multi-genre, coming-of-age story that explores diverse relationships that teens will relate to. Albert’s fast-paced storytelling is both thrilling and accessible, with her descriptive similes, knowledge of the occult, and imaginative spells. Teens who enjoy drama, secrets, romance, and mysteries with a twist of magic will love this one.” ―SLJ, starred review

"Haunting and beautiful, full of messy girls drunk on messier magic and told with electric prose brimming with sharp metaphors.” ―The Bulletin, starred review

"This book is like a puzzle box that somehow contains a more interesting version of The Craft. . . . It all boils down to the roiling cauldron of mother/daughter issues at the core of this story, and the twisting mystery of it all is very satisfying to unravel. It's clever and sharp and there's a reveal that really tore my heart out. All that plus teen witches ― what more could you ask for?” ―NPR.org (Best New Book of Summer)

"This atmospheric, powerful YA fantasy is crammed with secrets, lies, and ferociously good writing.” ―The Guardian (Best New Children’s Book)

"Sublimely creepy." ―PopSugar

"In this paranormal young adult mystery, Albert creates a lyrical and creepy atmosphere that sucks you deep within the pages of the story.” ―BuzzFeed (Best New Book of June)

"Melissa Albert, author of the sublimely creepy "The Hazel Wood," spins another mesmerizing enchantment in this exquisitely written, disturbing novel of a mother and daughter, and of secrets, magic, betrayal and revenge. . . . This skillfully plotted page-turner offers gripping suspense, unsettling scenes of magic unleashed, and a surprising love story." ―The Buffalo News

"Albert's creativity and imagination shine through in her world-building and lush language, leaving readers with a spellbinding, skin-tingling sensation.” ―Shelf Awareness 

"Every gripping chapter of Our Crooked Hearts is packed with suspense, spellbinding prose and impossible decisions. Despite their otherworldly proclivities, Albert’s dimensional characters feel wholly believable as they grapple with questions of protection, betrayal, friendship and the price of power.” ―BookPage

“Every line reads like an incantation, and the result is a book pulsing with magic, one that holds the reader firmly under its spell.” ―V.E. Schwab, author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

“Pulses with a bold, beguiling magic that feels brand new and classic at the same time. I couldn’t put it down.” ―Karen McManus, author of One of Us Is Lying

“No one weaves fairy tale magic into the modern world like Melissa Albert. A truly masterful tale, Our Crooked Hearts comes with all the trappings of a classic: immaculate prose, a parallel generational story for the ages, and chills when you least expect them.” ―David Arnold, author of The Electric Kingdom

“A riveting story that grips you like a spell until you’re too deep to emerge unscathed! Once again, Melissa Albert reveals the power of magic within a daughter's grasp and the love of imperfect mothers.” ―Angeline Boulley, author of Firekeeper’s Daughter

“Utterly believable mothers, sisters, and daughters with their hands full of magic, making bad decisions because they have to. I love it. No one combines magic, darkness, and the realities of being a woman the way Melissa Albert does.” ―Kristin Cashore, author of the Graceling Realm series

“Melissa Albert’s inimitable and gritty take on magic is beautifully woven in this poignant and striking story of mothers and daughters, power and balance, and love and betrayal. Our Crooked Hearts feels like a freshly spun secret; electric, dangerous―and impossible to keep to yourself.” ―Courtney Summers, author of Sadie

“Nobody writes like Melissa Albert. Her words are electric, sizzling; they crash through the bloodstream with the same force as the magic she conjures in her stories. Our Crooked Hearts is Albert at her very best; a sharp explosion of a book that’s taut, haunting, and potent as a witch’s brew.” ―Krystal Sutherland, author of House of Hollow

“Melissa Albert’s signature storytelling is once again pure sorcery. This book has everything I love: girls with tremendous power at their fingertips, mothers with unforgivable secrets, horrors left on the doorstep, and best of all, writing that sings and stuns. To those with a crookedness inside you: You are about to be enthralled.” ―Nova Ren Suma, author of The Walls Around Us

“The gravity of Albert's prose in Our Crooked Hearts is inescapable. I love the glint and grind of its magic―its tangled inheritance, the sacrifices it demands, the bonds it makes and breaks. This book will swallow you whole.” ―Hannah Abigail Clarke, author of Scapegracers

“Ruthlessly enticing, Our Crooked Hearts is a story about fierce magic and even fiercer young women. It caught me in its web and held on tight. This book pulses with a bewitching darkness, and I loved it.” ―Kat Ellis, author of Harrow Lake

“A story as thrilling, alluring, and harrowing as the magic it describes . . . This is a book that draws the reader in so cleverly, you won't think to ask how deep the water is until it's too late. An instant favorite.” ―Sarah Gailey, author of The Echo Wife

“Visceral, bold, and eerie, Our Crooked Hearts took hold of me and refused to let go. With girls as fierce as the magic they wield and secrets looming heavy on every page, this book is utterly compelling the whole way through.” ―Rachel Griffin, author of The Nature of Witches

“Our Crooked Hearts is a glitter-edged razor of a book, sharp and keen. The magic here is real and visceral, with powerful consequences. I fell into this book like Alice falling into Wonderland, and I didn't want to leave.” ―Kat Howard, author of An Unkindness of Magicians

“A dark, searing force burns at the core of Our Crooked Hearts, one that circles the reader as subtly, as inevitably as a hunter closing in on a rabbit before the kill. Deftly melding intoxicating witchcraft with the equally potent spell of trauma handed down from mother to daughter, Melissa Albert examines how far love and friendship can be twisted before they corrode into something else―and, in the aftermath, what it truly means to claim one’s power. An ominous and irresistibly compelling read.” ―Shveta Thakrar, author of Star Daughter

“Our Crooked Hearts is eerie, evocative, and electrifyingly brilliant. I was immediately gripped from the very first page and completely compelled throughout. I already can’t wait to reread it. Melissa Albert’s writing is magic made real.” ―Katherine Webber, author of The Revelry

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Did you know that comments are DELICIOUS? Well they are and if you comment on any of these posts you could win some awesome goodies! 

Don't forget to check out our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and out other social media found on the side bar! 

 Disclaimer: "All opinions are 100% honest and my own."  Thanks to Goodreads and Amazon for the book cover, about the book, and author information. Buying via these links allows my site to get a % of the sale at no cost to you. 

FTC Guidelines: In accordance with FTC guidelines regarding endorsements and testimonials for bloggers, I would like my readers to know that many of the books I review are provided to me for free by the publisher or author of the book in exchange for an honest review. If am compensated for any reviews on this site I will state that post has been sponsored. 

Posted in: 4 Stars, Edelweiss, Flatiron Books, Review, Young Adult