i'm totally mind-blown by the ending but wish the pacing were better! This is a book that'll reward patient readers

Yvonne Battle-Felton's Curdle Creek is a masterful blend of suspense and social commentary, reminiscent of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery. Battle-Felton crafts a gripping narrative that captures the eerie atmosphere and unsettling truths lurking beneath a seemingly idyllic community. Her insightful storytelling invites readers to unravel complex themes of tradition and conformity, leaving a profound impact long after the last page is turned. With its compelling characters and thought-provoking plot, Curdle Creek is a hauntingly brilliant novel that echoes the timeless qualities of Jackson's classic work.

A very well-written book that reminded me of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery. My only problem with it was that it felt like I was thrown into the middle of things without enough context.

It was far too slow and by the middle of the book, nothing had happened. I thought the premise was interesting but I wasn't willing to wait for the story to start. I DNF'd

Actual Rating 1.5

When’s the last time you finished a book and had absolutely no idea what just happened? Well, this was that book for me. I picked this one up because it’s inspired by “The Lottery,” one of the first short stories I remember loving. And it’s certainly inspired by “The Lottery.” But there was so much going on while still almost nothing was going on that just left me feeling befuddled by the end.

The first event the book blurb mentions is Osira being forced to jump into a well where she’s then transported back in time – this doesn’t happen until well over halfway through the book. The next event mentioned in the blurb is that she makes another jump in time – this doesn’t happen until almost 90% through the book. What happened before that first 50%? I honestly spent most of that time wondering what I’d missed, what time this was supposed to be set in, if this was supposed to be fantastical or realistic, and what sort of setting this was supposed to be taking place in.

The author isn’t a bad writer. But the style wasn’t lyrical enough and was missing those qualities that would make this a literary fiction. The characters weren’t strong enough for this to be character driven (all I’ll say is we spend 304 pages in Osira’s mind, and I have no idea who she is as a person - she was the strongest character). There was no plot, so it wasn’t plot driven. Aside from people being awful it didn’t feel like horror, as there was no strong atmosphere (thanks to no real inclusion of setting). So what is this book?

While this is certainly a unique novel like the blurb claims, it’s not unique in a positive way. The narrator did a good job, so if you are going to read this, then I recommend the audio version. My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC in audiobook format.

Yvonne Battle-Felton’s Curdle Creek is a haunting and thought-provoking novel that blends elements of American Gothic with surrealist folklore.

The audiobook, narrated by the exceptional Joniece Abbott-Pratt, offers a deeply immersive experience that captures the eerie and unsettling atmosphere of the story.

Set in the isolated and enigmatic town of Curdle Creek, the novel follows Osira, a forty-five-year-old widow who has always adhered to the town’s strict and ominous traditions. Her life takes a dramatic turn when her children flee, she comes second to last in the Running of the Widows, and her father disappears during the annual Moving On ceremony. Forced into a test of allegiance, Osira is transported through time and space, landing in various realms where she must confront the dark history and secrets of Curdle Creek.

Joniece Abbott-Pratt’s narration is a standout feature of this audiobook. Her expressive voice and nuanced performance bring Osira’s character to life, capturing her strength, vulnerability, and determination.

Battle-Felton’s writing is rich and evocative, with a lyrical quality that draws readers into the world of Curdle Creek. Her use of vivid imagery and detailed descriptions creates a palpable sense of place and atmosphere.

Curdle Creek explores themes of home, belonging, and the weight of societal expectations. It delves into the complexities of motherhood and the legacies we inherit from our communities.

Curdle Creek is a compelling and atmospheric novel that offers a unique blend of horror, folklore, and social commentary. Yvonne Battle-Felton has crafted a story that is both unsettling and deeply moving, with a protagonist whose journey resonates on multiple levels. Joniece Abbott-Pratt’s masterful narration elevates the audiobook, making it a must-listen for fans of gothic fiction and surrealist tales.

Ｃｕｒｄｌｅ Ｃｒｅｅｋ

| Thank you @henryholt @macmillanaudio for the free copy & access. |

𝚆𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚋𝚢: 𝚈𝚟𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚎 𝙱𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎-𝙵𝚎𝚕𝚝𝚘𝚗
𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎: 𝙰𝚟𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚠!
𝘕𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳: 𝘑𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘈𝘣𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘵-𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘵

ˀqotd: if you could time travel would you go to the future or the past?

Ａｕｄｉｏｂｏｏｋ Ｒｅｖｉｅｗ

📖 (𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥):
𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙠𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙚 • 𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙨 • 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙡 • 𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙢 • 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩-𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 • 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙢 • 𝙝𝙖𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 • 𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙘 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙚 • 𝙖𝙩𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘 • 𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙨 • 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙩 • 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 • 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 • 𝙙𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙖𝙣 • cults •

💭:
This was a really hard book for me to get into. I had to set it down a few times, but it wasn’t so bad that I wanted to DNF it.

In fact, I didn’t feel this book was terrible at all, it just didn’t work for me. 😭

I can’t say for sure if that was due to my current head space, or simply put - I just wasn’t the right audience for this one. 🤷‍♀️

With that being said, I would still recommend this book to anyone that enjoys books with great writing, that also has you thinking about existential themes.

🎵:
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘔𝘊!

𝘐 𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author/publisher for a copy of this audiobook.

I really loved the narrators voice and her reading style throughout the book which made this more enjoyable for me I think. The story itself had potential but it was slightly hard to follow with the jumping around and the odd details/in depth storyline and town. I am interested in what else this author will put out in the future but this one fell short for me which is a bummer considering how creepy the cover looks and all of the reviews/description.

Curdle Creek has long been a sanctuary for its residents, an all-Black community seemingly frozen in time since the late 1800s.

Curdle Creek is a dark, folk gothic tale about a small, secluded town, with an all black population, that decides to completely control its borders, its demographics and its citizens, in an effort to "keep them safe' from the dangers and racism happening in its surroundings.

This novel is a combination of the violence of The Lottery with a sprinkling of the dystopia of The Handmaid's Tale and the magic of Brigadoon. Battle-Felton builds a town corrupted by its need for rules and its competitive power-hungry leaders.

Osira is a widow who must compete at an event for the opportunity to gain a new husband. She must speak a certain way, dress a certain way, show no affection, turn on her own friends, family and children, And she is fed up. And the town turns on her and forces her into a well. And this experience leads her to different experiences? time periods? dimensions? to see how her life could have turned out.

A very different take on southern gothic, skewed towards a condemnation of government and conservatism, racism and family dysfunction, of guilt and hope and redemption.

This is one of those books that on the surface is super interesting and I really want to love, but I had to very hard time following the time leaps and intricacies within this world building.

Curdle Creek is a small all black town with its own scent of conventions, traditions, and rules. Give me a very 1984 vibe and reminded me of the old 70s movie, Logan’s Run.

I think the part I liked most about this book was the actual narration of the audio the voice work from Joniece Abbott-Pratt was excellent. Her accent work really places you in this time frame and she does a great job delineating the various characters voices.

In the end, this book fascinated me and it felt like a piece a literature I wouldn’t like to study more than read for general enjoyment.

I honestly didn’t care for this book. It was a very hard read/listen.
I had an audiobook version and I absolutely loved the narrators voice and expressions.
The story itself was very up and down for me and hard to follow along. There were quite a bit of flashbacks and i didn’t realize they were until I was in them. It was very hard to follow.

Overall the story was interesting, just really hard to get there.

Thanks for NetGalley for the copy.

I had some trouble following the story but even so found the atmosphere and language so compelling that I enjoyed it

Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into this book. It was a slow slog to nowhere all the way through.

Billing it as a book for "fans of “The Lottery” and The Hunger Games" was just no accurate. I can see the correlation between them both -- especially "The Lottery," but it just didn't reach the heights of either. (And it only marginally resembles The Hunger Games in any way.)

I listened to the audio book, and I constantly had to return and re-listen to parts I'd zoned out on.

Maybe it just wasn't for me.

It wasn't the worst book I've ever read -- or even the worst book I've read this year. But I can't give it more than 2 stars, either.

Special thanks to the author, @henryholtbooks for my gifted copy & @macmillan.audio for my ALC‼️

Drawing readers into a world where murder is a means for control and disagreeing can get you killed the author’s imagination went wild with this one. This book was weirdly interesting I was left confused and intrigued at the same time. I still have so many unanswered questions like why did they choose to live like this. In the beginning it wasn’t made clear what “Moving On” meant but after a few chapters I realized what they were doing.

This town did some odd things like women competing in foot races for marriage. Being punished to the well and nearly beaten to death. But the Moving On was their craziest ceremony which was a purge type of event and Osira was against all of the towns customs. When her father’s name is called to move on but he runs away she begins snooping and searching for forbidden knowledge surrounding Curdle Creek’s sinister history. Soon Osira finds herself punished to the well and transported into the past.

The town was like a dictatorship society stripped of all common sense and everyone was in purgatory. The author was very detailed except when it came to world building. I wanted more when Orisa time traveled to the past, into the Underworld for judgement, and England before time traveling again. The author did great capturing the emotions of all the characters but I still wanted more of an understanding of what was happening and why.

Overall, the book was okay idk about that ending but if you’re a fan of Hunger Games, Kindred, or LoveCraft Country you’ll enjoy this book‼️

Rating: 3.5/5

First and foremost, I want to thank NetGalley, Macmillian Audio and Yvonne Battle-Felton for this wonderful ARC.

Curdle Creek has long been a sanctuary for its residents, an all-Black community seemingly frozen in time since the late 1800s. This quiet, isolated world offers safety and stability, especially when compared to the unpredictable, racially charged 1960s that rage beyond its borders. Yet, this peace comes at a cost that they are all willing to pay.

Osira is a 45-year-old widow, who has lived her entire life in Curdle Creek, a town bound by tradition where adherence to strict rituals is the price of survival. One such ritual, the annual "Moving On". This demands that the community votes for one of the resident to be sacrifice each year in exchange for collective well-being. It's a harsh and unquestioned reality, especially for Osira, whose mother is one of the town’s ruling matriarchs.

Despite spending her life within these rigid confines, Osira begins to see cracks in the surface of this supposed utopia. Her husband was "moved on" years ago, and now her children have mysteriously vanished. With her world slowly unraveling, Osira begins questioning the traditions she’s lived by and whether life in Curdle Creek is worth the pain staking price. As doubt stirs within her, Osira takes on a journey into the past, seeking the truth about her community and the rules that have governed it for so long.

Awesome narration! I loved this woman’s voice and her portrayal of all the characters.

This was such a unique take on gothic horror. I couldn’t quite tell what time this took place in, which made it timeless.

Told in the main character, Osira’s perspective throughout the story. Although she was in her mid-forties, due to the rules and ways of Curdle Creek, Osira seemed so much younger. More naive in some things, but had already experienced so much death. Her sisters, in their twenties, seemed as 5-10 year old children.

A really engrossing tale, with human monsters, time travel, and cult like vibes. For fans of gothic horror.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

It started off pretty interesting. However, I lost interest about a third of the way in. DNF- I do have hope for the author. I will try another of her works. This one missed the mark for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the audiobook to read and review.

This small town horror is like the author took Shirley Jackson's The Lottery short story and gave it flesh and clothes, and set in a Black community in the recent-ish past (I think?). It's a gruesome reflection on the cost of utopia.

But the story begins immediately and continues to the last page in an intricate web of uncanny-valley type world building. It's the real world, but it's not.

And it's done in a way that I ultimately didn't care for. Too much action and introspection without actually understanding *why* or who the main character really, really is and trying to accomplish. It lacked that ultimate gut punch we get from The Lottery.

The audio narration is great but too emotional for my taste. Her voice is beautiful and clear.

DNF around 30%. I really liked the premise of the book, and was interested at first, but I became confused with all of the traditions. Things weren't explained very well, just kind of left to the reader to figure out. This may be a me problem? Maybe I have trouble reading between the lines. I ended up finding my mind wandering off and not paying attention to the story, so I decided to give up. I did find the narration to be pleasant, though, and I felt the voice matched the characters personality from what I listened to at least.