A young, pregnant girl flees into the woods to escape a separatist cult sounds intriguing as a tale that can highlight the themes of collective trauma, abused communities, and horrifying history but unfortunately lacks in terms of execution. Even if the minor inconsistencies were easy to ignore, the stretched sequences and sudden info-dumps quickly divert attention when one is trying their best to be completely immersed in the shocking yet atmospheric backdrop of a fungal metamorphosis. The imagery used by the writer is worth appreciating through every turn that excellently weaves the emotions following escape, self-discovery, and queer love. With an underlying facet of fear, magic, and marginalised identity, the tale does well in translating survivalism and resilience through a dark journey. However, the focus shifts halfway through the book and what might be a compelling read for many simply turns into an average blend of achieved and missed potential.

Sorrowland opens on Vern, a pregnant teenage girl who has just fled the commune (read - black power cult) that she grew up on. She thinks she is in the clear until she gives birth to twins and realizes someone - or something - is hunting her.

Vern does her best to raise her two children, Howling and Feral, and tries to keep one step ahead of the fiend that hunts them. This fiend is presumably an extension of the commune sent to bring her back to Reverend Sherman (the cult leader and father of her children.)

As the story unfolds, we learn more and more about Vern’s upbringing at Cainland and start getting an idea of exactly what went on there. At the same time, Vern is changing physically and mentally, undergoing a type of metamorphosis.

She realizes this transformation must be related to Cainland and that she needs to find answers. A mission for truth and justice ensues!

I didn’t feel that I could really review this book without giving some insight into the plot. Sorrowland is one of the most unique books that I’ve read in a really long time which definitely made it a win for me.

I adored Solomon’s writing style and flew through the second half of the book, needing to know more. I will admit the first half was a bit of a slow burn but well worth the read regardless.

Read this book if you like books involving fantasy, nature, LBGTQ themes and exploration, and strong-minded lead characters.

Thank you so much to netgalley for sending me an advanced copy of this book. I was hesitant to reading this because I did not care for the other books I read but this author but I fell in love with this story and verns story!! I’m so grateful to have read this book!

Sorrowland is absolutely impeccable. Not only are the characters complex and breathtaking, but the writing and narration are also pretty much perfect. As much as I adored the characters and their exploration, craft-wise this novel was flawless. I truly felt like the main characters grew with the story and that the story itself never lost direction while morphing and transforming all the time. I felt like Solomon always knew where we needed to go and what information we needed in order to get a full grasp of it all in the end.

I loved that fae didn't rely on plot twists in the traditional sense but instead focused on revealing the story layer by layer, carefully, always at what I felt was the right time.

The journey Vern goes on, her growth, her struggles, the messages Solomon manages to get through to the reader via her character and all the discussions it opens were amazing to read. And I think part of it was my ability to connect to Vern and the world she grew up in, which was our world in many ways.

Overall, this is an incredible piece of speculative fiction with heaps to say and I am so very happy I got to read it. Solomon cemented faer spot in my favorite authors list with this and my heart is very full for it.

This isn't my first book by Rivers Solomon, and it definitely won't be the last. The writing is gorgeous in this - the story flows quickly, leaving the reader breathless. The journey that the main character, Vern, embarks on is one of strength and pain, belonging and loneliness - I absolutely loved it. The commentary of how Black folks are treated in our current society is always an underlying theme in everything I read by Solomon, and I really appreciate this about the writing. I honestly am not sure how to even categorize this one - horror? Sci fi? All of the above? I loved it.

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon is a work of Gothic fiction that bends genres as a mix of sci-fi, horror, and fantasy. It's a fascinating world that's built and will captivate readers.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

This book was fantastic! I thought the constructed world, romance, and exploration of realistic cult aspects were all so well done. I loved Vern and Gogo and the audiobook experience really brought Vern's inner monologue to life as she learned what she was. While I really enjoyed the ghostly aspects, I thought some of the magical elements made the story feel a little disjointed at times, but the negatives weren't enough to take away from an overall great book.

This was a seriously ambitious book. It is the story of Vern, who is a young girl fleeing the only life she has ever known. She is leaving her abusive husband, the cult he is the leader of, and essentially trying to create a new life for her and her babies. But escape is not always as easy as she hoped, and her past is not easy to outrun while she tries to grow up into a functional young woman.

Honestly, I have to stop there because I don't want to spoil anything, but the writing and storytelling of Sorrowland are just absolutely gorgeous. It's enthralling, and if it wasn't sci-fi-based, I would probably rate it higher. I'm interested to see what Rivers Solomon comes up with next.

Life in a religious cult is all Vern has ever known. Now 15 and pregnant with twins by the abusive cult leader, Vern escapes to the woods to raise her babies off the grid. But when the cult refuses to let them go, she learns she has more strength to protect them than seems humanly possible.

This is a dark, twisty, terrifying horror novel. It's also beautifully written, with flowing prose and complex characters that won't get out of my head. I think it's best to go into this novel without a lot of context and let Vern quietly tell you what you need to know. It builds to an earthshaking crescendo you can't forget.

“𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬, 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝, 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐫𝐨𝐭. 𝐈𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭. 𝐈𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐬. 𝐈𝐭 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬”

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

The book follows the story of Vern, a young black woman who flees her cult like home after discovering her pregnancy… she later gives birth in the woods. Vern is determined to escape the childhood abuse she endured and find a life elsewhere for her family.

However, they won’t let her leave so easily and they will hunt her until they find her. Vern also notices disturbing problems going on with her body … she doesn’t know what’s wrong with her… she feels like she’s turning into someone or .. something else.

This is a very dark tale of race, motherhood, gender, trauma and growing outside mainstream society.

Highly recommend this book! It will be like nothing you’ve ever read before.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘍𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘳, 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘴 & 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘹 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸, 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥.

I'm finally admitting defeat and Sorrowland is a DNF at 22% for me
I have made four separate attempts to read this book and I just cannot do it, I can't connect or suspend my disbelief enough to be invested in Vern's story.

Ever since reading The Deep, I have been seeking Rivers Solomon's book. They always feel so raw and poetic at the same time, and this one gave me the exact same effect. I growed really attached to the characters, and as per usual really enjoyed the enclosed world building that the author created (I also love a good botanical power). I would highly recommend this book (or any of Rivers Solomon's book), they have an almost fairy tale feel to them, are character based and just so beautifully written.

<spoiler>

This is such a hard pass. There was so much going on in this book that made absolutely no sense. <Sorrowland> comments on race, faith and sexuality, but wraps this into a story about a religious cult, with conspiracies and medical testing, an evil non-aging government agent, and a fungi which infects certain genetic carriers (nothing about this is fleshed out or explained technically), giving the host superhero strength/healing, the ability to see and communicate with the dead, mind control, and the ability to bring people back from the death. Nothing is explained, nothing made sense, and I'm amazed this has the reviews it does.

I very regretfully voluntarily obtained a digital version of this book free from Netgalley and FSG in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e ARC of this book.
Strange, captivating. Guaranteed to get your attention. Interesting plot and characters.

Sorrowland // by Rivers Solomon

I'll be honest and admit that I'm not 100% sure how to review this. I'll be the first to admit that sometimes certain things are over my head and I will not understand everything exactly as the author means it to be understood. Despite that though, it is clear that this is a story of survival, oppression, blood and found family, and more. It can be difficult to see where the story is going at first. It felt very character focused in the beginning but later, in the last third, had a whole lot more action happening. In that same vein, the messages felt very subtle at the start but later were anything but. While I do generally enjoy character focused books, I found myself questioning the point of this one multiple times along the way, making myself re-evaluate whether I should continue on with it or not. However you take this story though, one thing is clear: the author has a very unique and distinct voice and I still will be picking up more titles by them. The Deep, another of their titles, is a book I very much enjoyed and I am still curious to see what else will be forthcoming by Solomon.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I loved this book, there were times it dragged but the concept and characters made it worth sticking with!

Interesting reading, loved how the author brought you into the story and takes you along. Not what I was expecting but a great read.

I got an e-arc of this through Netgalley and then proceeded to not read it. Then I got the audiobook and that was a great way to consume this story.

This is the story of Vern. We first meet them (I say them because there is a lot of gender commentary in this book and at the moment, I can't remember what pronouns Solomon uses for Vern.) in the woods. They have run away from Cainland, a cultlike compound. They give birth to twins, Howling and Feral.

It follows these three over the span of 4 years and their world expands so much and you meet many new characters and hauntings and is it horror? Is it sci-fi?

I'm being quite vague because I went into it knowing NOTHING and I think that's the way to do it.

This book was WAY smarter than me and I was along for the ride.

I ended up DNFing this book. The writing and story would have probably ended up as a 3 stars for me, but I really was not enjoying this book enough to continue. The narrative was also a bit confusing to keep up with.

Loved this book. It had a slower start for me but once I got into it I devoured it. I really enjoyed the representation in the novel as well as the twist on a cult.