4.5 stars

Six girls, one shared birthday, and some hidden secrets in their Louisiana town.

Iz is one of six girls who all share a birthday and who used to be inseparable. Now the group is fractured, but they're brought back together when Reuel disappears. The girls soon realize something sinister lurks in their witch-founded town.

I thought this was a compelling story with just enough creepy intrigue to keep me interested. That there were six girls feels a little too much - like there wasn't enough time to fully establish them all as separate characters. I definitely enjoyed the Sapphic representation. I do enjoy a story with a queer moment of realization.

Definitely pick this up if you enjoy creepy magical stories with friendship and queer love.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

I really wanted to like this one but I had a hard time. I had to dnf it. I couldn’t get into this. Made it to chapter two.

I loved how this felt like a 90’s teen horror film and also a sweet ode to sisterhood/girlhood wrapped into one. Several of the chapters had me leaving the light on to go to sleep, which is very rare for me. It wasn’t in-your-face scary but just so very deeply unsettling! Excellent sophomore book by a wonderful writer!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

So, I didn't know what to expect exactly when picking up this one. I thought Starlings was a fine read, an interesting horror that was really dragged down by its slow pace and romance. Although some of those problems kind of persist into this one, I believe the author had some improvements.

The pacing was good, just slow enough but not to the point it slogs immediately. I did start to skim towards the end because I have figured out much of what the characters were taking forever to get to, but I still found the first third engaging and interesting. I just wish it didn't fall off towards the end.

The characters are - a lot, that's to be sure. Balancing six main characters through a first-person perspective probably isn't the greatest idea. Besides Iz, Reuel, and sometimes Georgina, the girls' personalities blended altogether; I couldn't tell the difference between the other half of the group. But at least the romance wasn't as out of left field this time, as I did find Iz and Reuel's relationship to be sweet for what it was. I do wish there was more to the friendship breakup than what was told to us, and the reunion between everyone felt way too neat for something described to be so cold.

Other than that, I don't really have much more to say. This is just a decent book about girl friendship and the strength of those bonds, and I won't fault any teen who could grow to love the book more than I.

2.5/5 ⭐️
DNF
God I wanted to like this. Like the description being Pretty Little Liars meets American Horror Story, sold. Unfortunately I had to tap out after chapter one. If I can’t even get through the first chapter, that is not a good sign for me. It honestly came down to the writing style being everything I dislike. It honestly felt like I was reading an old school teen’s live journal, like from back in the early 2000s. There was so many pop culture references, which I don’t like, but especially when it adds nothing to the story or the characters. They’re just thrown it to be “relatable.” Which leads me to the abundance of unnecessary descriptions told to us. For example, “…I say back at my classmate from art.” Don’t care. Not necessary. Nor when she said things like I got a text from Reuel, my best friend. Then proceeded to say, my best friend, another six more times throughout just chapter one. Felt like I was being hit over the head with that detail. It would’ve meant a lot more if we were shown their relationship through their text and actions. Same goes with the other girls. Show us the state of the relationship instead of telling us like you are writing in your diary. Which leads me to my final point why I tapped out; all I wanted was to be SHOWN a reason to keep reading. Why should I care about this character and her journey? You keep telling me things, but in actuality, I don’t care. I felt like the narration kept me at a distance, not engaging me, or making me curious to know more.
However, I recognize from other reviews that I’m alone in this view. It seems like everyone else loved this story. So hey, if these things I just ranted about don’t bother you like me, I think you could potentially really love this story. For me, I was struggling to get through chapter one.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing an advance reader copy of this book for my honest review.

This book should be releasing in the fall imo! This is a perfect rainy, fall day read. There were parts of it that had me feeling anxious reading and we love that in a good thriller/witchy novel!

I think anyone who enjoys Pretty Little Liars (with a witchy twist) / Yellowjackets will enjoy this novel.

I thought this was a fast-paced book but I do think it was a bit long. There were some parts where I was twiddling my thumbs and that is the main reason why I did not rate it 4 stars. If this book was shortened it would've kept me engaged the entire time and it would've been the perfect eerie, creepy novel.

I think this is still a solid novel to add to your fall TBR and I would recommend buying the physical because the cover is GORGEOUS. A pink cover with a story about 6 girls born on the same day, in a small town that has a celebration about a witch? Perfect.

Read this if you like:
- supernatural thrillers
- books about best friends
- young adult mysteries
- creepy stories

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really wanted to enjoy this one but the writing style was just not for me. YA thriller/mystery tend to be a struggle for me to get into but the premise of this one intrigued me enough to give it a shot. Definitely one I would recommend to my students but not another adult.

Sixteen years ago six girls were born on the same day, and then those six girls, Isabeau, Reuel, Georgina, August, Solaina and Cori became best friends. Until the rift when they turned thirteen. Now they all exist in the same high school and in the same orbit but the friendship between the six is over, and Isabeau lost everyone but her best friend Reuel. And it still hurts.

On the night of their sixteenth birthday Isabeau and Reuel are together then Iz leaves Reuel on her front porch and walks home. In the morning Reuel is missing and is gone for two days. When she returns she remembers nothing about where she’s been and is very ill.

However, Reuel’s disappearance brought the six girls back together again, but then another girl vanishes and the group realizes that something is happening to all of them.

Obviously this is a young adult book, and it’s VERY young adult, by that I mean that reading it as an actual adult I had to suspend a lot of disbelief as to the way the adults in the story acted. But that’s OK, this wasn’t meant for me! The ways in which the girls friendships broke up rang true, so there’s that.

Growing up, Isabeau was part of a sextet of girls who shared a birthday with their town's founder, the witch Sorrow. Three years ago they drifted apart, driving Iz closer to her one remaining companion, Reuel. The pair of them spend their sixteenth birthday in the cemetery, getting buzzed and performing some light witchcraft. The next morning, Reuel is gone. The shock is enough to reunite the former friends. Reuel reappears, haggard and amnesiac, but it's clear that something is still wrong and the girls can't trust anyone but each other to solve it. Highly creepy, lightly sapphic, with a lot of tension leading to a rather rushed finale.

I didn't really enjoy the book, so I don't want to rate it unfairly. It was well written, just not for me. It felt disjointed? to me with all the current Hollywood actors mentioned, even within the first chapter. I had high hopes for this, but it was too adolescent for me.

Great writing and a compelling story, about the power of friendship and the lies that parents tell their children. Character driven and heavily laden with mystery—this book kept challenging me to figure out if the happenings were real, psychosomatic, or linked to something supernatural.

Brimming with an uncanny feeling of realism. Very creepy.

I am buying my niece a copy as soon as its released. Linsmeier successfully creates a spectacularly chilly atomspehere filled with secrets and spooky encounters. Perfect introduction to Horror with LGBTQIAP+ rep for the Teens & YA in your life.

Thank you to Random House Children's | Delacorte Press, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Six of Sorrow by Amanda Linsmeier was a quick read. I loved the friendships between the main characters, but alas something about this book was lacking. The finale was very underwhelming, but I am still happy to add this book to my shelf of books about LGBTQ+ witches.

Six girls born on the same day.... friends...all of their mothers have moved back to town.
If that doesn't give you chills and scary fable vibes I don't know what will!

Isabeau and her five friends turn 16 at the start of the story and slowly but surely bad things begin to happen. When Isabeau finds a spell book in her attic, she begins to suspect that their mothers know more about what is happened then they let on. The girls need to work together fast - it's a matter of life and death.

Some of the twists were a bit too much, but this spooky book was incredibly entertaining and I would recommend to any YA lover. Linsmeierc creates a whole atmospheric world where magical happenings seem normalized along with your every day pep rallies and school drama!
#randomhouse #randomhousechildrens #sixofsorrow #amandalinsmeier

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s.
Six girls born on the same exact day find themselves trying to survive the normal high school trials…and a potentially supernatural entity who has taken an interest in them, as one of them goes missing. Picture an eerie, magic infused Pretty Little Liars. I really enjoyed this one!

This story threw me back to my teenage years. If you’re a fan of Pretty Little Liars and The Secret Circle you will love SIX OF SORROW. It gave me all the nostalgic feelings I adore. Paired with Amanda’s beautiful writing and vivid world building this story played out like a movie in my head while reading. A perfectly creepy story about friendship & family—messy and all—, dangeorus magic, and the strength to hold onto those we love. Also the cover is absolutely GORGEOUS!!!

So so good. I'm a sucker for girls who were friends and life separated them only for them to come back together under odd circumstances. This has that and includes the girls' moms secretly being friends in the past. (Hello PLL: Original Sin). Perfect for the girls that like creepy small towns and even weirder supernatural occurrences. Also had no idea that this who be any way queer, and so the reveal had me giggling like a little schoolgirl.

**3.5 STARS**

Content Warning: body horror, illness, blood, parental death, underage drinking

This book was giving me The Craft vibes throughout and I love that movie. Obviously, it wasn’t The Craft, because but it had all the vibes – group of high school girls, vows of being best friends, blood vows, things happening to the girls.

Sorrow is a small town, but one with a backstory. There are six girls with the same birthday, if that’s not suspicious, I don’t know what is. Isabeau is one of these girls and there is a feeling these girls once upon a time were close best friends but not anymore, at least not with Isabeau. But something happens on their sixteenth birthday and it’s a race to figure out what is going on with the girls.

There are some heavy issues that are brought up in this book such as lost friendship, family problems, grief, and problematic parent/child bonds. I like how they face their problems eventually though and there is actually a happy ending even though this was a horror story.

Speaking of horror, this is set in a small town with a backstory about a witch named Sorrow. The horror is happening to the girls, where they are disappearing, or going through some illness and bleeding out of their eyes and such.


Final Thoughts:

I thought this was pretty entertaining especially with premise of a small creepy town called Sorrow and six girls having the same birthday. What these girls uncover is something dark but the darkness makes way for the light and love of their friendship as they are reunited again. I think that was my favorite part of the book – the friendship. It would have been nice if there was more witchcraft in this book but that’s just for my personal preference!

I am not a huge horror fan, but this book was great. I wanted to know what was going to happen throughout the story, keeping me turning the page. It wasn’t super intense, so if you are looking for something really spooky I wouldn’t say this fit the bill. But it does have intrigue and powerful moments. I love the story of friendship helping the girls overcome their problems. The book doesn’t paint the friendship as being without faults, which made it feel more realistic. And Isabeau’s moment of self-realization was well done.

Thos one kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I loved all six of the main characters and found them each to be strong in their own ways.