How I love a good, well written, atmospheric folk-horror novel. Lute was superb and the narration fit perfectly with the story. I went into this story with some idea of what to expect, but it turned out to be deeper and more intriguing than I could have imagined. Set on the isolated and seemingly idyllic island of Lute, Nina Treadway, a Floridian woman has been married to Lord Treadway and started a family on his home island of Lute while a full scale war rages in the world off the island. the island seems like the perfect place to live because the inhabitants do not feel the effects of the war, the weather i beautiful, and everyone is happy. But underneath that happiness is superstition about "The Day" where every seven years, the island claims the lives of seven people.
The writing was perfection, capturing the townsfolk's emotions very well and Nina's terror experiencing "The Day" for the first time.

Reviewed for NetGalley:

(I listened to the audiobook version).

Nina Treadway had heard there rumors of her now home town island of Lute. All the good weather and fortune are thanks to a day that comes around every seven years. A day where lives are lost. But her and her family are leaving the island on this upcoming holiday, until the Treadway family is sabotaged into staying and now Nina, her husband, and her children's lives are at stake.

I was actually surprised how much I enjoyed this book, the writing, and the narration. The Lottery type scenarios are not my favorite, but there was so much mystery surrounding Lute and the day, I enjoyed coming along for the ride.

A great fall read.

Lute is a fantastic folk horror by Jennifer Thorne.

"Wickerman meets Final Destination" you could not find a more apt descriptor of this story! 5/5 for me

Lute is an idyllic island, and every 7 years the island takes it sacrifices. Always 7, no more, no less.
The residents of the island are blessed disproportionately in their health, wealth, and remaining unaffected by a war raging the world.
Nina Treadway is a US native, with a tragic past, who moves to Lute after marrying Lord Treadway. She doesn't believe in "The Day", until she experiences it for herself. As promised, the island starts taking its sacrifices.

I thoroughly enjoyed every part of this book; the narrator, the atmosphere, the cadence of the storytelling, all of it is enthralling.
Jennifer Thorne creates a dynamic world. I lost myself in the story; feeling the fear, anxiety, ravid curiosity.
Definitely a great folk horror novel!

Sadly this was a dnf for me. I just couldn't get into this book. It was very slow and soft. I'm sure there are people out there who would enjoy this but it's just not for me.

An interesting take on the folk horror. I liked the idea that this book is playing with the ethics of the situation. Would you stay on an island if everything is perfect but every seven years seven people must die. You might be one of them. Would that be a worthy sacrifice?

Lute
by Jennifer Marie Thorne
Narrated by Victoria Blunt
The audible version gives a great interpretation of the work. Bringing depth and color to the story.
a dramatic ideal ology of the cycles of the world. The invasion of Roman troops change the events on the island of Lute. Believing that the sacrifice of 7 people for blessings, and luck was very bad practice. They changed the events of the seven year sacrifice until the "third world war" or the "Sea war". The people find that the random death's of seven people every seven years is immensely difficult as those islanders that stay on the island are killed in various accidents, and it seemed the luck of the draw. A young lord of lute is trying to escape his lot in life, but retain the privilege's of his history, and luck of his land finds a new lady. His father dies back home on Lute. He becomes lord. Seven years down the line in the middle of the war, the seventh year arrives. this book looks at the secrets of the island. the story shows the nature of the negotiation with the magic that created the luck and protect of the men and women of the island.

Lute was a fun folk/horror story that I kind of wish I had waited until October to read.
Inlived all ofnl the superstition that surrounded every part of the setting.
Nina's transition into Lute was likely my favorite part of the book. From average American person during WWII to part of the community with all of its cost.
Even though I could predict what was coming I was still in a state of suspense and wanting more.

There were some heavy aspects to this book so check the trigger warnings.

This was a long awaited Title for me and I admit, my expectations were likely set too high.

The story follows Nina Treadway and her family on “THE DAY”. The day only comes once every 7 years and on that day 7 people on her picture perfect island are to die. Nina an outsider to the island don’t put much weight into the tradition, til it begins to get to close to her family.

This story is painfully slow, it’s got the quality of being literary fiction more then horror/thriller for the entire first half of the book.
It’s not til past the 50% mark that anything worth note happens and our MC is so clueless and lacking in any charisma that it’s hard to care when things do begin to happen.

Nina’s Husband Hugh was born on Lute and is sure his heads on the chopping block on tithe day so his frenzy makes for a climactic ending.

All in all it was just ok, to much of a slow burn for my tastes. 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I feel like this book may interest readers who liked The Hunger Games, The story line of a certain amount of people having to die resonated in both stories. It was just an "ok" story for me. I did enjoy listening to the narrator.

Reasons to Read:
-Remote Island - Lute is an island with a small community, prosperous and untouched by war.
-Wife of a Lord - Nina has been married to the lord of the island for almost 7 years so she is new to THE DAY
-Seven years, seven people - Every seven years, the island “takes” 7 people in exchange for this idyllic living. Nine doesn’t believe in it until
-Survival - The day arrives and she sees firsthand the island’s secrets as she struggles to protect herself and her loved ones. I thought this book was deliciously chilling and very suspenseful. Perfect for this time of year!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This was incredible! So atmospheric and addictive. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I'm not one for horror normally, but this was the perfect level of scary.

This book is described as a combination of The Wicker Man and Final Destination and there is honestly not a better way to describe it. Every seven years, seven people die on Lute (exactly seven people) to keep Lute and it’s people safe, healthy, and happy. Our main character doesn’t believe in the lore of Lute, but is finally experiencing THE day after seven years on the island.

I absolutely devoured the audiobook. I found myself even trying to listen in the shower because I needed to know who the 7 would be that were claimed.

This book is the perfect amount of creepy, thrilling, and a smidge gory. I would recommend to thriller and horror lovers alike!

I received the audiobook as an #ARC from #NetGalley however all thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.

I finished this book a few days ago, but I’m still so unsure of it. Like what exactly was the story line. While interesting, it was also confusing, and sometimes hard to follow.

Lute was such a great read. I loved Nina and the islanders. Thorne was spot on with her characterization. The tension was just enough to be suspenseful without being over the top, and I could not WAIT to find out what was going to happen. I loved the plot and idea behind the story, and I was along for the ride every step of the way. This was such a unique story, and I can't say that I've ever read anything like it. This is definitely a must read for fans of mythology and suspense.

Lute by Jennifer Thorne was an audiobook and narrated by Victoria Blunt. Victoria Blunt was excellent and I enjoyed listening to this.
This was a strange story for me and it had suspense and horror. Good for book lovers who want a book for Halloween.
I was surprised about the ending and wished there was more information about the island.
Thanks Macmillan Audio via NetGalley.

I listened to the audio version.
This book is supposed to be a horror novel. I did not sense horror at all from this book. It is dark and weird and atmospheric. I think the definition of horror has changed and expanded since I started reading horror in the 1970s.
By the time I started listening to this novel, I had forgotten the synopsis and what the book was about. Lacking that information, it was difficult to figure out what was happening and why. I decided to read the synopsis, and then the plot made more sense. In my opinion, this is a storytelling failure. Something was definitely afoot with “The Day”, but it was more unclear than it was intriguing.
The near future setting was interesting as was the war that was going on in the background. That would have made a more interesting story than the main character trying to fit in on this island. The author inserted plenty of philosophical messages which were fairly interesting. I did not feel bludgeoned by them, which is often a problem when authors are too obvious with attempts at the profound.
Overall, this was a reasonably good read.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an unbiased review.

My first foray into a folklore horror story was not disappointing! The village is creepy, the townspeople suspect, and the narrator makes rational choices while maintaining an air of terror. A very fun read and a tale that will come to mind often - an excellent premise made it's own despite similarities to other mysteries.

Summary:
On the idyllic island of Lute, every seventh summer, seven people die. No more, no less.

Lute and its inhabitants are blessed, year after year, with good weather, good health, and good fortune. They live a happy, superior life, untouched by the war that rages all around them. So it’s only fair that every seven years, on the day of the tithe, the island’s gift is honored.

Nina Treadway is new to The Day. A Florida girl by birth, she became a Lady through her marriage to Lord Treadway, whose family has long protected the island. Nina’s heard about The Day, of course. Heard about the horrific tragedies, the lives lost, but she doesn’t believe in it. It's all superstitious nonsense. Stories told to keep newcomers at bay and youngsters in line.

Then The Day begins. And it's a day of nightmares, of grief, of reckoning. But it is also a day of community. Of survival and strength. Of love, at its most pure and untamed. When The Day ends, Nina—and Lute—will never be the same.

Review: This is a book that I’m not sure I would have read as a physical book, but I absolutely loved the audio. I think, Victoria Blunt voice really added an eerie layer to the story. I loved the overall story and am looking forward to reading more from the author.

***Netgalley ARC***

(3 stars)

TW: war, child death, suicide attempt, cheating

“Don’t test Lute. Lute will test you back.”

On an island with less than 200 people, once every 7 years 7 people die and in return everything on the island is idealistic where everywhere else has been traumatized by war. Nina had coincidently moved to the island almost 7 years ago. Nina and her family intend to leave before “The Day,” but an incident occurs that makes them have to stay.

Think the lottery by Shirley Jackson vibes.

However, this book was slow to start and constantly discussed a mystery war that they never really expanded upon. I was also not a fan of the main character. She thinks this is just some prank they’ve been pulling on her for 7 years. 50% into the book she still didn’t believe in the day.

That being said, I liked the setting and I loved the secondary and tertiary characters. And I liked the general concept of the book. The book picked up part way through and I began to like it more. I really enjoyed the last 30% of the book, where everything was culminating to the final conclusion and the last portion of the book was really good.


Thank you to netgalley and publishers for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4955785354

This audiobook narrator was *incredible*. I loved how sucked into the story I got and I think that was due to her a lot.

The story itself was great. I really enjoyed the story of Lute, the pacing of the story was very well done and there were some turns that I wasn't expecting. It wasn't as shocking I wanted it to be and there was one part of the storyline that I could have done without. Without spoilers-- It just felt unnecessary.

4 stars. Thank you to Tor Nightfire for the ALC and the physical ARC! Pub day is 10/2!