Cover Image: Ivory Apples

Ivory Apples

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Member Reviews

What a quick entertaining read ! Ivory Apples is made of a magical ambiance, and I loved the mixing of fairytale and reality. They entertwine so closely you sometimes don’t know what’s real anymore, and it’s usually a big no-no for me but somehow, in this book, this is a good thing.

Ivy and her family have a secret. Their aunt Maeve is actually Adela Martin, one of the most famous author in the country. Adela only wrote one book, “Ivory Apples” and disappeared from the publishing world altogether after releasing it. When Kate Burden slithers her way into the family, Ivy does not trust her. Kate also has a secret of her own. Who is she really and what does she want ? Ivy doesn’t know, but she has a gut feeling it has to do with her aunt and “Ivory Apples”…

This book and I didn’t start on the right foot. Lisa Goldstein kind of throws the reader in her world, with little introduction whatsoever, which made the first 40 pages a little hard to read for me. I felt lost and was never too sure about what was going on. Fortunately I kept going on, and all in all, it was worth it, if only for the myth about Ivory Apples and the sprites. Even though the story is really fast paced and you have to really focus to keep up, I was entranced by the magical vibe I felt while reading.

As is often the case with me for some reason, I liked many side characters more than the main one, and I absolutely fell in love with Ivy’s sisters. It might be because they’re described from Ivy’s point of view, and I felt the big sis love, but I thought they were incredible characters, and their development through the book is delightful.
Also, no spoilers, but I just want to say that Piper definitely reminded me of Peeves in Harry Potter, and I can’t express enough how happy I was about him ! I think I want a Piper 😂

The only aspects bugging me were the length of some sections, in which the story felt overdevelopped and kept draaaaagging on, the overdescription of some tales that I couldn’t find any interest in, how the villain is a little cliché, and is being a horrendous guardian with the kids, and the redundance of a few paragraphs.

However, it was a short book, and if you like light fantasy, this really could be a book for you. Some topics might be considered as trigger topics though (child neglection, death, etc…) but it’s no highlight of the plot, and I was not shocked by any of it. It’s a good book, and I completely breezed through it !

Thank you Netgalley and Tachyon publications for providing me with an e-arc of the book !

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Maeve is a pseudonym for Adela Martin, the renowned author of the folklore novel, Ivory Apples. Maeve changed her name and moved to the middle of nowhere, because her fandom became more than she could bear. Ivory Apples was not only a success, it created a following that was cult-like.

Ivy is Maeve’s great niece. Ivy and her three sisters live an average, everyday life with their father who is an engineering professor. Ivy’s mom passed away much earlier, when her younger sister was just a baby. Occasionally they visit their Aunt Maeve, but they are under the strictest orders to never reveal who Aunt Maeve really is, nor where she lives. When a woman befriends Ivy and her sisters and the park, Ivy is suspicious of her. This woman is too kind and too friendly and wants to insinuate herself into their lives. The woman, Kate, is far too fond of the book Ivory Apples. No one else suspects anything. Until Kate truly becomes part of their lives.

The fairytale quality of this book enchanted me. I loved how it was a book within a book. The need for Maeve to escape due to her fandom is probably a real thing. It makes sense that if a book inspires people to become obsessed, they would haunt an author into retreating. I loved the way that Lisa Goldstein incorporated Greek mythology into the story, even making it a focal point. There is a lot of tragedy in the book, but it’s real, everyday stuff that people deal with.

This was the first novel by Lisa Goldstein that I’ve read. I would definitely read her other books, as I loved the fantasy element and the fun. She does a brilliant job of weaving fantasy and reality into one tale.

3.75 stars on Goodreads

This review will be posted at BookwormishMe.com on 11 October 2019 .

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Ivy and her sisters know the rules: never call Aunt Maeve by her real name, never never tell anyone she wrote the cult fantasy novel Ivory Apples, and definitely never tell anyone about the fairy-like muses that live in a grove behind her house. But when a woman in the park befriends her family and starts asking questions, Ivy must decide how far she is willing to go to protect her family and their secrets. Full of atmospheric tension, Ivory Apples is a perfect new read for fans of Jo Walton and Kat Howard.

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Ivory Apples by Lisa Goldstein
2.5/5
For me this book had all the makings of a great story but in the end it just was not for me.
An aunt that the great nieces can’t talk about her real name, weird things start happening. The book is so mysterious you can not put it down because you want to know what is going to happen.
However, there is so much going on that not all of it seems to come full circle enough to make you love it.

And why can we not call the parents mom and dad, especially if we love them?

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2.5 Stars

Possible Trigger warning - child abuse - There is a special place in hell for people who take advantage of children.

I feel like I could have really liked this book had it been a series. It felt as if I was reading three books in one that didn't flow well enough for me to like the book.

What this book is about:
A young girl and her family protect the secret of her aunt's identity, who happens to be a highly stalked famous author. While visiting the aunt, Ivy stumbles upon what made her aunt so secretive, Muses.

The story overall wasn't bad, it just felt discombobulated. Decide for yourself if you want to add this to your TBR.

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Jo Walton says of this book, "I loved it. You'll love it too."

She really should know better than to say things like that.

I tried hard. I came back to it twice after going off and reading other things that appealed to me more. But in the end I DNFed at 47%.

Why? Not because it isn't well-written; it is. But because, despite a fantasy premise that (as far as I read) was more background than foreground, what this mainly reminded me of was those grim-and-gritty, real-life-sucks YA novels that I avoided as a teenager, because frankly I'd rather read something escapist.

It's very good - for me, too good - at portraying an abusive adult in charge of children, and the desperate lengths one of the children goes to in response. But that isn't what I want to read.

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This book really did not live up to my expectations and is not a book that I would recommend. The characters were at all that complex and when you did think they could be, you weren't given anything else. Not only that but it felt as though you have 40% of build up that came to absolutely nothing in the end. There wasn't an exciting conclusion and it did feel as though there were about three different stories. Not what I was expecting at all.

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2.5/5 stars

I'll be the first to admit that the summary of this book didn't catch too much of my attention. Contemporary Fantasy is a genre I have a lot of difficulty enjoying properly. I either love it or hate it. Ivory Apples is somewhere in between for me. i didn't like it, but I didn't dislike it either. The writing itself is quite beautiful and gets you invested, but the dialogue between characters and even the world itself is a bit off-putting. Something just doesn't seem right when you read this, and by the end I was still left very unsatisfied. I usually don't say this, but this is a book where you should probably judge it based off of the summary. If you think you'll love it, then go ahead and grab it. If it doesn't grab your attention, it may be best to just skip this

Also, strangely enough I don't remember much of the story after being away from it for a few days... So that's a bit unfortunate.

ARC provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own..

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This fantasy novel started off with promise and some beautiful writing: in a grove in the woods, a girl incorporates a sprite into her body, and has to learn to control it and when to let it take control. The grove is owned by her great-aunt, a recluse who write a best-selling fantasy novel herself but became plagued by fans and hides from them. So far, so good. But then the story's development gets unfocused and the writing changes, becoming flat and dull, and the plot becomes ever-more complicated and full of nonsensical actions on the parts of the characters, who also fail to develop beyond the two-dimensional. The sprite-carrying protagonist soon finds her life infiltrated by an obsessed fan of her great-aunt; soon the fan has killed Ivy's dad and taken over control of Ivy and her three younger sisters, Ivy leaves, and there are gaps in the story where she simply says "years went by." The sprite in her body comes and goes in mentions so inconsistently it's as if it's not really part of the story, and Ivy's sisters, the evil guardian, and other characters do seemingly random and bizarre things that are unrelated, or, equally strangely, pick up conversations ended seemingly months or years before as if nothing had intervened. The book reads like it needed a lot more developmental editing and another year or two to be fully cooked.

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A pale watery sun sieved through the branches.....This tale of an author who wrote a book about a magical town through the pillars of moonlit trees, is filled with breathtaking descriptions like this. In hiding from her adoring fans, from those who would seek the town they know is real, Adele harbors a secret. But a stalking fan will do anything to find the reclusive author.....anything. Subtle buildup of the family who helps the aunt, to mystery, and finally to thriller, tinged with horror. It's just a book, written decades ago......isn't it?

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*I consumed this story in less than 24 hours.*

Ivy and her three younger sisters live a normal middle class life with their widowed father, with one big secret -- once a month, they go out to visit their secretive great-aunt Maeve who lives in isolation away from the view of her hoards of adoring fans. Aunt Maeve is the author of Ivory Apples, a fantasy cult favorite with a huge and obsessive following, and Ivy's father manages her finances and fan mail.

After stumbling upon the supernatural during one of the visits to Aunt Maeve, Ivy finds herself with a secret supernatural companion named Piper whose capricious whimsy often threatens to overwhelm her own desires and feelings. And, at around the same time, a vaguely innocuous woman named Kate befriends Ivy's sisters and inserts herself into their lives. On the surface, Kate is a delightful lady, but something about her makes Ivy and Piper uneasy.

The author has a delightful and deliberate way with words. The mystery around Kate's intentions kept me guessing -- clearly she is going to be important in these girls' lives, but is she going to be a mother figure or the villain?

I was particularly impressed with the scene when Ivy stumbles upon the world of the supernatural in the grove behind Aunt Maeve's house. The descriptions of her first encounter with Piper were palpable. And, as only children can do, she immediately goes back to her normal life after experiencing something so incredible.

I have some criticisms of the book, mainly that it didn't end the way I wanted it to end, but it's still a good ending. And any criticisms I may have are far outweighed by the magic of the rest of the story. It was full of the grittiness and darkness and hopefulness of old fairy tales, and it's something I'd certainly read again.

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Absolutely loved this until the very end. For some reason the clean cut ending and drab feeling really killed the story for me. But up until then...I was fully hooked. Stayed up most of a night reading this because I couldn’t put it down. It’s a fantasy that really sucks you in at first.

A totally unique tale. Just too bad about the ending.

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Thank you to Netgalley for providing this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This book will be released on October 15th.

Um…what did I just read? This book had such potential! I wanted to love it, but it left me feeling a bit underwhelmed. The thing is, I felt like this book was originally an idea for two separate books that kind of melded together into one book. The problem is, they didn’t mesh well.

Ivory’s great-aunt is a famous but reclusive author. No one outside the family knows where she lives now and she has no interest in responding to fan mail, answering questions about her work, or- really- discussing it at all. Ivory and her family- her father, and three sisters- visit on occasion. Usually, the kids wander around while Ivory’s dad goes over business things with their great-aunt.

On one such trip, Ivory comes across a shocking scene. It changes things for her, and affects her entire life afterward. Here’s the first issue I had with this book; aside from a few vague questions that aren’t satisfactorily answered, Ivory seems to accept this huge thing with very little issue. For me, it’d be a “Holy hand-grenade! What was that?”, type of thing, but she just kind of went with it.

Shortly after that, the kids meet a kind woman named Ms. Burden. Something about her bothers Ivory, but no one else shares her suspicions. Things progress, and Ms. Burden suddenly becomes much more involved in their lives. Ivory has to protect her great-aunt’s secret while figuring out what Ms. Burden’s ulterior motive is, assuming she actually has one.

At this point in the book, things start to get very choppy. There’s several chapters where not much happens at all. Ivory ends up kind of on her own, with no other characters to interact with. That would be fine if it led to some character growth. It really didn’t, though. By the time the book got back to the original narrative, I’d lost interest..

There were a lot of things that were just accepted, then never really explored throughout this book. It’s really too bad; there were some themes that could have been fascinating if they’d gotten a little more attention.

Ultimately, I think what this book really needed was to become two separate novels. On their own, each of the disparate ideas would have worked very well; they just didn’t get along.

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A totally different kind of fantasy with memorable characters and a story line that sparked all kinds of emotion. Well-written and engrossing, a tale that should appeal to everyone who enjoys top-notch stories.

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For me Ivory Apples had a wonderful premise that was executed unevenly throughout the book. The last few chapters felt abrupt, and I didn’t feel any satisfaction with the ending. The fantasy was good, the characters of the aunt, sisters, and their guardian well fleshed out, but the writing up and down. I can’t be specific without spoiling the plot lines, but I came away disappointed.

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It is said one has to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince, and while that aphorism may be a matter of debate in romance, the novel Ivory Apples by Lisa Goldstein proves its truth in regard to books. This contemporary fantasy novel is a prince or more accurately in line with this book's plot: a princess. This book is a jewel! It deserves the highest accolades!

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