Evening's Land

A need for an open mind will allow enjoyment of this book.  Consider what people think of the afterlife, consider the ability of some people to know that which few others know.  Consider how some people have a “sense” for the spirits in the world.  Have you heard of someone being possessed?  Some well-known movies have been made upon such a premise.  Think exorcism.  Believing in the paranormal does not mean it exists, or that is doesn’t exist.  That is a decision for everyone to arrive at.  It is known certain groups engage in ritualistic ceremonies for reasons from religion (Santería) to initiation into secret (I can’t tell you) or not so secret (BPOE) organizations.  The setting is largely in Charleston South Carolina, a beautiful and historic city to visit.  Ghost stories abound there.  With all this in mind it is easy to plunge into the mindset of the story.  The author weaves a tale seemingly of fantasies, dreams, both daydreams and night dreams, and a few nightmares blended with a dose of everyday life.  To set one’s imaginations to paper in the form of a story requires great skill.  While some of this story falls under phantasmagoria much of it falls into “who am I to say different” category.  If I to set my musings to paper I would probably be locked up and sedated, or living in splendor on my own Island. Maybe this author is on to something or maybe she just presents herself in style that leaves the reader with compelling case to ponder.  Entertaining, thought provoking and all of five stars just on the story’s blending of reality and nonconformity.

I was so lucky to be sent an ARC of this by the author in return for a fair and honest review.

Truthfully, my mind is still reeling a bit. 

I am very new to NetGalley, ARCs, and the whole web-presence thing. But I'm trying to learn and embrace new things and experiences. This book was definitely one of those things.

Straight up: I requested the book solely on the cover graphic. Seriously - wouldn't you? I can't even remember if I read the blurb before I hit "request" on NetGalley.

And I dove into the book cold. It was just like that: diving into a pool on a sweltering day, realizing too late the water was way deeper than it looked and may not be a pool at all but a pissed-off melted glacier with every intention of not losing its sense of identity.

Neil Gaiman wrote a book of short fiction recently, [book:Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances|22522808]. In his introduction he talks about trigger warnings, something I'd not given any thought to, myself. But I remember thinking, yeah okay, I get it.

This book is a giant trigger warning. It should come with warning labels. It is, in no way, to be construed as light fiction. 

For the length of time I read this book, I lived with it. I thought about it. Parts of it became me, and it knew me as well. 

I struggled all the way through, wanting to give it 5 stars. Parts of it, beautiful passages, are more than deserving of 5 stars. The thoughts, the ideas behind the story are all ripped-raw, real, gut-cramping, emotion-tearing wonderful. 

Pauline asked at the end for thoughts: what the reader thought, characters and what scenes were unforgettable and, so, with that in mind, I will do my best to do as she asked:

1. Upon immediately finishing, my thoughts are: ohmyf*ing hell just happened?!!?!!

2. I loved Ada. I loved Faye. I loved Jupiter. I like Matthew Blue as the quintessentially damaged beautiful bad boy. Everybody else was just creepy as, well, shit. I mean really creepy.

3. I loved many of the scenes, for various differing reasons,  but my favorite was probably the one in Early's Bait Shop.

4. The story grabbed me early with that great opening about Roy Northcutt and his Uncle Bake. I was all in after that.

Here's why I'm not going with 5 stars, though it's hurting me not to:

1. Editing. This book needs and deserves SERIOUS love. It needs a serious, devoted editor to clean it up and put it in its best party dress. Like the intoxicating wild girl at the party, this book will make a reader's head spin. Simple flaws in sentence structure, extra words from formatting glitches threw me right out of the ballroom. I was pounding on the door and shouting, "Damn, let me back in!"

2. A lot of people may hate on this book because of the trigger warnings I mentioned earlier. Don't let 'em get you down, girlfriend. This may be one of the most honest, clear-headed expositions on a suicide's mindset as I've ever read. Amazing. People are not prepared for the reality, the brutality, and the frank anger from this "gothic fantasy" of yours. So I say, screw 'em. It's their loss. Your book dredged up some stuff. I had to deal with it. Sign of some damn good fiction, you ask me.

3. The ending. *Spoiler-Free*. But it just. . .stopped. I'm on a South Carolina road somewhere going, "Wtf? No WAY! Get back here and explain yourself! NOW!" And then I get five chapters of "All Babes are Wolves." Now I have to be honest and tell you that I can't read that. I read just enough to confirm what I already suspected: I NEED THAT NOW! I want all of it.  Yesterday, please. 

Four stars. Waffling. Four point five stars. 

Thank you for allowing me on your ride. You have excellent potential. I need more.

Evening's Land by Pauline West is the kind of book that you have to read closely and with an open mind as there are plot lines that are very far-fetched and moments in the book where something doesn't quite fit. It was an interesting read due to being mainly about after life after death and questioning that, but I felt like there was too much going on at the same time.

Reeling after her best friend’s suicide, Ada Walker falls under the spell of the collective subconscious, the EVENING’S LAND, searching for Faye’s soul with a rakishly hypnotic ghost named Christopher.

First thing is first: I felt like this book was just too much. Evening's Land is told from so many perspectives which is good in a way because you get to see that character's point of view but I wish the whole book would have just focused on Faye and Ada's perspectives because then we could have seen more of Ada learning to come to focus with her newfound 'gift'.

This is another problem with the book; Ada learnt about her 'gift' way too quickly. She grasped the basics so easily and I was just sat there thinking 'hang on a second, it's going to take longer than three seconds to figure out how to use this power' and then she instantly falls for Christopher... and then someone else... It was just too much. I felt like Ada was a bit lost in her whole sexual feelings and it got a bit boring to keep reading how this person made her feel alive, and then another person would make her feel alive... I just really didn't like her as a character.

However, I did find that this book had a lovely writing style; I loved how much West described the settings, especially Oliver Roamery's house and I loved how she portrayed Faye and Ada's family dynamic as - let's face it -  not every family is perfect. I also loved the underlying theme of the whole book: exploring the concept of life after death and the veil in between. 



"One does not believe in good without also believing in evil"
- Pauline West, Evening's Land




This book is mainly set in Charleston, South Carolina but I just felt that this book was so problematic. I felt like the depiction of Jupiter's character was slightly racist and how it was the black character that ended up in a bad situation, West also didn't say that 'this is Jupiter, she is black', it was more of that 'milky tea' and 'honey' descriptions. NO. She's black, just say that she is black. Apart from a slightly different sexual experience that Ada is accustomed to and Jupiter, this book has no diversity at all. The characters are all white and they are all heterosexual. I also felt like the whole offering ritual that takes place throughout the book is problematic. There are three Hispanic characters that are rapists and are the ones being killed (why are Hispanics demoted to this role?) and the whole sexual aura of the book itself seemed very much like rape.

Problems aside, I did like the ending for this book as I felt like it wrapped it up nicely with no loose ends.

Evening's Land - for me - wasn't the best read. I found it problematic, I wish that it would have focused on Ada more and her learning about her powers and I wish that there weren't all of these sexual moments; it seemed to just ruin the book in places. All in all, this book wasn't great but it did explore the interesting theory of life after death and limbo and if it's possible to access that world.



Disclaimer: this book was sent to me by the author is exchange for an honest review

Disclaimer: this book has trigger warning for depression, self-harm, suicide, rape and sexual abuse



Released 20th February 2017

NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED!
Excellent writng, I was immediately engaged from the first page. 
I love Charleston and I enjoy reading about Southern architecture with a voodoo beat - some of my favorite books being Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story by John Berendt and The Witching Hour by Anne Rice.

I really liked the story and setting: a young girl moves back with her parents after college, to recover from her best friend's suicide. When they move to Charleston, it turns out the house is way more than just haunted - was Ada and her family destined to live there?

The only reason I would consider rating this book 4 instead of 5 stars is that the language and rather graphic sex and violence may put some people off. 
It didn't affect me until about 2/3 of the way through when I was reading on the bus in the morning, there were a few long, drug induced, horrific scences and I had disturbing images of satanic worship and human sacrifice throughout the day at work (!)
However, the caliber of writing redeems this novel - and it has the best ending ever!
Also, the book cover is great, beautifully done.

Thanks to the author and to NetGalley for this ARC in return for my honest review. This book isn't for the faint-hearted. There are so many dark characters and dark deeds but you have to just immerse yourself in this world. The writing is so lush and beautiful-I felt the heat and humidity of Arizona, South Carolina and Mexico. The setting just puts you in the right frame of mind for this gothic horror set in present day. The ending was a little abrupt-just like the ones in horror movies. I wanted to know-what happens to Ada now? In the beginning of the story, Ada has moved to Charleston with her parents after her best friend's suicide following a brutal rape. Ada discovers that she has the power to see into Evening's Land (afterlife? not sure) and becomes determined to find her friend who she feels is trapped there. Trust me when I say that I have not ruined one iota of this book by telling you that much of the story. There were a lot of twists, turns and characters that I still didn't know how I felt about them after the story was over.

This book has a very dark story line for the most part, dealing with suicide, sexual abuse and satanism in the heat of Charleston, South Carolina. It is essentially about is a girl trying to bring her lost friend back from 'Evening's Land', following her suicide.

The writing is lovely and descriptive but I am unsure who this book is actually geared towards as it reads very much like a young adult story in places, especially with regards to Ada and Faye's relationships with the boys. However, the adult/family relationships are very well written indeed and totally believable.

I really liked the friendship between Ada and Faye, and the family dramas, but I wish there had been more of the Gothic horror and more time spent in Evening's Land itself.

Overall I enjoyed the book, and the ending is very good.

This review is going to be so very hard to write. Not because the book was good, it was very good, it is because I am going to have a hard time not giving away some major that happens in the book. So I am very carefully editing what I am writing here (I have already deleted 3 starting paragraphs but will be keeping this one).

I think the author did a great job highlighting what happens after someone commits suicide. What happens to the people who are left and how it strains relationships/friendships. I really wanted to hug Ada because of that trauma. No one should find their best friend dead.

I also wanted to hug Faye. She had a crappy home life. A father who seemed to disdain her and a mother who went along with it. The whole hiking trip in the cave nailed that for me and showed me why Faye took the risks she did and why she basically clung to Ada. I think that’s why she broke when she was raped.

Not that Ada had it any better. Her mother slept around, her father was an enabler and Ada started cutting as a direct result of that. So, when she found Faye, it pushed her over the edge. I think her parents did the right thing by moving her across the country so she could heal. Too bad that they couldn’t fix their own issues.

I think if I fell into the Land like Ada did, I would have done the same thing. I would try to find Faye’s soul and try to pull her out of her Purgatory. And I think I would have been as surprised as Ada was if I met a boy in the Land and I would have been even more surprised when he appeared in my bedroom and started to seduce me.

Speaking of Christopher, I was so wrong about him. So wrong and I got so mad at myself for being wrong. I really wish that he didn’t do what he did because it really pole-axed me and definitely changed the story. Want to know what it was??? Read the book, you won’t be disappointed.

The Oliver Roamery storyline was a truly scary. I got goosebumps when he appeared in the story. He is one of the most genuinely creepy characters written. Evil just poured off of the pages when he appeared.

When all 3 storylines (plus the secondary storyline with Mary and Jupiter) meet, it is explosive. Again, read the book if you want to find out how/why it was explosive.

This book was told in 1st and 3rd person but the author did a great job of distinguishing not only who was speaking but what time frame. The whole first half of the book was basically flashbacks starting 3 years previously and alternating between Ada and Faye. Once Faye commits suicide, no more flashbacks, obviously but then the author switches to 3rd person to start the Oliver Roamery storyline.

This book is erotic but I liked that the author chose not to go into the details of when people were having sex. Just flashes of memory, which actually conveyed more than a whole paragraph would. The only time she got wordy was when Ada and Christopher were making out/Mary and Oliver (belch).

The end of the book wasn’t what I expected, at all. I am still shaking my head over it.

How many stars will I give Evening’s Land: 5

Why: This is the first Gothic fantasy that I have read and I have to say, I loved it. The author has an almost lyric style of writing and she keeps you very engaged throughout the book. The story and sub storylines were brought together with a bang and the book ended with a bang.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes but with a warning about the suicide scene and the rape scene

Age range: Adult

Why: Language, Sex (forced and consensual) and mild violence

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

I received a digital reader’s advance copy of this book through Netgalley. What drew me to this title was the description: “The dark elegance of Anne Rice’s THE WITCHING HOUR meets the lush parallel worlds of Neil Gaiman’s SANDMAN series.” I did not read the description any further before I requested an advanced reading copy. Neil Gaiman is my favorite writer and I would jump at reading anything recommended by him or compared to his writing. And Anne Rice’s popularity and reputation as a writer of ornate prose and attention to detail makes her a notable name among modern fiction writers. So when this book was described as Anne Rice meets Neil Gaiman, I immediately wanted to read it. 

And I was not disappointed. 

I was drawn in from the very first paragraph. One of the things I love most about Neil Gaiman’s writing is that his metaphors and descriptions make you stop in wonder and amazement at the way it makes you see something in a new and different way. Pauline West’s writing has a similar feel, creating a sense of awe and wonder as it draws you deeper in the story and the lives and struggles of the characters. The metaphors and descriptions hooked from the very beginning: “…his uncle was a big, barrel-chested autocross king, with a scrim of curly red hair that could have upholstered a sofa, and dancing ladies tattooed up both his arms—”. And in describing the first taste of beer “[t]he first gulp was like blood and nickels. The next came sweet and bready and light and suddenly it was going down like Missouri sunshine.” 

The story is about a young woman named Ada who has a supernatural ability to open up a doorway between our reality and a dream reality called Evening’s Land. It is about how Ada holds on to her best friend whom she had lost to suicide after a terrible trauma. It is about a young woman coming to terms with her life after trauma and heartbreak, and learning to let go after desperately trying to hold onto a life that no longer existed. She encounters people, other-worldly creatures, and even the dead, all eager to use her and her abilities for their own ends at whatever the cost. As she comes to terms with her powers, she also comes to terms with her sexuality and with the death of her friend. 

Pauline West’s writing is beautiful, full of poetry and prose, and near-perfect metaphors that really get at the moods of the moment. Her writing flows easily and masterfully from one imagery to the next, drawing you so deep into the story, you would think you’re right there watching it all unfold. I often came out of a reading session a little dazed and wishing I didn’t have to put down the book to attend to my other responsibilities. The main narrator is Ada, the point-of-view through which most of the story is told, but West uses the points of view of several other characters throughout the book to clarify plot and setting and to increase tension by giving the reader information that the main character does not have. I finished reading the book in less than five days (and I would have finished sooner if I didn’t have to work and sleep). 

I must add that this novel is rather dark, dealing with suicide, rape, sexual and mental abuse, and satanism. It is not a light read for the faint-of-heart or for someone with a sensitive constitution (or someone who is easily offended). 

This novel comes out on February 20, 2017 and I highly recommend a read!

Evening's Land reads like a fever dream. All delirium and confusion and warped physics, toeing the razor's edge of the familiar and the otherworldly. This is a story about recovery, about coping with possessing an intimate knowledge of death, and living with destructive habits and cravings.
It's an ambitious book for sure, and Pauline tackles a number of themes, exploring areas that authors typically avoid. I'm going to throw a warning out here, which I don't usually do, but this story warrants a caution label. If you are disturbed by themes such as psychological trauma, suicide, depression, rape, sexual abuse, self-harm and death, just be aware of what you're getting into. Like the maps of the 13th century stated where the parchment faded to blank nothingness: "Here there be monsters." You'll find monsters both abstract and actual aplenty in Evening's Land.
I'm a Southern girl, born and bred, and the scenes in this book evoke the South so vividly I could feel the sticky humidity and the heat, hear the drone of the insects and smell the peculiar scent that is unique to antebellum houses. Bravo for the living and breathing atmosphere. My fiance spent years in Charleston and gave two thumbs-up to the descriptions of that historic city, and one telltale grimace at the mention of the nuisance palmetto bug, which is so big that it rivals the Carolina Wren for its status as South Carolina's state bird!
Speaking of evocative scenes, I was hooked when I read the segment about Roy Northcutt's ill-fated fishing trip with his Uncle Bob. At that point I realized what bizarre and surreal treats were in store for me and couldn't be dissuaded from devouring the remainder of the book. These sorts of scenes pepper the pages at intervals; the scene from Early's Bait Shack was another one that will stick with me for some time. Both of these were just so well crafted that I can close my eyes and see what happens, and smell the grease from the grill and the smell of the cheap greasy spoon coffee and Winston's cigarettes. Southern folklore is a powerful storytelling force, and it was a pure delight to feel it resonating through some of the vignettes here.
The characters run the gamut from powerful and terrifying to victimized and pitiful, but what they all have in common are their addictions. Each of them craves something so badly that they become single-minded and destructive in their struggle to have it. Craving and reverie, desire and fixation, these form the the lattice that this story wraps around.
What impressed me the most was how easy it was to relate to the emotional and mental struggles of each character, no matter how selfish or destructive they might be. I might as well have been sitting across the table sharing a pitcher of amaretto sour with them; their justifications for wrongs done and poor choices made were so true to life.
I come from a background where, unfortunately, many of these issues are familiar territory. The aftermath of suicide, the justification of self-harm, the instability brought about by the repercussions of adulterous affairs. All of the many, many excuses, roundabout rationalizations, and denial created to justify the destruction. I could even relate to the ghostly Christopher and his yearning to escape the house that tethers him. His desire to just be free to feel. I empathized with Faye's misdirected anger and desire to see her closest friend suffer as she did. Ada's desire to have just one more opportunity to get it right. To be able to hit the rewind button on life and try the path that was not taken.
The descriptive blurb compares the story to Anne Rice's "Lives of the Mayfair Witches" and Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" but for me it read like the morbid younger sister of Caitlin R. Kiernan's earlier works, and I would recommend that Kiernan's fans investigate this book and the author's other offerings. I could happily re-read this, and intend to purchase a copy that I can pass around to my family members.

Evening's Land by Pauline West
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and the author herself for providing me an updated version of this manuscript for review. Some of the formatting issues were resolved nicely.

That being said, I need to rave a little bit about this book. It's like being handed a good W. H. Auden poem and learning that it has been turned into an erotic dream full of ghosts, a suicide, occultism, and sex, sex, sexy sex. 

I normally don't seek out things like this, but let me be honest here: I thought it was all damn tasteful even if the directions it took was always there to push your limits.

Do you like seduction taken on a grand scale? Do you like concepts like evil and sacrifice mixed with your sexytime? Do you like playing with death as you play with your lover, at least in the pages of a tale? Then this is for you. Definitely, this is for you. It's beautifully written and lyrical and it assumes you've got a great vocabulary. No dumbing things down for any of us! The arousal permeates the pages, but beyond that, I was equally fascinated with the Evening's Land itself, the dreamscape where the dead come back and haunt (or seduce) the living. 

This is a real trip, and poetical to boot.

I've seen some people say that this book is full of trigger warnings and that is absolutely true. If you have ever been in abusive relationships or absolutely controlling ones, you'll feel the shock of it here, especially since Mary welcomes it with open arms; infidelity and naughtiness being absolutely key.
And Faye's suicide is equally dark, but for different reasons, and we get that PoV very strongly, too. Ada's relative innocence becomes a rather wild abandon as she tries to work through her main story.

Even so, this is an adventure of life and living and excitement and art. It may be interspersed with all the darkness, too, but it's so hard to separate one from the other. In that respect, it's very close to life. :)

The author doesn't coddle us. She speaks her mind and her characters push a lot of boundaries, perfectly willing to make us, as readers, uncomfortable. But... I say this is wonderful. :) This is what good literature ought to do when it forces us down these fantastic paths of the human heart and experience.

This is very cool fantasy.

I instantly fell in love with the cover of this book, as you undoubtedly have too.

I personally don’t think the synopsis for this book gives you an accurate idea of what to expect, above all else: this book is weird.

It explores themes like death, friendship, lovers and parental relationships but also... ghosts.

The author masterfully tells this story from the perspectives of several different characters, across different timelines, and still manages to pull it all together that it makes sense and enhances the story rather than over complicating things.


Ada, the main character, is trying to get her life back together following some pretty traumatic events (all of the trigger warnings). It’s not really going so well as her parents edge closer to divorce and she finds out that her neighbours have connections to a Satanist cult.

She’s not the perfect protagonist by any means, with plenty of her own weaknesses, but she has a unique view of the world that was wonderful to read.
My favourite character was Mary, Ada’s mother - obviously, she’s in a far-fetched situation but her predicament is a very human one and I found that her chapters grounded the story a lot when Ada was dealing with more otherworldly matters.

I don’t really want to give much away, given how mysterious the synopsis is and how enjoyable the ride was, so I’ll just tell you to keep an open mind when reading this book and roll with it- you’ll be glad you did!

West's writing is so gripping. The book grabs you from the first page and does not let go. The language and sex scenes might be a turn off for some readers, but this book is no less wonderful for it. The beginning is entrapping, the middle is spellbinding, and the ending is superb. The cover is so beautifully done and the artistry spills into the pages of the book.

Set in Charleston, where there is a “lane to the land of the dead,” Ada explores her new home from the Low country, to the French Quarter, to a portal into another dimension. The loss of her best friend and her unwillingness to let go drives her into this parallel universe. Spicy characters, and sweltering sensual encounters, are interwoven with serious topics of tragic loss. The characters are developed to be richly entertaining. The descriptive ability of Ms. West was outstanding and I felt as if I were viewing the characters as a present observer in every scene. They were people I enjoyed spending time with and was myself unwilling to let go.

This book really drew me into its pages. Its beautifully written, filled with poetic and lyrically satisfying sentences that blossom in your minds eye. 
In its description from the publisher it was described as reminiscent of The Witching Hour by Anne Rice and The Sandman by Neil Gaiman. I totally get the Witching Hour part - the story has a lot of the same elements; Southern Gothic with witches and seductive ghosts. There's even the mature blond woman seduced by an evil presence and a young red haired girl with latent powers. 
Evening's Land is a very Very dark tale. I don't really believe in trigger warnings, but if I did this would have a lot of them.
I fell in love with the characters. Ada is such a wonderfully nuanced person. The story centers around her and her best friend Faye who committed suicide. Ada moves in with her parents in an old antebellum house after the traumatic event and soon discovers that she can communicate with ghosts and travel in the collective consciousness - a place known as Evening's Land. The restless spirit of a young man reaches out to her. The two become entangled in a web of desire and death - with a sinister group of devil worshipers also trying to control Ada's powers - led by the enigmatic Oliver Roamery. I really loved his character too - there was something very old school Dracula about him - both his ambition and his old Gothic mansion and his sinister mesmerizing ways. Oh, and Christopher - the sexy-maybe-friendly ghost;) Ada's mom also stood out to me, there's something so frail and beautiful about her. The search for love at all costs. Or was it really lust at all costs? 
A couple of things made this not a five star review. I felt that the end of the story wrapped up a little to abruptly and there were some grammatical errors that sort of drew me out of the reading flow. I really hope these things get fixed in print because its really such a small detail, but it can be so distracting to a reader. Maybe it was just the e-book format that muddled up the text.
I do feel like I need a printed version of this book - and luckily I work at a bookstore:) I will try to order it if it exists in printed format.