This book was fine... It wasn't bad or not worth reading but it was also not a book I would recommend either.

The premise being said to be like Yellow jackets, the description, the cover it all caught my attention.

The book though was flat and disjointed. There was a slow mysterious build up I loved and then it was just a rushed ending to pull it all together.

There was so much promise here but it felt like a TV show that had laid so many clues and then didn't know how to connect them all so it just threw everything at it at once.

It was good enough I didn't DNF it and I liked some characters. But some of the girls I just didn't either. The romance thrown in didn't fit either, it was just rushed.

I know it was YA but I've read so many YA that are there, it's one of my favorite genres. All of it was just almost there but not quite unfortunately.

Thanks NetGalley and Random House Childrens for the ARC to read.

sixteen years ago, six girls in the town of sorrow were born on the same day. they grew up as a close-knit friend group, but their group is now fractured. on their sixteenth birthday, one of them goes missing. when she reappears three days later, there’s something wrong with her. the girls get back together to figure out what’s going on before they’re all taken.

this was a pretty unique horror book! i loved the small southern town drama and the weird happenings in said small southern town. isabeau was an interesting character and i loved how her relationship with reuel was explored. when the six split up, isabeau and reuel remained friends, but that doesn’t mean everything is perfect between them.

i really enjoyed this and i’d recommend to anyone wanting a YA horror read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book!

2.5 🌟/5

I think the biggest thing for me in this book was the writing style. As I read more and more, I could tell it was someone way older trying to write from a teenager’s perspective but kept showing their age. The excessive use of “bloomers” and other vernacular throughout the book pointed to the inconsistencies of the story.

The love story between Reuel and Iz did not add to the plot at all. I’m not sure why the author deemed it important to add in there. It was cute to see that the reason Reuel stuck around with Iz was her feelings for Iz but otherwise, the love interests in the story added nothing to the plot. There was so much time spent talking about Grady and he had absolutely nothing to do with the plot.

I will say the further I got in the book, the more curious I was as to what was going on. Though the ending was a bit anticlimactic (she lit the tree on fire and poof! Everything is fixed). But again, the writing style and sentence structure was very detrimental to the story. So many run on sentences, incomplete thoughts, or sentences with no structure at all. I really hope it gets a good edit before final publishing.

Overall not a bad storyline. I might have liked it more when I was younger as it did give a bit of Pretty Little Liars vibes but early PLL. I wish there was more witchcraft in the book or dealing with it. But if you are a fan of PLL, witches, found family, and minor suspense, this book might be for you.

I love the concept of Six of Sorrow and the LGBT representation especially for a Young Adult novel. It is interesting how it focuses on six separate girls.

Six of Sorrow by Amanda Linsmeier is about a group of six friends who were born on the same day. On their sixteenth birthday, one of them goes missing and is gone for three days with no memory of what happened. She is no longer herself, unable to eat, having nightmares. As weird things keep happening, they learn that they are part of something bigger than them. Something that started before they were born. Now they have to stop it before they all end up dead. This book was a hard transition for me from the last book I read. I found it hard to get into, with a writing style I didn’t connect to. Once I really picked it up and made myself focus on it, I did become interested. The story explores friendship, mother-daughter relationships, what it is like being a teenage girl, with a dash of spells, curses, a demon, and a witch thrown in. This is a young adult novel, and it reads as such. I don’t mean that to say it is a fault in the story, just that it isn’t very dark, or gory, and it ends happily. It is predictable. For what this was, it wasn’t bad. If you want a quick, feel-good, but spooky YA book, this would be a good fit. 3/5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for allowing me access to an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Publication date June 25th, 2024. This review will be found on Instagram and Goodreads indefinitely.
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Received a notification from NetGalley that this ARC was available and after reading the blurb was immediately drawn to it.
This story is about a group of six teenage girls that are best friends, live in the same town and share the same birthday.
The town they live in is named Sorrow, after a witch that lived and died there.
One after another the girls go missing and return with a mysterious illness. Doctors can’t figure out what is causing it but they are getting sicker and sicker, leaving the girls on their own to figure out what’s causing it and how to keep themselves from dying off.
If you like a great mystery with a dash of paranormal you’ll love this book.
Once I started reading it I didn’t want to put it down.
Character development was great, plot was interesting and flowed nicely.
This is a stand alone and has a happily ever after ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the advanced copy.

Six girls in Sorrow, Louisiana have the same birthday. Some were born other places but eventually move to the town. They were the best of friends. Until they weren’t. Absent parents, secret smoking, cemetery dinners, and witchy vibes abound through the chapters.

This book just wasn’t it for me. I understand they’re high school aged characters but they were all so whiny. I was really bored and for me it just dragged on. The parents were all useless or incompetent. The ending lacked so much. I was majorly disappointed.

Six of Sorrow by Amanda Linsmeier is a wonderful young adult supernatural thriller.
A riveting and engaging story. I was hooked immediately and had such a hard time putting it away.
Well written, fast flowing, just a joy to read! I'd say it's perfect for a lazy afternoon if it wasn’t for the perfect amount of tension keeping your core muscles engaged.

Thank You NetGalley and Delacorte Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Loved the witchy vibes and lore in this book. Set in Sorrow Louisiana, 6 former girl friends born on the same day brought back together after one goes missing on their 16th birthday. They set out to figure out why she looks and feels like she is on deaths doorstep when she reappears and before whatever is lurking comes for the rest of them.
Once I got started I didn't want to put it down. I wanted to figure out what was going on just as much as our girls did. And it all ties up really well.
I appreciate that the author didn't overdo the Louisiana setting - sometimes it's just too much. This was very subtle throughout and I liked that the girls didn't end up with weird fake cajun accents.

Thank you Netgalley, Amanda Linsmeier and Delacorte Press for the ARC. I enjoyed it!

I saw someone say that this felt very reminiscent of the early Pretty Little Liars series, and I can definitely see that. This story is a very tension-filled examination of secrets, family drama, and small-town vibes. This is a really fast-paced story, and though I did really enjoy Starlings (her first book), this sophomore novel definitely feels that she's really settled into her narrative voice, and her writing was even more lived in (in a good way). Creepy, atmospheric and well-paced/plotted, I definitely think anyone who is a fan of those creepy early-mid 2000s TV shows is gonna love this. I know I definitely did. I really think that this author is crawling up my list of auto-buy authors, because I already cannot wait for what she writes next!

Reminiscent of the OG Pretty Little Liars and the supernatural edge of Riverdale, Six of Sorrow combines the tension of ex-best friends, family secrets, and small-town legends to create a memorable story, enjoyable for today's readers.

Amanda Linsmeier has written a sophomore novel that makes its readers turn the pages at a break-neck speed until they reach its very satisfying ending, fit for a teen movie. Six of Sorrow is a wonderful addition to the genre and a credit to its author.

I recommend this book to anyone who's ever loved those teen shows that were a little creepier than normal. The good ones like, Pretty Little Liars (honestly, the OG show and the new series both apply here), Riverdale, The Secret Circle, and the newer Nancy Drew. Any ensemble-loving, thriller-addicted, horror-fiend reader will enjoy this book!

4/5✨

This fast-paced, quick read reminded me a lot of the show Pretty Little Liars in the way there was a group of friends who had secrets. I enjoyed the way Linsmeier opens the book in the present time and allows little glimpses into the past to develop each character and storyline with the characters to wrap it up nicely at the end.

Though this book is perfect for any time, this would be an ideal read if you wanted to start making a stack for Fall! The thrill, mystery, and horror in this book is begging to be read on a stormy, cold day.

As always, thank you to NetGalley, Amanda Linsmeier, and Random House Children’s/Delacorte Press for the digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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I liked this magic/surreal book.
it was fun and full of mysteries. Six girls with the same birthdate end together and make a nice friendship full of surprises where they have to face challenges and find out why they end up in that situation and the purpose of it. Definitely a good read!

Pretty sure this 50 year old woman was not the target audience for this novel. I would have loved this in my teens though! I just couldn't get into these characters enough to really do the book justice. I do love the cover though!
thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

I 1000000% requested this ARC bc of that cover and the mention of Yellowjackets in the blurb. It was...not at all like Yellowjackets, sadly, more like that newer Pretty Little Liars spin-off that I never finished watching.

And I almost didn't finish this book. At about 15% I was ready to DNF, didn't touch it for a few days, and then came back and read the rest in mostly one sitting. Honestly, part of why I continued reading was bc of how annoyed I got with the descriptions of coastal Louisiana (basements? in-ground pools? on an island in Black Bay, which is losing islands constantly due to global warming and rising sea levels? come on, now), but then I turned my brain off completely and just tried to enjoy what was left. And I mostly did

Thank you Random House Children's and NetGalley for early access to read Six of Sorrow!
This was a fun read, I read it in one sitting and really enjoyed it.
I really loved the storyline and following Iz's perspective. I also loved how it wrapped up, without spoiling anything, it's a solid ending.
I did feel like some parts were rushed a bit here and there, while other parts were over explained. Overall, very sweet and heartwarming story with enough spooky-ness to keep you on the edge of your seat!

Six of Sorrow-a standalone

By Amanda Linsmeier- new to me author

Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐⭐⭐

Publication 6/25/24 Read 6/24/24

Format: e-book, 336 pgs. kindle

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for this ARC🩷 ! I voluntarily give an honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

✔️ YA/coming of age
✔️ fantasy
✔️ witches/magic spells
✔️ sisterhood/female friendship
✔️sapphic romance/LGBTQ+ rep
✔️family drama/found family
✔️mystery/thriller
✔️small town

Summary-Isabeau "Izzy" Monroe (16) had an unbreakable bond with five other girls born on the same day and connected in Sorrow, LA. Reuel is her only friend after a unknown rift that happened three years ago. Georgina, Cori, Solaina, and August ignore them and vice versa until one of them goes missing. They rally together to break the town's ancient, witch curse before they all disappear.

🤔My Thoughts-I liked Izzy as the narrator because she's truly clueless as to why her BFFs stopped speaking to her. Reuel was the only one who stayed, and we learned why as the story unfolds. The lore of Sorrow, the wishes, and all their mothers add to the mystery/suspense of what happened.

Overall, I enjoyed this queer, YA, mystery with true sisterhood but it had some repetition and drawn out scenes. The mentions of Georgina's stillborn brother, Reuel's deceased mother, and Ms. Kate having a twin kept being brought up. Also, the girls didn't need boyfriends because this book was about girl power. I still enjoyed it as a solid fantasy and sapphic romance.

A really fun, quick read, Six of Sorrow follows six girls who are seemingly cursed as they try to break the curse their mothers unknowingly put on them. This book was a fun read, although felt a little rushed at the end. It felt like every single conflict encountered throughout the entire story was all wrapped up in a neat bow within the last chapter. I wish there had been more development of the lore of Sorrow, or their curse, but it had a lot of buildup for a little bit of a flat ending for me.

Small town southern gothic YA with a perfectly creepy atmosphere, strong female characters, and that slightly witchy Louisiana vibe. Six estranged teens share the same birthday in the small town of Sorrow. On their sixteenth birthday, one girl goes missing and comes back changed. The girls come together to figure out exactly what is happening and how to stop it. Isabeau is a strong lead, the friendships are realistic and messy, and they don’t need a boy to save the day.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy and a chance to read this early. All opinions are my own.

Thank you @penguinrandomhouse and @netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was certainly a quick read and an interesting plot. The concept of six girls born on the same day seemingly fated to be friends, then seemingly cursed, is a pretty fabulous one. The plot played out nicely and was really enjoyable to follow. I had a few issues with the writing style, however. Personally, I don’t love present-tense books. This is an easy one to overcome though and I understand that’s entirely my own preference. The one that bugged me the most though was the clunky and unrefined use of foreshadowing. So many times someone would, say, look stressed, but then the author points out that “anyone would look stressed in this type of situation right?” as a way to theoretically explain away what was something else entirely. It was just super obvious and clunky and made you want to shake the main character for being so obviously obtuse. And the. There’s the big plot point of the main character’s original wish, which is then never addressed ever again? So the clunky foreshadowing-kinda-but-overly-obvious paired with that little point being completely forgotten about made it a bit of a struggle for me to get through, particularly the first half.

While that makes it sound like I didn’t like anything about the book that’s obviously not the case as I consumed it within 24 hours. Diverse representation was solid and the horror of high school, on top of the horror of ya know paranormal curses, was nicely demonstrated.