Oh man. This was tough to get through. What I thought would be a fairly quirky look at a dysfunctional family turned out to be a depiction of one of the most repulsive families I've ever read about. While I can normally appreciate a book even if I'm not wild about the characters, this one was just too much. The writing was well-done, but I can't look past the horribleness of this group of individuals.

To call this book quirky would be a misuse of an otherwise cheery word. It's not a happy book. It's a depiction of a miserable, unusual family with a strange dynamic. Solid writing by author Melanie Hobson, but not one I'd recommend.

I almost want to not give feedback on this one because I don't like writing negative reviews - but this wasn't for me - unlikable (asshole) characters can be part of a great read - but not here. '(

I have two thoughts upon finishing Summer Cannibals by Melanie Hobson. The first is that I truly feel sad that Ms. Hobson felt it necessary to depict such a despicable family. The other reaction I have is simply WTF.

Summer Cannibals starts out as a relatively quirky family drama in which three sisters come home for a few days one summer. The entire family rallies around the baby sister, who is suffering from pregnancy depression. Except, like any good family drama, things are never as simple as all that.

The story takes a weird turn as we start to recognize the weird power struggle between the husband and wife. Ms. Hobson spends too much time explaining why David feels that he reigns over his house and garden and how he deserves(!) the proper respect as a result. One could explain this away as evidence of family dysfunction. Except, Ms. Hobson then shows how David uses sex as a method for dominance, and how his wife lets him get away with what is essentially rape.

Oh, and it gets worse from there. By the time the husband and wife (spoiler alert) rape an unconscious woman found in their house after a garden exhibition and the second daughter decides that affairs are the secret to a successful marriage, what was quirky became absolutely repugnant. There are scenes I wish I could unread, just like I wish I had never met this horrible family.

I do not know what Ms. Hobson was thinking when she penned Summer Cannibals. The family is terrible. At the same time, the individual family members are simply horrible. I know that there are plenty of people who use sex as a manipulation tool, but I don't need nor want to see an entire family that thinks that way and sees nothing wrong with their behavior. Honestly, the husband thinks that the naked, unconscious woman his wife helps him to rape is an apology gift from his wife! No thank you.

I thought this book was interesting, but could not find my footing nor was I really engaged. Perhaps it's just a consequence of the time, but I have to DNF this one all the same. Nevertheless, thanks for allowing me to read in advance — I really love the cover!

The story has the fun of the kind of dysfunctional family drama that keeps readers engaged. Some of the characters are somewhat stereotypical. Affluent families? No shortage of those in contemporary literature so we can all live vicariously through our favorite character. All in all it was a lively story and a pleasant read.

Note: I received this book from the author/publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Well, I didn't hate this book but I also didn't like it either. This might be more of a 1.5 star rating for me. I love books about sisters and I was so excited to read what seemed like a really good novel about the messy relationships sisters have. But really, the sister aspect to the book is barely there. In fact, at times it seems like none of the characters have really met before. This might be because the characters are terribly one dimensional, lacking any sort of meaningful growth or really any personalities- aside from weary from family drama. Honestly, I can't even say that the characters are unlikable because they don't really have many qualities to judge them by. The prose is good and held my interest but was a little bit too flowery for my tastes. Overall, I wasn't really into this novel and I was let down to see so little in character and plot development.

"Summer Cannibals" starts with the father and an obsession over his mansion garden and a garden tour coming to the house. The father, David, his wife, and three daughters, are wrought with anticipation of this event because this means so much to David and they are on pins and needles as he whirlwinds through the days before the tour, trying to get everything into perfect place. I thought this was going to be a tough read, luxurious sentences and descriptions, and if the story is going to be focused on a garden, it was going to be a novel I admire more for the language than the story.

However, the day of the garden tour, the entire book falls off the rails. This is the turning point where the secrets of the family begin to be unveiled. None of the characters have wholesome relationships with themselves or each other, and this mansion turns into a complete house of madness. I ended up really loving this book because it turns into a insane novel, a book of everyday people that are secretly monsters. And Melanie Hobson continues with the great writing, the brilliant language and imagery, even when the subject turns into horror. I anticipate what Hobson does next, and in the meantime, I will be rereading "Summer Cannibals."

I received this novel as an ARC from NetGalley and the publishers for an honest review.

Well...the cover is fabulous.

Summer Cannibals is an overwrought family drama sent in a mansion. The three daughters of this well to do family all return home, to the family mansion and the to GARDENS...you know, the gardens? Have you heard about the Gardens...

Did I talk about the Gardens...

*sigh* It was just too much.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The writing style was impeccable, but this book lacked something to me. I don't know what it was, I just couldn't get into it and forced myself to finish it.

Yikes, I couldn't get beyond the first few pages. There seemed to be a fascination with genitalia in the beginning, and that totally threw me off. This appeared to be a rambling story, with characters who are full of themselves, their wealth, and their family legacy. Bleh. Couldn't get through this book.

I was unable to finish this book and thus will not be publishing a full review on my blog. I found the writing in this book to be staid, trite and woefully uninformed. Reading it was agony and I was unable to finish it. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

"Summer Cannibals" by Melanie Hobson is a tale, written with skilled penmanship, of the rotten underbelly of what is seemingly a pristine family life in a picturesque mansion on the shores of Lake Ontario.

Sisters Georgie and Jax return to their family house when their youngest sibling Pippa flees her family life in New Zealand, pregnant (again) and severely depressed, seeking refuge in her parents’ mansion back in Canada. There they will all be forced to face themselves as well as each other as their paradisiacal family house isn’t all what it seems, much less the exteriors of their behaviors aren’t at all what they are and what they feel on the inside.

Having read the synopsis and upon beginning to delve into the story, I was struck with how much it reminded me of the Dollanganger saga by V.C. Andrews – a gothic, dark story penned with a similarly skilled hand, the family dynamics just as twisted, even if in different ways.

But the similarities soon began to shrink.
For all its unintimidating length of 288 pages this book dragged horribly. What I believed to be the climax of the story ended up being a prelude to a catastrophe with an incredibly long fuse… for when it finally detonated I almost missed it. It was odd like that. The entirety of it was so very odd that I found it hard to connect to the characters, even on a minimal level. The fact they weren’t relatable was one thing. More often than not I can get past that if said characters are intriguing, their storylines, even if absurd, unrealistic or whatever, AT LEAST alluring enough that they draw me in. I don’t have to like them to become fascinated. After all, reading fiction is often that: rooting for people who you wouldn’t want to have anything to do with in real life. But it wasn’t the case here. For all their wicked, self-indulgent ways I just found them all to be dull, like a faded painting, more dust than anything else. They were absurd, not beckoning, hardly fascinating, they were so self-centered it was mind-boggling that they had any family ties and relationships to speak of. The story itself kept going into aftershocks, delivering some punch lines and trying to spin me into a state of surprise but all I wanted was for it to end. I couldn’t muster up the energy to care for any of it. And after all was said and done I just wish the baby girl would detach herself from her selfish family and live a fulfilled and not harmful to others life of her own in the future. Haha. That’s what I took from it!

I reckon this book could be enjoyed if one’s in a mood for the kind of story of dormant terror it tells. I would have been if it made me root for anyone in that hot mess. But it didn’t, sadly. However, it should be noted that the sisters were still better than their parents. David and Margaret were both absolutely unsympathetic even if he was the true terrorist, an emotional vampire on the prowl (if only that, ugh!). On the other hand she was so devoid of emotions I wanted to shake her, make her stop baking those cakes and brewing that tea! But maybe her routine made her survive all that for as long as she had? Perhaps. I wasn’t into that, though. It wasn’t for me as it was just making me more and more frustrated and exhausted.

I don’t want to bash the story because as I said, it could be enjoyed by a different type of reader. I have to hand it to Melanie Hobson that her writing skills are exquisite. I root for her to continue writing and maybe come up with a story that will deliver a more satisfying ending – if my personal enjoyment is of any note here… I would just ask for a story that would be more gripping, better anchored. This one tired me, left me hanging and satisfied with none of it. I don’t even know what to do with it, how to rate it!

**massive thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

George, Jax, and Pippa- three sisters- and their parents David and Margaret- are one of the most dysfunctional families around. Good grief these people are unlikable to the extent that you will wonder if that's the point. Thanks goodness they don't get together very often. There are secrets, lies, bad behavior, inappropriate behaviors and so on. And only over the course of four days. I liked Hobson's writing style. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. This one is for fans of the bad family reunion genre.

First things first, the writing in this book is beautiful. Melanie Hobson is an incredibly talented author who has a way of weaving words together in a stunning way.

However, no matter how pretty the writing and great the talent, nothing could really be done to save the overall plot of this book. It took me a while to get into the book because it was just so here and there with the characters, with nothing of much interest popping up. I guess I may have issues with books that narrow down the storyline to such a specific plot that it because love it or leave it. And with the dragging plot that I didn't love, I looked to the characters to pull their weight in raising the appeal of this story. But dang, they were just all-around awful.

So I didn't love it. I think some people will, but it just wasn't what I was looking for. However, I will definitely keep an eye out for Hobson's next publication.

Summer Cannibals is a tough book to rate and describe. On one hand, it is well-written, and I was intrigued by the original premise. The characters are rather hard to connect to, but I don’t typically mind that. Trying to understand the thoughts of these characters was fun, especially at first. I loved how the house and the gardens around it are a character in the book, and I thought that was a creative insight. I also enjoyed the dysfunctional family drama... to an extent.

What is harder to rate and recommend is that many of the scenes in this book were way over-the-top. I knew it would be shocking; I just didn’t know how far it would go.

I would certainly read another book by Melanie Hobson because I think she is a talented author. While I am a flexible reader, I don’t think I was the best reader for this particular book, but I appreciate the opportunity to read and review it.

Thank you to Grove Press for the complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

My review will post to Goodreads closer to pub date.

2.5 stars.

I wasn’t deterred by the low Goodreads ratings for The Summer Cannibals because they seemed to be based on many reviewers’ dislike for the characters. I don’t mind novels with difficult or unpleasant characters as long as the writing is good and the story makes sense. Hobson is a very talented writer but I didn’t end up enjoying the characters or story much. The story started off well, with David and Margaret’s three adult daughters returning home to deal with a crisis involving youngest daughter Pippa. But I found that the story soon started veering off course. Both parents and their three daughters are self obsessed to the point of absurdity — and many absurd and disturbing things happen throughout. It felt like the author was seeking to shock for the sake of shocking rather than for the sake presenting an interesting and complex story. I am not squeamish and I am not a prude. But I like to understand the behaviour of characters. And here, regretfully, I didn’t. I’m rounding up to 3 stars because Hobson writes really well. I hope she uses her talent to write a more compelling story next time round. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

Dysfunction reigns in Melanie Hobson's tale of a once wealthy family that doesn't know how to live together. As the author reveals, the house is the only thing left in common for three grown sisters and their aging parents. As the novel explores each of their lives, there's a general sadness that takes over as the house crumbles around them. The plot is intriguing as readers want to learn more about what went wrong - and sometimes right - from each family member's perspective.

2.5/5 stars

Loco; locoed; locoing; locos – definition: verb: to make frenzied or crazy

So, cray-cray!

Tracing back to royalties and referred to as ‘handsome’ because they resonated good breeding, the family of David and Margaret Blackford will meet at the family home on the shores of Lake Ontario for a little R&R.

This home happens to be a mansion with lush gardens that can be toured by tourists at times as well as on special occasions, such as Easter. David is the avid gardener in the family and Margaret the underappreciated wife. As their adult daughters George, Jax and Pippa arrive (all of them named boy names in hopes of having one) for a few days, chaos and character clashes ensue, yet family is family.

“They knew that once the rancor reached the point it would no longer be contained by a veneer of civility, it would explode and take their parents on that familiar track of violence to acceptance that their marriage was built on – and which they both seemed to need, because the blow-ups always signaled a return to tenderness”
- Melanie Hobson

After the girls have arrived, Margaret notices a couple making out behind some bushes in the garden and alerts her husband about it. But unlike my idea of where this is going, David is fascinated by the girls beautiful boobs and her submissive behavior, that instead of chasing them off, he decides he has to get this perfect girl as he “recognizes the desire to dominate” (Middle aged father of 4 daughters, mind you!)….if he can catch her! As Margaret discovers David’s intentions to still his desire, he actually silently thanks his wife for setting him up.

(That’s messed up!)

“His wife - her vulgarity laid bare. She wanted it just as badly as him, and instead of draining the excitement from his conquest it had made it even more pleasurable.”
-Melanie Hobson

Then there are the daughters, all different as they could be. The most normal one might be George, a history professor. She has the best relationship with her father it seems, and catches on to tensions rather quickly. Jax was always the fun loving one…the careless one. Always had good times at parties and with guys. And Pippa is about to give birth to her 5th child. She had traveled the farthest from New Zealand to get away from her irresponsible husband.

Each of the characters has their own baggage and problems. In pursuit to self-regulate or find peace, they are following their instincts, well in nostalgia or retaliate. But what will happen in those four days? Anything life changing? Or will it be: ‘What happens at the mansion, stays at the mansion? And then there is this “fun” girl around! What is up with that?

***

I will admit that I may not have read this description part of the book as careful as I should have: “-and feasting on the sexual appetites and weaknesses of others”! I was a little surprised at some of the ‘appetites’ going down and so the title of the book now has a whole new meaning!

The cover is gorgeous, but the writing left me a little disconnected in parts. Transitions aren’t as smooth as I’d like to read it, and I found myself rereading parts not knowing if it was still the same character thinking or speaking. There wasn’t a real crescendo or fall, but you are thrown right into all the mingling. The whole purpose of the characters meeting isn’t really clear to me either. Perhaps a dysfunctional family stays dysfunctional, and any hope of mine that adults rationalize differently as they get older is an illusion!?

It is difficult to rate this book because it is very different. It isn’t exactly sexy either but the messed up thought patterns are quite entertaining. Now it isn’t a long book, so perhaps you should give it a try. It is definitely different and not a literary challenge.

I received a digital copy of this ARC in exchange of an honest review. All opinions are my own. Thank you.

Families, eh – don’t you just love ‘em?

George, Jax and Pip, named for the three sons their father wanted, converge on the family home near Toronto. Instantly they slot right back into their accustomed roles: Georgina the eldest is capable and efficient; free spirit Jacqueline resumes her will o’ the wisp ways, and youngest Philippa demands healing from a long history of abusive relationships.

Their father is a monster of a bully, who sees his masculinity constantly threatened by the females who comprise his family. Their ineffectual artist mother sublimates his abuse and dysfunctional family life into complex, multi-layered collages.

Into this toxic mix wanders a comic coachload of tourists, come to view the extensive gardens of the palatial family home (clearly dermatologists in Canada are not on the breadline).

I loved this debut novel and find it hard to believe that it’s the author’s first foray into fiction.

Families can truly be heaven or hell – a sanctuary or a nightmare. This family is both.