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Here In Avalon
Author: Tara Isabella Burton
Source: NetGalley
Pub. Date: Jan. 2, 2024

OMG…This is the perfect book for the first read of 2024. Oh my goodness, what a novel! Here in Avalon by Tara Isabella Burton is so beautiful, lyrical, and magical that it defies a brief description. Tara describes a cult in the heart of New York City that lures unhappy “beautiful” people to a lifetime of living in a community that embraces wonder, beauty, music, art, and a sense of belonging. The problem becomes that, of course, you have to leave your past behind, including family and friends. The writing is superb, the story is so full of wonder, and the power of love, especially the love of a sister for her “lost” sister, is triumphant. I don’t think I adequately describe the story, but believe me; this is one you should read. #Avalon #NYC #cult #beauty #love #lost #found #future #desire #want #need #lifeunfulfilled #fiction @notoriousdrtib @NetGalley #hereinavalon #taraisabellaburton @simonandschuster #fantasy #magicalrealism #fairytales
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I received a complimentary copy of this ARC. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this novel. Pub. Date: Jan. 2, 2024
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#book #books #bookAddict #BooksOfInstagram #bookstagram #bookstagramer #bookshelf #reader #booklove #bookreader #reader #reviewer

Here in Avalon is a literary fiction novel that exists in a liminal space: it’s a fantasy that’s not quite a fantasy novel, it’s a mystery that’s not quite a mystery novel, it’s a thriller but not quite a thriller novel, and it’s magical but not entirely magical realism. The best way I can describe Here in Avalon is it’s a love letter: to New York, to cults, to sisters, to beauty, and to love itself.

I’ve made it no secret that I adore Tara Isabella Burton. I own both of her other novels and adore them. So maybe I’m coming from a place of bias as I read this book and as I’m writing this review, but reading a Burton book is like sinking into a dreamscape. She simply doesn’t see the world the same as I do. Maybe it’s different for other people, but to me she writes the world like it still has mystery, magic, and enchantment to it. For a very cynical person like me who tends to fear everyone and think catastrophically, books like hers are like fairy tales. Maybe that’s by virtue of her academic background. Maybe that’s just intrinsically who she is at heart. Who knows? All I care about is that she keeps writing utterly beautiful books like these for as long as it makes her happy to do so.

The story of Rose, Cecilia, and The Avalon is compelling from the start, from Rose and Cecilia’s negligent childhood and their insistence that New York City raised them to Cecilia’s adult wanderlust that carries her all over the globe to Rose’s adulty-adultiness to the events that lead Cecilia and then Rose to The Avalon…It’s what happens once they get there that starts to whip your heart into a frenzy and turn page over page. The days bleed into nights into weeks into months. It’s so beautiful and sad and lovely.

When I came to the end I was both sad and satisfied. Sad because I had finished yet another Tara Isabella Burton novel and would have to wait for the next. Satisfied because it was perfect.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: 5 Star Review/Cult Fiction/Literary Fiction

This was the first book I've read by Tara Isabella Burton. It was a fun, enchanting mystery that kept me turning the pages. I loved the character development and the plot was very original. This is one I'll want to recommend. There were a few parts that seemed unclear and I had to re-read, but overall it's a solid novel.

First, I liked the comfort of New York, it felt like its own character, and the role it played in the girls lives as they grew up.

Here In Avalon had a slow start, but Cecilia and Rose were strong characters with an intriguing sister dynamic that carried me along until the plot picked up in the second part. Both Cecilia, with her constant quests for life’s magic, and Rose, with her structured reaction to the unpredictability of life, have moments of relatability as they search for meaning in a seemingly meaningless world.

Burton strikes a delicate balance between looking behind the “magical” curtain of cults and acknowledging their appeal in a purposeless world. But after finishing the novel, I reread the author’s note and I’m not 100% sure whether we’re for or against cults and I wanted to be more sure by the end. Is this a love story? Is it about succumbing to anything that gives purpose? Or just showing how one could? I also could have done without the storyline between Rose and another character in the latter half of the book. It took away from her journey, and again, made me question the story’s messaging.

Here In Avalon tackles sisterhood, freedom, sacrifice, love, and the power of belief.

Here in Avalon by @notoriousdrtib is an intriguing story about family ties and dazzling yet cultish (?) cabarets! 🎭

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The positives: I loved the character developments of Rose and Cecilia! They were both complex characters that had a lot of baggage. However, their relationship somewhat improves. But, honestly, all of the characters were a little bit toxic in a way. The concept of “Avalon” is very amazing as well and the eccentric cast of characters are intricate! 🤩

I really wanted to enjoy Here In Avalon because the premise is fascinating! However, the writing was sometimes confusing. And the plot lines are often hard to follow.

All in all, Here In Avalon was a good book and I encourage everyone to create their own opinions about it. 😊✍🏼👯‍♀️✨

Thank you to @netgalley and @simonbooks for the opportunity to read/review this ARC! 📚

#SimonBooksBuddy #HereInAvalon #taraisabellaburton #review

<strong>Eloquent & Haunting</strong>


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It wasn't just her face, either. It was that angelic and infuriating way she had of looking up at you, with blue unblinking eyes, like you somehow had the answers to all the questions she had not yet figured out nobody in their right mind could answer: questions like what does living a good life look like, or why do we always want the wrong things, or how do we even know what we want in the first place.
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<b>Thoughts: 💡</b>
This book is eloquently written and while the story is engaging, the thing that kept me entranced was the way the author told the story. It’s so beautiful it reads like poetry and paints a tale that is both creepy and magical.

This novel was a departure from most of what I usually read, but in a good way. This book was about two very different sisters who disappear into what appears to be a utopian world/cult, which includes a traveling cabaret by its members. There were clearly elements of magical realism (which is, what I am sure drew me into requesting the book) and things were a bit murky as to how much was real and how much was magic but I enjoyed that uncertainty. While both sisters were very much opposite, both seemed to be unhappy with their lives in different ways, so it made sense that they became consumed in/by this world.
If I had any critique for the author, it would be that it wasn't altogether clear to me how the two sisters growing up in the same environment were so different from one another. There was a little hinting at it but I think it would have been helpful if there was a little more explanation. In addition, I think the end was a little bit rushed and I would have liked to see her take a little more time so that it was less abrupt. That being said, it was a very enjoyable read and I would read more by this author.

This was a really interesting story. At first it felt a little slow, but I was invested in the characters and their unfolding story after a bit. I really don’t even know what category this book would fall under. Almost magical realism but not quite. It was definitely a story that held my attention once the reveals began. I think the one also felt really relatable, in the sense that every once in a while or even more often we all wonder, what is the point. We wonder what am I doing and what should I be doing to feel like I’m making a difference or something along those lines. I really enjoyed this one and it really wasn’t a very long read! Definitely recommend!

Tara Isabella Burton has described her most recent novel, Here in Avalon, as a “love letter to cults.” I think it could also be described as a love letter to art and the whimsy in loving art. We’re allowed to explore not only the lure of an elusive, magical group but also what it’d be to let beauty be the thing that sustains you.

“Beauty was just something —like cognac, like heartbreak—a person consumed.”

Here in Avalon follows two sisters – Rose and Cecilia – who seem to be as different as two people can be. For example:

Rose:
“A college boyfriend had once told her, not entirely unkindly, that she reacted to spreadsheets the way ordinary girls reacted to sex.”

Cecilia:
“Cecilia was so extravagantly, so idiotically openhearted that you couldn’t leave her alone for a minute or two without her plunging them both into some charitable disaster.”

When the wilder Cecilia disappears into a mysterious group, Rose isn’t sure what to think. The Avalon calls itself a cabaret, but is this Cecilia’s usual flakiness or something more nefarious? Rose is left to unravel the cryptic clues the group leaves behind in the hopes of seeing her sister again. But the more she gets sucked into this extravagant new world, though, the harder it is to maintain her real life.

Burton weaves this story so beautifully it’ll make you ache. The reader is brought through the same hesitant wonder along with Rose as this new world is slowly revealed to us. The world of the Avalon is presented in such vivid color compared to the muted tones of the real world. An otherworldly affect is achieved in a way that feels so subtle and effortless that you can’t help but feel that same pull. I don’t know when I started routing for both sisters to be in a cult, but that is how efficient Burton is at spoon-feeding you this alluring narrative. Never did I anticipate that when the other shoe dropped I’d have to question when I’d become team cult.

Here in Avalon gives you the opportunity to sink into this enchanting space and contemplate the value of art and love and all the beautiful things in the world. Reading this novel feels not dissimilar to Rose’s experience: unsuspecting and ethereal. I loved it.

This one was a fantastic read to end 2023 and a great first pub day to start the New Year! It was a unique tale centering around love and what you would do to be happy.

I really liked the main characters. It was told from single POV but you really got to know both the FMC and her sister, which were so different!

I think the author could’ve taken it even a step further, and that’s why it wasn’t quite a 5 ⭐️ for me. She could have dove more into the magic of the cabaret as Rosie loses herself in its charm, questioning her life and her choices. I wish it was even more lyrical and inquisitive into the characters choices and underlying drives.

I definitely recommend for my readers.

I sat down expecting to enjoy this book,but I certainly didn’t expect to be consumed by it. Literarily from the start I was enraptured and had to read more. While I was waiting to get into Avalon, I couldn’t stop the anticipation.

A sister’s love, life and a desire to find her rightful place in the world was fabulous, but Avalon? It truly made this book so enchanting and addictive. I would love to read more from this author in the future.

This book starts of slow but then picks up speed the further you read. Slow burns are not my favorite but here it didn’t bother me. What helped set it apart? The fabulous characters and the fantastical and well told story. I’m very pleased to have read it and highly recommend for anyone that enjoys magical realism and light fantasy.

Rose and Cecilia grew up in New York City with a neglectful mother they pretty much raise their self with the help of other adults who gave them the time of day. Cecilia was the oldest but she was also the most unresponsible when it came to everything even personal grooming took a backseat to pursuing the things that made her happy. Rose on the other hand was steadfast diligent and dependable she made decisions that would ensure a comfortable life both in the present and in the future. She took care of her dying mother graduated college and was now a coder for an up-and-coming app and she was engaged to a brilliant App inventor named Caleb. Cecelia on the other hand had a long list of boyfriends but recently she married a guy named Paul a wedding Rose was not invited to but still wanted nothing but the best for her sister. So when Cecelia shows up out of the blue and tells Rose she left Paul and then informs her little sister she doesn’t want to talk about why, what happened or anything having to do with the end of her marriage. Rose does notice the difference in her sister though she cleans up after herself keeps their apartment clean herself clean and even gets a job playing piano at a local bar but the night of roses birthday they run across a woman in the park holding a sign saying have you seen this boat with the woman crying because a red boat named Avalon took a friend. When Cecelia stops to comfort her roses embarrassed in front of Caleb and their friends Lydia and Grant because who stops to comfort crazy people in the park. It is that night when Cecelia finds out her husband is back. Soon Cecelia breaks down and says she wants nothing to do with him and just wants a divorce when she goes to see him she comes back the next morning acting strange, with a card that says she could change her life from the Avalon group. It’s not long after she will start acting strange and eventually goes missing. Now Rose who goes to the park to talk to the lady with the weird sign but this is just the beginning of the story. Eventually she learns her sister is living at a house they call Avalon it is a place where many adults live and you cannot find this place, the place finds you and it’s always in bars and always when you’re at your lowest. When Rose enlist the help of Sicilia‘s husband Paul things get even more complicated due to her growing feelings for her sisters husband. However eventually Rose also goes to live in Avalon and although she loves living there she does question whether it truly is a magical place or a cult. There’s talk of a strange death in New Orleans not to mention the missing person flyers for many of the people living there. Because of the horrible way this book ended I don’t know what else to say about the plot I mean the book and it is if someone let all the air out of my balloon. It ruined the whole book for me I love books and have never come across one that caused me to feel so let down in the end. I mean in a book it shows how people grow find out secrets learn lessons that make them a better person… What was the point of this book? I mean with the exception of the Avalon excursion in Rose ruining the life she had, I mean what is the upside to the story? So let down. Maybe I missed something either way they say this is a fairytale but usually fairytales in happily end I didn’t find that with this book. Cecelia was flaky but because she was beautiful and talented her sister made excuse after excuse for her as far as rose when I really liked her but thought some of her decisions were the dumbest decisions ever. I want to thank the publisher and Net Galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Wow! This was nothing like I expected and yet more than I ever could have imagined.

Here in Avalon was so intelligently written; an urban fairytale that reminds us of the power and magic of found family.

As someone who has spent a lot of time in New York City, I absolutely love the way Burton used New York as a poetic playground. The city truly felt like a main character.

The story centers around two sisters who couldn’t be more different, yet find themselves both searching for the same kind of happiness and meaning in life.

It was dark, surreal, operatic and mysterious, with a 1920’s noir vibe that I couldn’t get enough of!

This contemporary fairytale showcases the beauty and poetry that can only be found outside of “real life”, yet illuminates the fact that a new, more beautiful way of life is always possible in the real-world.

Brilliant first read of the year!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for gifting me a digital ARC of this gorgeous book by Tara Isabella Burton - 5 stars!

Sisters Rose and Cecilia were raised in the same chaotic manner, but now in their 20s, they couldn't be more different. Rose gave up her dreams of being an artist and is now a successful coder and has a serious boyfriend, Caleb. Cecilia, a gifted musician, flits from one grand adventure to the next, never settling and never happy. Rose maintains their family rent-controlled apartment in NYC so that Cecilia always has a place to land. When Cecilia returns from a failed marriage and seems anxious for a new start and Rose is hopeful. But then Cecilia gets involved with a cult-like, secret, magical cabaret troupe who plucks people from unhappy lives. Rose fears she's lost her sister for good but is determined to try and find her one last time.

This book was totally immersive to me - the writing was so gorgeous that I could picture the magical boat, the haunting songs, and fanciful characters. It was also a love story to NYC, as the characters left clues in various places for others and the reader to discover. I loved the sister relationship and how their childhood influenced each of them so differently. This is a book to be savored - I kept thinking about the adventures while I was away from it. Highly recommended!

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘴; 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘴; 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴!”

Thank you to @simonbooks and @netgalley for my #gifted ARC. 💕

This book was SUCH a pleasant surprise! If you’re a fan of magical and whimsy books with dark twists, you’ll love this! It reminded me of Chronicles of Narnia, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and The Greatest Showman BUT WITH CULTS.

This book definitely had a unique plot, and I was super into it! It’s described as “a NYC fairy tale” and had some elements of fantasy and suspense. There’s even a mystery to be solved when people start to go missing. I loved the story of the two sisters. Rose is the level headed and responsible one, while Cecilia is the free spirited one always looking for adventure.

Lastly, I enjoyed the overarching themes of people searching for belonging, and the importance of family, love, and hope. What a great escapist story that was just beautifully written!!! I highly recommend you grab it tomorrow when it releases.
“𝗔𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲.”

Here in Avalon by Tara Isabella Burton is the story of Rose and Cecilia, two sisters who are very different from each other. This is a story of sibling and sisterly love but also an individual's search of happiness.

Rose and Cecilia, two sisters, are bonded in their trauma of upbringing. Cecilia is always in search of something, whereas Rose is responsible. The big question is, who is happy? This book is whimsical with the poetry and the elements of Avalon added in. There's mystery, magical realism, and an element of darkness that adds a touch of fairytale in this novel. However, it's none of that, but at the same time, there's an effervescence in the writing where a reader feels that they are reading a dark fairytale. It definitely lives a question of what our own Avalon is, or are we searching for our own Avalon? I enjoyed reading this book.

CW: Abandonment and neglect

Tara Isabella Burton’s Here in Avalon is a gorgeous and intoxicating confection of a book. Beautifully written, the novel is a must read for lovers of The Night Circus, fairy tales, myths, and Arthurian legend. Appropriately, the story begins once upon a time with two sisters — Cecilia, a pianist and dreamer who goes where life takes her in search of her Holy Grail, and Rose, who used to paint and draw, but who now works for a tech app called My.th, and lives for an excellent performance review.

The story begins when Cecilia returns home after a brief marriage. She keeps it together for a while, but begins disappearing after receiving a card from a mysterious woman in a bar for “The Avalon Cabaret” which says “[a]nother life is possible.” Ultimately, Cecilia disappears on a black boat called The Avalon. Rose sets out to find her solving clues worthy of Dan Brown.

Burton describes the book as a “love letter to [her] cults” whose members shared a love of beauty outside of real life just as the members of the Avalon do. The question Burton poses is at what cost? And is it possible to find beauty in the real world too? 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a complimentary e-copy of this book.

I had to pick up "Here in Avalon" once I saw it was from Tara Isabella Burton. I adored "The Cannot Give" and was so excited to read something else from her.
"Here in Avalon" reads like a modern fairytale. Burton's writing is so enchanting and whimsical, but also laced with a sense of darkness. This particular story is magical on its own as it weighs the struggle of leading a full, untethered life with the safety and expectations of a more structured one. "Here in Avalon" is a wonderfully enchanting world to get lost in for awhile.
Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advance copy!

Burton's novels have a kind of playful, chaotic, twisted vibe, and while it's a very specific vibe to recommend, I gobble these suckers down like candy. HERE IN AVALON is no different in terms of vibe, and has the same hip NYC locales, and-- like Burton's other novels-- is not particularly believable. Even so, I was transported by this book, and truly felt like I'd been on a ride by the time i finished. A great late night fireside crackler.