This was a really interesting read. It is exactly the Great Gatsby-esk story that I was promised (and then it morphed into Great Gatsby meets Carrie for a second and that was especially mind blowing and memorable.) I didn't love Lena as a character and couldn't relate to her and that took me away from the story a bit, I might have enjoyed it more had I found her to be more likeable. But what I did like (love) about this story was Jonathan. He was a mess, he was easy to not root for and I found myself rooting for him anyways. He was dealt bad circumstances despite having literally everything handed to him on a silver platter. He wanted to escape the life that was handed to him and live more simply. I absolutely ached for him and was overjoyed by his happy ending. I also really loved the setting and hope that Kit Mayquist writes more stories set in the Boston 'Burbs because this story made me yearn to visit all over again.

This book was beautiful! Wild! Atmospheric! Everything I could ask for! I'm so glad we live in the Gatsby-aesthetic novel renaissance; I can't stop reading them (which definitely says something about both me and society), and I am delighted to have had the chance to read this one. Thank you so much for the opportunity!

This book is 🔥🔥🔥. A fish out of water story about an aimless young woman who starts off just trying to make some money but ends up embroiled in a rich family and all that entails. Lena is a medical school dropout with no direction. She’s just returned home to Boston after an extended stay with her aunt in Umbria, growing plants and helping with research. She misses it terribly, but her family needs financial help, and Lean finds employement as a medical assistant to the private doctor of an elite family (that her own father used to work for). She slowly gets sucekd into their world, and when things go off the rails, she may just be stuck holding the bag.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. From the characters to the pschology of the uber rich, it’s an enthralling look at the lengths that those with power will go to wield it, and how, for enough money (and some attention and sense of belonging), we’ll relax our values, lie to ourselves.

The bisexual rep was excellent, and I loved the characters. Lena. Jonathan. Audrey. They were such rich characters. The twists and turns kept me guessing, and even though it wasn’t a thriller pace, the gothic vibes gave it a great air of mystery and intrigue. Definitely recommend.

I was soooo excited to read this book and when I read the first 10% I thought it was going to be one of my favorite books of the year for sure. The premise was so fascinating and the characters were so interesting and I zoomed right through the first half. After the plot started to unfold, though, I kept being disappointed. It wasn't as dramatic or even as melancholy as I expected from a book that claims to be a "gothic novel." I just felt like it was SO CLOSE to being good at every turn, that by the time it ended, I was really disappointed. It was a perfectly fine read, I don't regret it, but I don't think I would recommend it either. I really love the author and can't wait to read their future work — really really love the style — the plot just didn't do it for me!

Who doesn't love a good Gothic drama? There's a reason this tenacious subgenre has flourished and found new openings for over two centuries. We are drawn to the darker things, we are drawn to ruin, and we are drawn to mystery. All three of these desires are present in Tripping Arcadia. 

The Good:
-The Plot felt familiar yet refreshing. I felt like the main character, Lena's, positioning in the story was unique and as if the reader were right along with her investigating and growing more and more invested.
-I felt like Laura was a great main character -- well developed, interesting, and imperfect.
-This book, unlike other books, definitely lived up to the contemporary Gothic genre. I feel as if a lot of books label themselves as Gothic but clearly aren't. It's clear Kit Mayquist is well versed in the genre and that was much appreciated.

The Meh:
-The development and continued references to Lena's aunt felt a bit forced and as if they could have been better explored. She seemed like more of a plot vehicle than a character. As such a big part of the book, and perhaps even its driving force, the development of the Aunt felt forced.
-Similar to above, the cast of characters created, besides Lena, felt at times both over and underdeveloped. As if the reader could only concentrate on one character at a time.

The Ugh:
-The time shifts felt both rushed and short. I felt like the constant mentions of time were disorienting and then when the time was not mentioned for a long time, it was noticeable. It just made the book feel a bit choppy.

-Many books suffer from second-act-drag but the third act, for me, moved impossibly slow and, for what should be the most interesting part of the book, fell short.

Overall, I found this debut by Kit Mayquist largely engaging and entrancing. It suffered some pacing issues, as well as some confusing relationship pairings that felt a little forced to me, almost as if it was added later. Despite the fact that there were some downsides, the book is enjoyable, interesting, and certainly full of mystery. I'll definitely be looking forward to future releases.

“I’d never thought poisoned men would come back begging for more, but I shouldn’t have been surprised. They’d poisoned themselves for decades. A trip was a trip, and whatever didn’t kill them made them invincible. They lived in their own heaven, their own arcadia, where nothing, not even death, could touch them. Nothing except for me.”

TRIPPING ARCADIA is a lush, engrossing gothic mystery about a young woman who finds herself intertwined with a rich family and their mercenary pharmaceutical business. Lena’s a med school dropout with the weight of student loans on her shoulders. Her dad has recently lost his job, so she moves home from Italy to help out financially and keep her parents from going bankrupt. She stumbles upon a position as a physician’s assistant for the elite and enigmatic Verdeau family, and soon is both enthralled and repelled by them: the imposing father, the sickly brother, and the beautiful sister. The story spirals from there, through drug-fueled parties and revenge plots, herbaceous elixirs and shifting alliances, before coming to its final, fatal conclusion.

This novel is riveting, with beautiful, immersive writing and a compelling plot. I could picture everything from the luxurious parties of the Verdeaus to the shabby diner where Lena meets her friends in Roslindale. The excellent audiobook narration, complete with the occasional thick Boston accent, added to this experience. There’s some powerful themes that Mayquist digs into through this story: class and wealth inequality, family and inheritance, substance use and the medical-industrial complex. Mayquist captures so well what it’s like to work in a wealthy family’s home when you come from a lower income background - the fascination with their extravagance, the entanglement with individual members and their relationships, the anger at the vast inequity. I found both of the Verdeau siblings as intriguing as Lena does, and I liked watching their relationships with her evolve. I loved the queerness in this novel: Lena is bisexual and (mild spoiler) there’s a slow-burn sapphic relationship. I did feel like Lena's character lacked some of the emotional depth or growth that I look for.

Overall the vibes were immaculate and I found the ending very satisfying. Thanks to Dutton books for the review copy!

Content warnings: heavy substance use & addiction, overdose, poisoning, gun violence, death/murder, suicidal ideation, attempted suicide

Truly unique modern gothic is hard to find, but Kit Mayquist has done it and done it well here in Tripping Arcadia.

Thw original premise blended beautifully with traditional gothic elements and made for a gripping, eerie, and terrifically entertaining novel.

This one was a veritable kitchen sink of elements I adore in a book: Creepy parties, chemistry, a poison garden, and a beautifully described trip to Strasbourg, France, one of my favorite places on earth and one we don’t see used as a fiction setting nearly often enough.

These seemingly disparate plot elements came together perfectly in this strange tale, which is part macabre slow burn and part madcap, horrific sh*tshow. One of my favorite reads of 2022 so far.

Tripping Arcadia by Kit Mayquist might be one of my favorite books of the year. The book plays so well into the gothic style where instead of the house being haunted, it seems the family might be. I found the plot to be exciting and kept me hooked. While body horror is not always my thing, this was a lighter version with a lot of poison that left me curious and not repulsed. I look forward to Mayquist's work in the future.

Listen, I can see how this title isn't for everyone, but it was for me. This is the kind of unhinged character study that I love. Yes our MCs motives were misguided at best, but that's what makes her character so interesting.

I originally thought the last 10-15% of the book were unnecessary, and I think the book could have ended earlier, but by the time I got to the ending I was onboard with my Mayquist added that last section.

I think this was more of a 3.5 for me, but I'm rounding up for the stunning cover and because the author and I have the same alma matter.

I had high hopes for this one, and it just did not live up.

There is a saying in the book community that an annoying protagonist is worse than an evil one, because readers will get frustrated with an annoying character, but engaged with whatever heinous acts the villain is up to if they’re easier to read. Unfortunately that was the case here for me.

Right off the bat, Lena annoyed me *immensely.* She comes back from Europe, and the summer spent with her aunt, having a great time. Awesome, good, love Italy, love gardens and bees and nice aunts. But she complains So Much about how much she misses that and how she wants to go back and she hates her family (who we basically never meet anyway despite that supposedly being a motivator in Lena’s Big Important Poisoning Actions). I firmly believe that there are ways to express Lena’s frustration with her family and feeling trapped without making me want to slap her, but that was not achieved.

The vibe of this book, via synopsis, was that there is an outsider who has been brought into this dark and mysterious situation, and we are with her, watching and judging and figuring things out as the mysteries of this rich and powerful family are laid bare. What it read like was this: we are with this irresponsible and noncommittal character who has a pretty clear picture of what is happening from the first 25% but still takes 90% of the book to figure it out.

I did enjoy the siblings and watching Lena kind of figure out what was going on with them personally. I thought that her relationships with both of them did end up pretty rewarding.

Thank you to Penguin for allowing me the chance to read and review this book.

- TRIPPING ARCADIA is quite the ride! Blending gothic horror with modern nightmares and a heavy dash of queerness, it's visceral and gripping at every turn.
- I found myself quite invested in the Verdeaus in an unexplainable way just as Lena was.
- Some of the plot machinations were a bit tidy and predictable, but I still quite enjoyed the trip. I'll be interested to see what Mayquist does next.

After dropping out of med school and returning to the US from working abroad, Lena is on the hunt for a job to help take care of her family. To her surprise she lands the job of a medical assistant for the resident doctor of the Verdeau family. As time passes and she grows closer to Aubrey and Johnathan, she is quickly pulled into the lifestyle of drugs, indulgence, alcohol and an abundance of wrong doings. Lena soon becomes disgusted by them and soon realizes that the patriarch is to blame for the ruin of the Verdeau family, and her own. She vows for revenge but is quickly pulled deeper into the waters.

Fast paced. Gothic. LGBTQ+. Sign me up and let me leave no crumbs! This books was EVERYTHING I was hoping for. This book is dark and twisty and Lena is the perfect main character. Though some parts were super abrupt and a little too fast paced, it was overall a great read. Like too fast paced as in, the book LITERALLY jumps into the deep end. But, with the style it paved the way for you to absolutely fly through this book. The ending tied things together nicely and Lena developed great through the whole book.

Thank you to @netgalley and publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book intrigued me the whole way through and it was definitely an incredible debut! I had a lot of fun reading this and honestly was not expecting that ending.

ok this one is marketed as like a gothic thriller with a Great Gatsby vibe. it's very "eat the rich" lol. Lena gets hired to work for a rich family as their physician's assistant - who comes to hate the family + seeks out revenge for wrongs done. i like the concept and vibe of the book but the main character was annoying and unrealistically vengeful. she becomes homicidal like 30% into the book and it just doesn't make sense. the book drags on wayyyyyy too long because of the quick escalation. and the ending is simply confusing - i'm still not sure what happened.

When Lena returns from two years abroad to help her parents who are struggling financially, she never expects the man who hires her to have a connection to her family. When she figures it out, she’s determined to do something about his role in her life.

Full of twists, Tripping Arcadia is a refreshing thriller. Just when I thought I had an idea of what was happening, it would take another turn that would keep me on my toes. I’m not sure that I’d say I *loved* any of the characters but I loved the ride that the story took me on.

Tripping Arcadia is out now.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the ARC of this!

“They lived in their own heaven, their own arcadia, where nothing, not even death, could touch them. Nothing except for me.”

- Med school dropout! Set in Boston! Poisonous revenge!
- It’s dark! It feels green! (I’m not explaining this) A girl kisses a girl!
- I felt one step ahead of Lena the whole time which honestly was kind of incredible to me, I am usually very dumb
- Unease more than horror

Four stars!

This book has a compelling premise: med school drop out seeking work to help support her family after her father was laid off takes on the role of physician's assistant to a billionaire Boston family. It has so many promising ingredients: poison, a tangled web, opulence, revenge, but the execution fell short for me.

There were a few pieces that particularly took me out of it. One was the writing style/narrator's voice. It took on elements of the Gatsby age, but the book is set in present day. It made it seem like the book couldn't decide when it was taking place, and made it harder to feel immersed. I also thought the book spent time on the wrong parts so that the pacing felt off; it rushed through the second half such that the unfolding of the action and the choices of the characters didn't make sense. The motivations were unclear which left everything feeling unbelievable.

Ultimately, I couldn't get into this book because of how haphazard the pacing was and how much that interrupted the logic of the narrative. I found myself thinking "this makes no sense" way too often to really enjoy it. I was really bummed because it had a lot of promise!

Tripping Arcadia is a gothic style novel with a very intriguing take and many, many twists and turns. I really loved the author’s take on dark botany and poisons. It felt very eerie and ominous. This is a subject I don’t read a lot about so I really appreciated this author’s fresh take! The novel did seem to drag a bit in some places, but overall I quite enjoyed this novel and can’t wait to read more from this author!

A thank you to Netgalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Forgot to review this after I read it, so I have to admit that it's not exactly fresh in my mind and I've read a lot of books since then. From what I do recall, I did quite like it. I enjoyed the main character and empathized with her situation. The author also did a fine job of creating the creepy atmospheric nature of her of her strange employers, their ominous intentions, and the dwellings in which she must spend her time. Enjoyed the east coast locale - a mental trip away from my midwest roots. The book has been compared to Mexican Gothic, which isn't that far of a stretch although the latter did wow me more. A fine read when you're in the mood for a solid 21st century gothic.

When the premise of a Great Gatsby-esque gothic novel with LGBTQ+ romance and poisonous revenge is presented to you, you don’t turn away. You allow yourself to be sucked into a world of elite hedonism and gently unfolding horror, on tenterhooks for the inevitable love tryst.

Indeed, there was little that could stop me reading the dark bourgeois fairytale that is Tripping Arcadia, which centres on a young med school drop-out named Lena who lands a well-paid job as an intern for the family doctor of one of the richest and most scandalous families in Boston. Morally, she wants to run for the hills, especially when she discovers the depth of depravity occurring at the family’s many drug-addled, orgiastic parties. But when she’s presented with her hefty bonus, she knows that it’s all she can do to stay working for this family and be able to provide for her near bankrupt parents. And now that she knows her own family’s tie to these secretive Verdeaus, she’s hellbent on revenge.

It has to be said, it is an elegantly written novel. Like a poison, the story creeps into your veins injecting discomfort and elements of horror on nearly every page. This is author Kit Mayquist’s gift. The characters feel real; flawed, but likable in their own ways. And there’s never a moment that elicits a cringe response, which is rare for such a dramatic tale.

The relationship between Lena and the rich and beautiful Audrey was compelling, and never gratuitous. And while I enjoyed the slow-burning mystery surrounding the plot, it was the moments of intense emotional expression that took my breath away the most. Jonathan’s pained screams. Audrey’s welling eyes. Lena’s nauseating panic.

On the other hand, Tripping Arcadia was rather lacking in subtlety, not to mention being over-dramatic in parts - a fact which wouldn’t have been a problem if other parts were starkly under-dramatic. For example, there’s far too much emphasis on Jonathan’s love of Marlowe and Keats. It’s meant to express his suicidal thoughts, but his attitude does that well enough without the morbid literary obsession that seems to inexplicably frighten everyone far more than his alcoholism. And when it comes to these elite parties, there’s very little truly debauched activity. We’re left a little underwhelmed by the conservative descriptions here. The very least I expected was a key party.

For most of the novel it always feels like we’re one step ahead of Lena; predicting outcomes and motives a few lines or pages before they dawn on her. This is frequently frustrating, not least because they often don’t need to be spelled out at all. It takes the edge off the mystery and doesn’t allow readers to work out much for themselves. Frankly, that’s half the fun of a mystery novel. Not that it sits comfortably in the realm of the “mystery” genre; it’s largely a gothic family drama with elements of, not full-scale horror, but certainly unease.

As for the denouement, it felt over-complicated and clunky. As twists go, it wasn’t bad, but it was far too explanatory, to the point of confusion, and it lacked the romance I expected. The dawning realisation that the reader should experience is rather masked by the labyrinthine task of putting together one-hundred-thirty-seven different plot points. I still don’t entirely understand the motives of all the characters.

Still, there’s no doubt the writing in Tripping Arcadia is stunning. We just wanted more. And also less.

“They’d poisoned themselves for decades. A trip was a trip, and whatever didn’t kill them made them invincible. They lived in their own heaven, their own arcadia, where nothing, not even death, could touch them. Nothing except for me.”