Cover Image: Comfort Me With Apples

Comfort Me With Apples

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Member Reviews

Arcadia Gardens is the perfect place to live. Everything is of the highest quality and kept that way by strict rules. Sophia loves living there with her husband. She knows she was made just for him. But why does he leave her alone in her huge mansion so much? Why is the door to the basement kept locked with a key she doesn't have access to? Why do the neighbors seem to never be able to quite meet her eye and change the subject so quickly when Sophia asks questions?

This novel has gotten several awards such as a Shirley Jackson Award finalist and a Locust Award finalist. It is a mashup of the stories of the Garden Of Eden and Bluebeard. When Sophia finds the courage to explore her world and get answers, they aren't answers she would have wanted. This book is recommended for horror fans.

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This was probably one of the strangest books I’ve ever read. It gripped me from the very beginning.

I spent most of the book just completely confused on what could possibly be going on. I found it very intriguing and frustrating at the same time. But boy did that ending shock me. The author did a fantastic job tying everything together.

I would highly recommend the audiobook. The narrator was fantastic.
3/5 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy in exchange for my honest review.

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The story was ok, but the narrator is what kept me going. Early on it felt like there was a big setup for a twist instead of just flowing into the reveal. I have recommended this to other faculty members and friends who enjoy audiobooks.

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This was an unexpected read in many ways. I like to go into books blind and only took a cursory glance at the synopsis.
I'm glad I dove in!

The audiobook was the perfect way to enjoy this story. The narrator was crisp and used the perfect tone. I thought it lent to the overall mysterious vibe of the novel.

I won't do a recap of the synopsis here, but just say to expect the unexpected. This short tale packed a punch and there were many nuances here.

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This was very creepy, and so well written. I hadn't realized it was a short story when I started it, but really enjoyed it and was sad when it was over!

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this is one of the most well written books i’ve ever read. i’ve recommended it to just about everyone i know.

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Comfort Me With Apples ~ Catherynne M. Valente
This was an odd book from the start.. A short quick read, but you could definitely tell something off was going on in the story.
Sophia was made for him. He was her perfect husband. Their home was perfect, their life was perfect. He loves her and she knows this to be true. But there are so many questions Sophia has, things her husband won't answer, the locked basement, secrets and strange occurrences. She's asked the neighbors, but they seem to avoid her questions. There is a dark feeling about this book from the start and though it seems odd throughout most of the book the ending was both shocking and eye opening. Leaving you with the "ah, I get it now." feeling.
It's definitely worth the read, for it's oddity alone. I do enjoy an occasional head-scratcher.

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This was a quick listen, enjoyable, but nothing that will specifically stand out. I enjoyed staying on my toes while listening, but the ending didn’t WOW me like I had hoped.

I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

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I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version. Hmm well it had potential. To me it was a feminist version of Genesis aka Adam and Eve. It is a very fast read only 2 hours. But all in all it fell flat and was just blah.

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I feel confused with this one. I think I liked it, but can't explain why and I'm not obsessed with it. I didn't really hate it, but didn't really love it either and again, can't express why. It was strange and kept my attention until the very end and the reveal was such an, "Ohhh, duh! Now I get it." kind of moment. (In a good way.) It's pretty short so if you have any interest in reading it I say go for it! Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

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Oh how I loved this. I read this horror novella in one sitting. The creepiness and unsettling writing really pulled me in, and once I figured out what was really happening in this book, I just couldn’t put it down. Such a clever little story with great imagery. 5 stars for sure!

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This story is disorienting, claustrophobic, and super clever! The whole time I was waiting for the shoe to drop, and once it did it's pretty awesome! I really enjoyed all the little details, including the chapter names as apple varieties. It's written really well especially for such a short novella, and the audiobook is well narrated.

Thanks to net galley and dreamscape Media for an advanced audio copy to review.

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I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am left wondering what I think of this book. On one hand, the writer had very strong skills, and I was impressed quite often by the way she described things and brought the picture to life. On the other hand, the story was just so weird. I guess it's a weird, trippy retelling of Adam and Eve, but it's just weird.

The narrator was good. She did different voices for the different characters and really emoted.

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This was a thoroughly enjoyable and quick read, with excellent narration adding to the chilling atmosphere and slow-burn creepiness. If you enjoy Valente's other work, this should be right up your alley. I found it clever the way Valente tells the story from the POV of a character with whom the author (and presumably, the reader) would never identify in real life: a completely naive/innocent "Eve"-type character who hasn't had the chance to question her husband/the patriarchy yet. The pacing is tight, with just the right details dropped one at a time that plant seeds of doubt for Sofia and instill dread in the reader.

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Comfort Me with Apples is novella featuring a wife and her, according to the blurb, perfect husband, But what happens when maybe, just maybe, everything might not be perfect?

This is a fairy-tale retelling, although which tale spoils the plot, and it also takes some heavy inspiration from one of the more well-known religious texts.

Really, the novella doesn't start out feeling like horror, but by the time you get to the first twist, the creepy vibes are amped up, and the tension runs high. Highly recommend this one, although similar to all horror, look up your triggers first, just to be safe.

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Quick read, it had and uncanny valley feeling until the actual story was revealed. I did not see that coming although there was some foreshadowing.

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This might be my favorite book of 2021- hands down brilliant. I can’t say more because it will give it away but all I CAN say is … Read this NOW. Don’t do anything else, go read this.

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“Welcome to a new world of luxury living in Arcadia Gardens, an exclusive, upscale gated community! Every thought and care has been taken to provide the ultimate in amenities, privacy, serenity, and, most importantly, safety for you and yours. Enjoy the benefits of round-the-clock security and access to community gardens and pools. Stroll at your leisure through lovingly designed streets, parks, and common areas. Get to know your friendly neighbours. Most of all, rest soundly knowing the outside world cannot trouble you here.”

With Valente’s lush, gorgeous prose and raging characters, “Comfort Me With Apples” is a fairytale-horror story reminiscent of Angela Carter’s retelling of a foundational story. The fantasy novella which she first conceived of as a short story in a Warsaw hotel in the summer of 2017 has been transformed into a lean, tight, furious book which readers either adore or leave unfinished. A few chapters in, I put it down (after a scene which included “a squirming mass of tiny pink bloodworm larvae, and a sopping wet red lump of fresh, glistening meat: a heart …” and the eating thereof. I was fairly certain that I wouldn’t return to it, however, I’m glad that on a whim I picked it up again.

Four stars for lyrical writing, character development, intellectual depth, originality, pacing and tone, and one of the best book covers of 2021..


Synopsis

Sophia was made for him. Her perfect husband. She can feel it in her bones. He is perfect. Their home together in Arcadia Gardens is perfect. Everything is perfect.

It's just that he's away so much. So often. He works so hard. She misses him. And he misses her. He says he does, so it must be true. He is the perfect husband and everything is perfect.

But sometimes Sophia wonders about things. Strange things. Dark things. The look on her husband's face when he comes back from a long business trip. The questions he will not answer. The locked basement she is never allowed to enter. And whenever she asks the neighbors, they can't quite meet her gaze....

But everything is perfect. Isn't it?


About the author

Catherynne M. Valente is the New York Times bestselling author of over two dozen works of fiction and poetry, including “Palimpsest”, the Orphan’s Tales series, “Deathless”, “Radiance”, and the crowdfunded phenomenon “The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making” (and the four books that followed it). She is the winner of the Andre Norton, Tiptree, Sturgeon, Eugie Foster Memorial, Mythopoeic, Rhysling, Lambda, Locus, and Hugo awards, as well as the Prix Imaginales. Valente has also been a finalist for the Nebula and World Fantasy Awards. She lives on an island off the coast of Maine with a small but growing menagerie of beasts, some of which are human.

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How this book was not on my radar until the release month, I don't know. This was a phenomenal short story - so clever. This is a book you don't talk much about but tell everyone you know to experience it. There is no other way to put it - The fact that this was a November release and made it to Goodreads shortlist for best horror of the year should tell you all you need to know. Well deserved.

If you need a little more, Catherynne M. Valente is clever! Her plot is so tight, her message so poetically implied and her choice of words is everything. Even though there is a last act twist, I don't think that Valente's intention was to conceal it. Comfort Me With Apples and the overall tone and message of the book is very clear and doesn't need or rely on any twists to wow.

Dreamscape Media production is phenomenal (as usual) and the only expression I have to describe Karis Campbell's narration is *chef's kiss* - literally flawless. I bought the book and audiobook - and think that they should offer them together as a package deal. Both are perfect on their own and even better together. One of my favourite Horror's of the year.

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Going blind into books lately has made all of the difference. I don't know why I am not seeing this little novel all over the place because I really enjoyed this one. I had the pleasure of snagging the audiobook from Dreamscape Media on NetGalley and quite literally finished this in a day.

I'm not sure this is a novel for everyone. When it starts you get a sense of Stepford Wives brainwashing and you'll probably raise your eyebrow a couple hundred times as the plot moves. Then little oddities and a sense of wrongness starts seeping into the plot line and pretty soon you're just as open mouthed as dear little Sophia. If you're like me you're applauding the author for the cunning and twist that grasps the ends and pulls everything together. I loved it.

It's a quick read but a slow and atmospheric build. The characters are vastly unique and the sense of wrongness truly drove the entire thing for me. I highly urge everyone to go in blind. Don't read reviews that tell you what this is based on. I really think that the reveal made this for me and other listeners will feel the same.

The narrator, Karis Campbell, has a melodic cadence and made Sophia hauntingly innocent in tone. The pacing is perfect and the emotion was spot on as well. There are a ton of different themes in this novel depending on how you decide to interpret it. Yet again, I find myself stopping so I don't divulge the main premise. Do I think this is for everyone? Not necessarily. The writing style and way everything unfolds in mystery could be frustrating to some readers. It could be boring if you don't feel the atmosphere. I think readers who enjoy reads like this will will embrace it for everything it is worth. I am excited to add this gem to my shelf next.

Thank you Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to this ALC for an honest and unbiased review. I cannot wait to add this to my collection.

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