Book Title: A Darkly Beating Heart (Standalone)
Author:     Lindsay Smith
Number of pages:  272

Synopsis:

No one knows what to do with Reiko. She is full of hatred. All she can think about is how to best hurt herself and the people closest to her. After a failed suicide attempt, Reiko’s parents send her from their Seattle home to spend the summer with family in Japan to learn to control her emotions. But while visiting Kuramagi, a historic village preserved to reflect the nineteenth-century Edo period, Reiko finds herself slipping back in time into the life of Miyu, a young woman even more bent on revenge than Reiko herself. Reiko loves being Miyu, until she discovers the secret of Kuramagi village, and must face down Miyu’s demons as well as her own.

(re: Goodreads @ A Darkly Beating Heart by Lindsay Smith)

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Should this book be picked up? the tl;dr review:

– Fluid transitions between contemporary/historical Japan.
– First person narrative feels as though information is withheld from the reader
– Cultural inclusion include English romanization of Japanese phrases and popular items that you would typically see through the eyes of Westerners who are interested in all things “Japanese”

Initial Thoughts

I read up to 60% before marking this book as DNF.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of A DARKLY BEATING HEART from Raincoast Books.

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