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Summer Sons

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'Summer Sons' by Lee Mandelo is a Southern gothic tale interwoven with elements of mystery, horror, academia, and queer relationships. The story follows Andrew as he delves into the supernatural world to uncover the truth behind his best friend Eddie's alleged suicide, leading him to confront ghosts, curses, and dark academia themes. The writing style is described as raw, lush, and haunting, with a slow burn pace that gradually reveals layers of grief, repression, identity, and relationships set against the atmospheric backdrop of the deep South.

Characters:

Characters are multifaceted, dealing with personal struggles related to grief, sexuality, and their intertwined histories.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is evocative and immersive, reflecting a blend of gothic sensibilities with some critique on its density.

Plot/Storyline:

The narrative centers on loss, investigation, and supernatural elements, weaving a complex tapestry of grief and friendship.

Setting:

The setting plays a critical role, capturing the essence of Southern Gothic with an immersive and atmospheric quality.

Pacing:

The pacing varies, with a slower start that eventually builds tension and urgency as the story progresses.
The message sat unanswered. Andrew tapped from Eddie’s hanging text thread to the brief obituary that had run in the local paper: Edward Lee Fulton, recent graduate of Ohio State University, is surviv...

Notes:

Summer Sons is a Southern Gothic novel that combines elements of horror and dark academia.
The book features a diverse range of LGBTQ+ representation, including trans masc characters.
It's centered around complex themes of grief, loss, and the supernatural.
The main character investigates the mysterious death of his best friend while dealing with hauntings and a chaotic environment.
Readers describe the writing as poetic but occasionally overly dense or slow-paced.
The story includes thrilling elements like street racing and drug culture, which adds a gritty feeling.
Some reviewers liken it to The Raven Cycle series in terms of themes and character dynamics.
It explores the darker side of academia and privilege, offering insights into those aspects.
The emotional depth in character relationships is emphasized, portraying messy and toxic dynamics alongside camaraderie.
The haunting atmosphere of the Deep South plays a crucial role in setting the tone of the story.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Triggers and content warnings for Summer Sons include discussions of suicide, grief, drug use, homophobia, toxic relationships, and themes of death.

Has Romance?

While not the central focus, the story contains romantic subplots and explores queer relationships with significant emotional depth.

From The Publisher:

Lee Mandelo's debut Summer Sons is a sweltering, queer Southern Gothic that crosses Appalachian street racing with academic intrigue, all haunted by a hungry ghost.

Andrew and Eddie did everything together, best friends bonded more deeply than brothers, until Eddie left Andrew behind to start his graduate program at Vanderbilt. Six months later, only days before Andrew was to join him in Nashville, Eddie dies of an apparent suicide. He leaves Andrew a horrible inheritance: a roommate he doesn't know, friends he never asked for, and a gruesome phantom that hungers for him.

As Andrew searches for the truth of Eddie's death, he uncovers the lies and secrets left behind by the person he trusted most, discovering a family history soaked in blood and death. Whirling between the backstabbing academic world where Eddie spent his days and the circle of hot boys, fast cars, and hard drugs that ruled Eddie's nights, the walls Andrew has built against the world begin to crumble.

And there is something awful lurking, waiting for those walls to fall.

Ratings (16)

Incredible (5)
Loved It (7)
Liked It (3)
It Was OK (1)

Reader Stats (73):

Read It (20)
Want To Read (46)
Not Interested (7)

1 comment(s)

Incredible
5 months

Fantastic book! Is it me or was every character hot in this book? They way the main character was observing each male character had me feeling some way 😂

 
 
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