So Pretty by Ronnie Turner

It's Tuesday! I hope it's warmer wherever you are than it is here!

Today I'm super excited to be part of the Random Things Tour for Ronnie Turner's So Pretty. 

Now, I have to admit I've been struggling with this review. Every once in a while I'm able to dive into a book with very little knowledge of what I'm in store for and it turns out to be an amazing experience! And that's what happened here. I really don't want to post anything that will prevent another reader from that same surprise. 

So rather than risk ruining it, I'm not penning my own synopsis this time around. Here's the publisher's description:

When Teddy Colne arrives in the small town of Rye, he believes he will be able to settle down and leave his past behind him. Little does he know that fear blisters through the streets like a fever. The locals tell him to stay away from an establishment known only as Berry & Vincent, that those who rub too closely to its proprietor risk a bad end.

Despite their warnings, Teddy is desperate to understand why Rye has come to fear this one man, and to see what really hides behind the doors of his shop.

Ada moved to Rye with her young son to escape a damaged childhood and years of never fitting in, but she’s lonely, and ostracised by the community. Ada is ripe for affection and friendship, and everyone knows it.

As old secrets bleed out into this town, so too will a mystery about a family who vanished fifty years earlier, and a community living on a knife edge.

Teddy looks for answers, thinking he is safe, but some truths are better left undisturbed, and his past will find him here, just as it has always found him before. And before long, it will find Ada too.

Things you should know: you can rely on Orenda for fabulous books! That's just a given. Also, this book is creepy! They're calling it a gothic thriller, and that's definitely the most appropriate genre tag ever!

I'm tempted to say this a bit of a slow burn, but tight, short chapters give the book a great momentum, pulling the reader along as the story alternates between Teddy and Ada's perspectives. And the writing is excellent! I mean really, excellent. With multiple POVs, I think it can be challenging for authors to truly distinguish between the voices but Turner has done a great job. Teddy and Ada, and even the non POV characters that live in Rye, are all so well built and rounded, it makes for such an immersive experience.

Also, shout out to the fact that the author is a bookseller! We're not an exclusive club, but I think any bookseller (former or present) loves to support bookseller authors! At least I know I do. 

If you're a fan of unsettling reads, this is the book for you!!!