Mixed feelings on this one. Readers may have to dig a little to find the humor. The story is told pretty well. The situations and some characters may be a turn-off for some readers. The author has some talent.

Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!

I'm not really sure what to make of this story, but calling it "Hilarious, sensual, and charged with menace..." is not at all accurate.

1. There was nothing 'hilarious' about this story. Nothing. Not one thing.

2. Sensual? Again, nope. A 17/18-year-old girl obsessed with sleaze and her older step-cousin (her Aunts stepson) was not sensual. It was kind of gross.

3. Charged with menace...I mean, 'menace' isn't the right word for what was happening on that island. At no time did I feel like anyone was in any real danger, even if that's what the author was trying to convey. It felt more like awkward discomfort.

Mira, our main character, is a complete weirdo obsessed with her step-cousin and all things 'sleazy'. She's working a summer job as the baker for the floundering Lavender Island Wilderness Lodge on a remote island off the Alaskan coast. Now, maybe I'm just too old (41) to really 'get' her, but she comes off as very naive and ridiculous. I kept telling myself that most girls her age are still trying to find themselves, so I tried to cut her some slack.

Maureen and Stu are in a marriage that is clearly over, but they still feel the need to put on a show for their dwindling guests. Erin, Polly, and Chef are the other employees, and they're all pretty one-dimensional.

I get Erin's job in the story. She's the hot young 'temptress' that lures Stu away from his wife and nothing more. The other two, though, are less defined. Polly's character diminishes a little more and a little more as the story goes on until finally, she's reduced to a near-catatonic child by the very end. Other than bringing Erin to the island with her, she serves no purpose. You could completely erase her from the story, and nothing would change.

The ending with Chef felt abrupt and out of place. You get through this entire story where nothing really happens until finally, in the last chapter, there's a bit of drama with a background character who was only just introduced a few pages before the book ended. It was a case of 't00-little-too-late' for me. I didn't feel any shock or concern because the characters involved were so minor, and the act was random and unintentional.

I think this would have made a better short story. As it is, nothing much happens. It's just a snapshot into the lives of 6 employees over the course of one Alaskan summer told by a teenager who isn't as philosophical as she thinks she is.

The writing isn't terrible. It has a vagueness that I don't particularly care for, but others may enjoy. I think my main problem here is, based on the description, I was expecting something similar to Christopher Moore or Carl Hiaasen, and that is NOT what I got, so I may be a tad bitter.

Overall though, while this wasn't my jam, I don't discourage anyone from reading it. I don't think the description does it much justice. If you like character studies or the slow, quiet deterioration of things, then you'll dig this. If you're looking for suspense and sensual drama, then you have come to the wrong place because you will not find it here.