As a Dana, I was VERY excited to read a Melissa Albert book with a Dana!! I'm going to be super biased, but who cares. Supernatural, witchy, and creepy, with some really fun narratives. The characters were so good, and I love a good complicated mother-daughter relationship.

Thank you for NetGalley and Flariton pub. for this earc!

And Melissa Albert is back with a perfect, creepy, dark, witchy story that will keep you guessing all the way till the end.

I’m gonna start with the fact that I loved that this story had multiple POVs but especially Ivy’s Now POV and Dana’s Past POV. This way we were able to follow the same story from opposite ends and meet in the middle. I felt like I was reading a puzzle and the feeling when all the pieces fell into place was just the best!!!!!

The relationship between Ivy and her Mom is complicated and broken but written in the way that gives us hope that one day they will figure it out.

I liked how adult Ivy acted when she finally got her memories back. How she learned again, everything she once knew, but looked at it with the eyes of someone who was older.

I liked that Ivy tried to help Marion, who was so consumed the vengeance, in the only way she could, even if it could look “evil” to the people outside. She will always live with it. But she will also live her life.

And of course Billy. I don’t know how Melissa does it but she always makes me everything her love interests go through and this book wasn’t any different. The fact that Billy’s character was showing up more and more the closer Ivy got to the truth was done beautifully. How when she got her memories back the first person she went to was Billy because she trusted him to understand. The way Billy let Ivy fight her battles. Everything about their love spoke to me.

This book has everything: complicated family, friendship and love, witch craft and consequences. Absolutely brilliant story everyone needs to read

Interesting…. Definitely dark, but in a twisty way. I enjoyed reading Ivy figuring out the past and her mother’s plotline was nicely threaded throughout. Billy was a much more sympathetic character than either Ivy and her mom, just saying.

Additionally the magic system doesn’t really have rules, it’s all intuition mainly, at least for this family’s branch of magic. There are spell books but hmmm, don’t know why you’d trust them at all—which is my main beef with the plotline involving Ivy’s mom and co. I mean, would YOU trust a spell book like this given its shady origins, even before they knew more? Not I. Not even at that age.

I must admit that it seems that all the witchy books I’ve been reading lately the characters seem to completely ignore any rational thought when it comes to magic….🧐😧

There’s also some very weird similes and metaphors. Maybe they’ll be edited in the future? Ex: “Marion’s face was a void, her eyes as blank as eggs.” (????) And also something about pale watercolor on an eggshell, which as an artist, pretty much can guarantee you that doesn’t actually work. 😬

I enjoyed this book. The characters were well thought out and the plot moved at a great pace. I would enjoy reading more from this author in the future.

I enjoyed this story and had a hard time putting it down. That is, until the end. The last 90% was just blah. I felt like it was building into something different, something more exciting, but, nope.

Supernatural elements with different timelines between our two characters. These factors kept me so hooked and eager to keep flipping the pages!

I absolutely loved this book. Was a interesting read I will definitely be picking up a hard copy to live on my shelf.

Content warning: animal death, animal sacrifice

I was given an advanced copy of OUR CROOKED HEARTS in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, OCH is a dark, complex, and twisty story of witchcraft and the consequences of one’s actions. I felt like the story centered around desperation and hopelessness, around the need to not feel helpless and invisible.

The story alternates between present day and 30 or so years prior when the events began. It is engaging and the characters are well developed, especially Ivy—who has had secrets kept from her for her entire life, some of which have been replaced with what her family wants her to believe happened. She is unreliable in that she doesn’t know what really happened in her past. Dana and Fee are super cool, especially Fee, who is eccentric and warm hearted.

I did knock off one star for animal sacrifice and animal death, especially since there was no content warnings provided. (Yes, I know it happens in some spells, but it shouldn’t be a surprise.) I would have liked the story much better had I not spent a decent amount of time worrying about the rabbits.

I loved the author's Hazelwood series, and this one was just as great! Our Crooked Hearts channels The Craft in a supernatural YA mystery. This story is told in alternating timelines, between mother and daughter, Each atmospheric POV tells about the character's encounters with dark magic.

I devoured this book. It kept me intrigued throughout the story. The interplay of chapters between the mother and daughters point of view and stories, was well thought out. I particularly enjoyed the diversity of characters, and the fact that not everyone in it was just Caucasian. I look forward to more from this author.

Wow. I devoured this book in about a day and a half. I loved The Hazel Wood, and I think I loved this book even more! Witchcraft, mothers and daughters, Chicago in the 90s, present-day mystery. This is one of those books that you want to start rereading as soon as you finish it.

The book moved back and forth between the now and the then, building the story and layering everything together. The ending was satisfying, and the whole way there was just so engaging. I really liked Ivy, too. Going to say this was probably my favorite book of 2021.

Thank you Net Galley for the advance reading copy.

Thank you Flatiron for the ARC. First of all, the cover is beautiful and nicely sums up the message of the book - the past always comes knocking. Unfortunately, despite the intriguing concept, this one was not for me. The overall pacing threw me - it's very slow in the beginning, which is compounded by the alternating timelines. It didn't really pick up until around the 65% mark (which is the beginning of Act 2) and we're pulled into the action. Overall, Melissa did a great job making the witchy world feel cool and atmospheric, unfortunately, I was far more interested in Marion than Dana, whose POV we follow for almost half the book. 3.5 stars.

Whew. Where to begin.

Melissa Albert EXCELS in transitioning to the adult genre. OCH still has her signature layered, messy characters and her deliciously haunting writing style, but it’s a step deeper, darker. It’s a story about angry girls who take their anger too far, and have to square with the consequences of their actions. It’s about horrible mistakes with the best intentions and trying to repair what you broke. It’s about a mother and a daughter, the things that made them the way they are, and the raw realities of messy relationships.

I loved each of these disastrous characters SO MUCH, and the themes of regret, forgiveness, and redemption are so powerfully written. Which is why I stuck it out, even through some uncomfortable parts—speaking of which….

….parts of this book are rough. Definitely more adult, and there are a couple scenes pretty saturated in dark magic, so if that’s not your vibe you’d want to pass. But even with those caveats, I still highly enjoyed this book, especially as the story went on.

Abounding thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

-A

3.5 stars, rounded up Told in past and present chapters, this is an atmospheric tale of witchcraft. Despite a few weak threads, this is overall a well-woven, momentum-building, creepy adventure.

This book is a definite page turner that will keep you up all night. My teenage daughter also read this and really loved it.

Wow wow wow!! This is so good. I just devoured it. Fantasy is one of my favourite genres, especially dark fantasy and this book absolutely fits the bill: the themes of control, the scheming, plotting, mystery, and magic..
Herbert’s writing style, the relatable characters, the simple language, the voice of the heroines, their quick wit and sharp minds, the world she creates, her intricate and twisty web of secrets, to create a plot that keeps you guessing until the very end, and the way Herbert heavily focuses on individual character growth and development is something I very much loved.

In a nutshell, I couldn’t put this down. It was well worth the read! I’d absolutely loved it

Our Crooked Hearts is a well written twisty story, both dark and light. Good and bad can come with any gift depending on how it's used. Dual storylines can be confusing, however this one was not. Well done.

I am swooning! I love this novel; I truly cannot get over how quickly I read this book and how immersed I was in the story. The novel alternates POVs from mother, Dana, to daughter, Ivy, and our mysterious Marion, and also jumps from past to present. A lot of novels that I read that attempt to do this multiple POV from different periods of time structure tend to feel too jumpy and difficult to follow. Melissa Albert masterfully wove multiple timelines seamlessly; I never felt lost in the storytelling - just lost inside the story!
Our Crooked Hearts is a novel that explores acts of love by a parent in their quest to protect their children. It addresses the question that haunts all parents: Did I make the right choice?; Did I underestimate my child? The novel also explores teenage decision making, friendship, magic, both dark and light, and blurs the lines of good and evil.

I'm hopeful that a second book will be forthcoming, as I want to know more about the mysterious occultist that shadows this story. Highly recommend.

I really enjoyed Our Crooked Hearts. It's the story of Ivy, a teenage girl who right at the start is involved in a strange car accident that prompts her to question things she has accepted as true. And, it's the story of her mother, Dana, and her own experiences as a teenager and how they shaped who she became and the type of mother she is to Ivy.

Secrets, lies, magic, witches, and an eerie atmosphere all combine for a well-paced and plotted story that veers back and forth between Ivy and Dana's POVs. Dan's POV is set in Chicago, which adds a nice touch.

Superior writing and plotting to Albert's previous book The Hazel Wood (although the sequel, The Night Country, was much more tightly written.) One interesting aspect of Albert's writing in all three novels...she uses interesting metaphors. In her Hazel Wood books these were sometimes strange and didn't quite work. In Our Crooked Hearts I noted that she still had some unique turns of phrase, but they felt more natural.

It's exciting to read an author who clearly has a great imagination and a lot of creative ideas, and see her growth as a writer. I am looking forward to whatever she writes next!

“There’s true, your mother says, and there’s story. Both have their uses.”

Told in alternating timelines between Ivy now and her mom then. A tale of witchcraft and consequences set into motion by a mysterious girl lurking in the woods. Ivy is working to decipher the mysteries of her mom, murdered rabbits, and karma too brutal and timely to be coincidence. Ivy’s mother has always been emotionally distant but when Ivy begins to unravel their secrets, she is unprepared for what she will discover and how it shapes her life.

I read this book ferociously, greedily consuming every rich word and detail. Panic banked, I knew the next disaster was just out of reach but coming. There’s danger lurking just beyond view. Sparkling sharp prose that cuts with truth to reveal buried secrets and hidden damage as young women struggle to feel powerful in a world slanted against them. Do Not save this dark, dangerous story strung tight with tension for your October horror feast. Read it as soon as you can put your hands on it.

YA readers will be drawn in by the promised power of occultist witchcraft fueled by bonds of tight knit friendship desperate in their struggle against the world. It will have much crossover appeal with adult readers because of the relationship between Ivy and her mother. I enjoyed the complexity of the characters; the descriptive, brilliant writing; the deep dive into a difficult mother/daughter relationship; the empowered flawed women and their struggle to live with the consequences of difficult decisions.

Allow yourself to be seduced by this fabulous cover. If you love quality writing, this is a book to get lost in. I frequently found myself rereading passages because I loved how they “looked in my mind”. Absolutely beautiful. Our Crooked Hearts is a book I wanted to read quickly because of the danger laced pages to see how it resolved. But, it tangled me up with literary speed bumps of beautiful writing and imagery that required me to slow down and savor every single word.

If you, like me, sometimes get put off by too much book hype, ignore that instinct and put this one on your TBR now. It deserves all the hype it can get. I didn’t get on the Hazel Wood bandwagon. I worried it couldn’t live up to the hype. Our Crooked Hearts was so good it convinced me to go back and read all of Melissa Alberts books because I’ve missed something glorious.

Try this if you enjoyed Witches of Ash and Ruin, Dark Shallow Lies, or Devil Makes Three. To be published June 2022, I already put it on my top 10 of 2022 list setting the bar high for others to compete against.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to preview this title.