This story reminded me of Rapunzel so to me it was a retelling of that classic fairytale. Mia escapes her controlling mother that hordes the pearls she sheds from her body claiming "if people knew about you, they'd lock you away and use you!". She starts a new life as a worker in a museum of oddities and selling her pearls to help with the mermaid display. But is all as it seems in her new found world??

Really well written and compelling! I was hooked within a few pages and I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy!

Amelia is a girl with a special gift that may be seen as a curse. This book has an unusual plot with a lovable main character. You follow her journey of independence and self acceptance while meeting a cast of unique characters. Then there is a wild twist at the end.

Despite the darkness of the book, it has a feel good ending. Maybe almost too good, as it seems impractical have well things fit into place. But overall it was a pleasure to read and I enjoyed the writing style.

Not all gifts are a blessing. Some are a curse.

Once a month, Amelia grows glistening pearls beneath her skin. Shedding them is painful and bloody – her mother, Denise, believes her daughter is blessed; Ameilia is not so sure. Denise sells the pearls to put food on their table but Amelia feels stiffled by her limited life, shut away in the attic. Taking her chances in the world, Amelia runs away to begin her own chance at independence and freedom. A chance encounter with Peter at a jewellery store takes her down south to the seaside and Peter’s museum of human oddities. Amelia soon discovers that the world is much more dangerous than her mother first feared…

This story has an incredibly unique premise. Amelia’s pearls enable her to literally grow money to sustain herself but they also make her a target if people discovered her secret. Amelia feels safe when she finds herself in Peter’s troupe of human oddities. Peter’s museum and human counterparts, feel very much heavily influenced by The Greatest Showman. As this is one of my favourite movies, I didn’t mind so much and the twists and turns of Amelia’s journey with the troupe, takes a darker, sinister turn in comparison. Amelia soon takes up her place as the troupe’s human mermaid. She must swim around in a ten foot tank, collecting numbered oysters that audience members pick with the chance that one of them may contain a pearl – one of her pearls. No one in the troupe knows her secret about where the pearls come from – can she keep her gory secret hidden forever?

The first half of the book feels like a bildungsroman, with Amelia finding her way and displaying her naivety, thinking she can survive on her own. However, the second half of the novel ramps up the pace into a thriller style spin-off which was sudden and unexpected. As Amelia draws closer to Peter, the story takes a dark and dramatic twist (no spoilers here) that was predictable to an extent but still riveting to read through.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC copy in exchange for an honest review!

Not all gifts are a blessing. Some are a curse.
This book was so interesting! It was a real page turner and that twist at the end, man! Crazy! I loved this story so much! It was written incredibly well! I definitely recommend it!

Constellations of Scars by Melissa Eskue Ousley is a fairytale retelling sitting uncomfortably between fantasy and thriller.

We follow Amelia who escapes her controlling mother, who trapped her into their house for almost a decade to harvest the pearls growing out of her skin. But obviously the world is full of wonders and horrors too.

I love reinventions of fairy tales and I thought the idea for this novel was pretty interesting. Truthfully I wanted to like that book so I forgave a lot as I was reading. It came across as a little preachy in places and dictated a lot of the way you are supposed to feel. It came from a good place so I just shrugged it off. But the ending was terrible. I kept thinking, goodness please don’t do that cliche… but it leaped in joyously and I was just appalled.

I don’t understand the choice of the writer to veer off genre completely at the 80% mark. The novel was ok before that point. Lots of the events are due to way too much chance, but I can suspend my belief. But the sensationalism was just plain annoying, there were so many other ways to tie it all up into a nice little package that didn’t involve cheap B movie answers with mistaken talk-show psychology lathered in. I would have been very happy with nothing more than regular life happening. This just highlighted all the problems of the book and I cannot recommend it.

Oh man I just finished this story and I’m still in disbelief of the turns this story took. 😅 One moment you think you are reading a coming to age story of the heroine, Amelia, who is trying to leave her abusive mother and spread her wings. Like seriously I would kick her mother if I saw her in real life. Amelia then finds a place where she thinks she belongs and then bam, you think aww, this is a romance now. Then out of left field it turns into a thriller and now you are like WTF. 😂 I loved every bit of the story though, it was a fast read and my only complaint is that I wish it was longer. I wanted to see more of what happens to Amelia.

When I read the blurb for this book I was immediately drawn in. A girl who produces pearls? Where it's written like a chronic illness? As a disabled reader I was pumped!

My absolute favorite thing about this book was the way Amelia's peal illness was written. It was like reading a description of someone who lived with a chronic illness. She was not inspiration porn simply for doing what she needed to do when she was in pain. It was just part of her life. It was ugly a bloody and she suffered and the suffering was never hyped to the point where it was made a spectacle.

When it came to pain and the way it was described, how Amelia handled it? I related with her hard and fast.

When it came to a few other elements of the book, I wish they'd been handled with the same skill.

Another shining moment? The way Amelia's relationship with her mother is described. It was so easy to sympathize and in my case empathize with a controlling parent who was willing to lock their child away and scare them with horror stories of the outside world to keep them close and dependent.

Her mother allowed her no freedom, and none of the monetary benefit from her pearls. That was written fantastically. I loved it.

For a while, I couldn't even really figure out what the conflict would be. At first, I liked the not knowing but when it got to the 55%-60% mark of the book and I still couldn't tell, it felt like the pacing was off.

Amelia finds a group of people who are different like her.

It comes in the form of an oddities show. A museum where there's a bearded lady and her girlfriend who plays the piano (the fact they're gay is NOT part of the draw--it's her beard and angelic singing voice), a young man with a skin disorder that causes scale-like skin to grow over his body. They have an iridescent sheen he's sort of a fish man, and a few others.

The museum is run by a father and son duo and in the son we are introduced to the love interest.

He felt too perfect. There were moments where he was controlling or dismissive but to me they felt like they came about quickly. When the book hit 60% the pacing sped up and it wasn't really tot he benefit of the story. Things started moving very quickly and it wasn't done as well as some of the other components.

Then we get to the twist at the last 80% of the story. While I definitely didn't see it coming, it sort of wasn't handled the best for me. It felt really out of left field and the ending felt really rushed because of it. I couldn't really enjoy it. Were there breadcrumbs laid during the story for the ending to make sense?

Yes, but not very many. Maybe if the book had been a little longer, then the author could have really worked with the ending and the pacing would have been better.

When it comes to diversity, all I know is the main character is a brunette and one of the others is from a small town named The Wolves in Spanish. I don't know if he spoke it, or was Hispanic or Latin.

The races and ethnicities of the other characters were up in the air because we get absolute barebones descriptions. That was something that bothered me. The author came up with this wonderful idea, bearded ladies and a fish man but couldn't provide descriptions of the characters? Aside from hair color?

I just pictured everyone as Black to fill in the blanks that the author left.

The poor pacing and lack of descriptions was a big let down and kept this book from being truly great but it still gets a 3 star rating from me.

received this ARC in return for an honest review. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher.

Constellations of Scars honestly took me by surprise. It was fast paced, well written, and full of unexpected twists that kept me hooked until the very end. It's definitely one of those books that once you pick it up you can't put it down until you've devoured it.

3.5 stars

The pacing of this book was like a bullet train that was trying to reach its stop on time. One moment Amelia is shedding pearls for the first time, and the next she's a playing the role of a mermaid in a museum.

But the plot twists were amazing! I did not expect them at all and I have to say, it shocked me! I loved all the characters, except one which I'm not going to disclose because of spoilers, They all were so supportive of Amelia and she helped them through so much too and it was heartwarming to watch.

My only concern was that it went too fast. I know it's only 260 or something pages, but I wouldn't have minded it to be a little bit longer and spaced out, because honestly, the plot is SO GOOD. And there was quite a bit of insta-love too which I wasn't a very big fan of. I love found family tropes, and though it wasn't done in the best way here, it was cute.

Overall, I enjoyed it, but maybe take it a little slow next time?

Constellations of Scars is a is a wonderful and incredibly rich fantasy novel, so well built and fast paced that I wasn't able to put it down till I reached the end. I was absolutely captivated by the atmosphere, and the characters.

This novel submerges the reader in a landscape so imaginative and detailed that the information of the world building/plot never feels forced, and is never difficult to understand or picture in one's mind. I had an enjoyable time reading this and it held my attention the entire way through that I finished it within the day! I enjoyed every page and thought that the plot/story was very unique. Would recommend to anyone!

I have mixed feelings about this read and feel a little bit uncomfortable reviewing it.

On the good side it was an easy read, quite a page-turner - and I easily get bored with books I don't really really like.
I loved the beginning, the way the author expose the heroine, living with her malediction, a horrible thing, like a fairy tale turned wrong. A mixed between the tale about pearls and toads and Rapunzel. The writer never forget once that Amelia has to live with her "illness" and organise all her life around it. That part was awesome. I loved it.

Alas, the first part of the book was clearly my favourite. The second part was good to begin with, original and lively, then a bit rushed; the turn it took surprised me, not in a good way: I was hoping for something different, more subtile, less showy. Especially as, if the author took pain to work on the heroine behavior and feelings in such dramatic events, the whole was she recovered from it way to fast, she could never have been okay so quickly after such traumatising events. The manner she had, too, to deal with her abusive mother, was very appropriate and healthy, but she could never have achieve such a elevated state of mind without years of therapy. It's a shame as the beginning of the book was precisely realistic and credible.
The very end was also to quick for my taste, and weird, as I was waiting for something else! Readers will understand what I mean :)

All in all a good read, but a heterogeneous text, which seemed to have been made by assembling various ideas and different parts, some worked in details, as the beginning, and some much less well-made, as the end and the choice to mix some themes (young adult and modern fairy tale was a hit for me, but the next part of the plot was over the top... overkill, even ^-^).

Still a lot of qualities, I'll be happy to read another book wrote by the author!
3, 5 stars, rounded up to 4 for personality and reading enjoyment.

(I thank Netgalley and Midnight Tide Publishing for sending me the ARC in exchange for my honest review)

I enjoyed this book, I felt the story was gripping and dark (my favourite kind!). Pacing was decent and world building good. Looking forward to more works with this author

This was a very unique and somewhat scary book, and I’d have a hard time nailing down the exact genre, but I liked it-a lot. Our heroine, you see, grows a crop of pearls on her back monthly, and they are harvested in a painful and gory way that I admit I found interesting but a bit stomach-turning, too. The plot itself was very interesting and engaging, and I had a hard time putting this one down, what with such a unique premise. I’d recommend this to anyone who likes a good book, but not to any readers under a certain age or those sensitive to gore.
4/5⭐️

Did not finish. Wasn’t for me. I believe it needs a full edit. I’m a professional writer and found issue with a lot of plot progression

“Not all gifts are a blessing, some are a curse”

What a way to start a synopsis. I was hooked instantly. We follow a girl called Amelia who has a condition whereby each month, pearls burst from the skin of her back. Her mother effectively cages her up and doesn’t let her out of the house as these pearls can be extremely valuable.

Amelia is sick and tired of being locked up in her house so runs away. She encounters some hard time until she meets a man, Peter who offers her an opportunity she cannot refuse.

Amelia was such an endearing character to me. Her naivety really pulled at my heart strings. Seeing her turn in to such an independent woman really melted my heart.

The book did originally give me ‘Freak Show’ vibes which I am not a fan of but as the story unfolds, I realised that that aspect really didn’t impact the story and was secondary.

Gabe, even tho he has his own unique ways, is by far my fav character. Even tho I feel we got to know his back story well, I think he could have been built upon so much more. I found myself wanting to know everything about him.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read. To start with, I found the images conjured up in my head extremely disturbing so if you are screamish, this might not be the book for you.

Thank you to Netgalley, Melissa Eskue Ousley and Midnight Tide Publishing for and ARC copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book so much! I didn’t come into reading this with any preconceived expectations and I have been thoroughly impressed with how gripping, unique and thought-provoking this book was for me.

I was a little surprised at how dark parts of this book were, but it really added to the storyline and caught me hook, line and sinker.

I absolutely adore that our MC was such a strong and beautiful character! Her strength and determination resonated with me throughout the story and I felt proud of how her character progressed.

The only critique I have, would be that I would have loved for this book to have had a little more emphasis on some of the other characters and some of the events, sometimes it felt a little rushed over what I thought were important moments.

Overall, I really loved this read and I would definitely recommend it to any fantasy lover! Especially if you love books with one hell of a plot twist!

I absolutely got pulled into this unusual story about a girl trapped because her body produces actual pearls. Her mother whilst not deliberately cruel certainly has issues and Amelia is desperate for a different life. She finally manages to get away and travels to Portland where initially her life is far from pleasant . However Amelia has a plan to sell her pearls and fund her new life but when she tries to get a buyer she meets Peter who changes her life.
I enjoyed reading Amelias perspective and she certainly goes on a journey to find freedom and happiness. She's perhaps too trusting at times and certainly naive but I could empathise with her as her life up to now had been in many ways lonely. As much as things seemed to improve for her I did keep waiting for the other shoe to drop as they say. It certainly did but not in the way I had imagined which was certainly a shock. If I'm picky I thought the end was rushed and I would have preferred the last few chapters to have been longer and more detailed because everything just seemed very quick but I did enjoy this story and thought the cover art was lovely.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

2.5 stars

Amelia is a young girl with a strange affliction: once a month, pearls grow out from under her skin. Her mother views this as an easy way to make money since the pearls are all perfect and of very good quality. She controls every single aspect of Amelia's life and even keeps her locked in the attic when she leaves the house. But according to her mother, it's only because she wants Amelia to be safe from the dangerous and cruel world outside. Of course, Amelia feels trapped and the story begins with her plotting her escape. She manages to hide a few pearls every month and leaves as soon as she has enough to be able to survive on her own.

We follow Amelia as she is set on starting a new life, far away from her controlling mother. We can see that she is set on creating a new life, becoming more independent and that she slowly learns how to trust other people. The "human oyster" concept is quite original, but I feel that the author could have developed it more, I feel there is more potential there than simply having Amelia hiding her condition until she can trust people enough to let them know and then no one talks about it anymore.

Amelia is a nice character, I like that she is brave enough to leave her mother behind and not look back. We can clearly see that she has been sheltered her whole life, and does not know much about social interactions. Still, I found it weird that she trusted Peter immediately after bought some of her pearls and offered her to travel with him. I get that he seems very nice and trustworthy, but for someone who has been away from other humans for most of her life, she was a little naive at times. Overall, there is room for more character development for every character in this book.

My main issue with this book, however, is how easily all of Amelia's problems get resolved. She struggles for a few days when she leaves, then she meets nice people, finds a job, and a place to stay in the same day. Near the end of the book, she realizes that she should not have trusted one of her new friends, but we saw it coming because of hints that were dropped in the previous chapters ("If only I'd knew what I was getting into", "Looking back now, I was so stupid to trust him", etc.) so it wasn't even a real plot twist. Even so, she gets in big trouble for trusting the wrong person, but she manages to escape almost easily, and she remains calm and collected even after having to fight for her life.

The dialogues and events near the end were not as well written and developed as the rest of the book. Constellations of Scars is a story about survival, trust, and finding a place to belong. I have to say though that I am not sure what kind of book this is supposed to be, it's about survival and resiliency, yet there is a darker twist near the end with a sprinkle of serial killer and mental illness... It just felt all over the place. The pace and tone are also not consistent throughout the story. The last 20% felt rushed and weak, and it's what made me give this book such a low rating because the first part was worth 3.5 stars.

Amelia is a young girl with a strange and unique affliction. Once a month, pearls grow (and then shed) out from under her skin. It started when she was twelve years old, monthly, and has littered her body with “constellations of scars”.
However, her mother views this as a money making scheme and harvests these pearls from her daughter for profit. She keeps Amelia locked in an attic room, isolated from the world. According to her mother this is to “keep her safe.”
Naturally, Amelia feels trapped and the story begins with her plotting her escape.
She manages to stash a few pearls away from each shedding, as the number varies each time so she could do this without her Mother noticing.
Once enough of the pearls have been collected to sell on for enough money, and with a bag packed, Amelia sets off to the city of Portland alone and determined.
She is set on creating a new, more independent, life for herself.

A chance encounter with a young man called Peter when she arrives in Portland changes Amelia’s direction - to the coastal town, aptly named, Seaside. This is where Peter and his father run a museum, where Amelia’s pearls could come in useful for their mermaid exhibit. But can she keep the secret of where these pearls are actually obtained from?

Constellations Of Scars initially grabbed me with its hauntingly beautiful cover, and it pleased me that the story inside was so gripping. I felt on edge wanting to know what happened to Amelia next with every turn of the page.
This story begins quite dark and has many shocking moments throughout, especially a huge twist that almost feels as though it winds you as a reader.

4.5 Stars, rounded down to 4.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC copy in exchange for a review!

Fun interesting quick read! What I loved most was the writing i haven't read anything this good in a while!
Now I've got go buy book one!