Mary's Reviews > The Vines

Whew, talk about a complex debut. The Vines by Shelley Nolden has an incredibly intricate plot as well as 2 different timelines, and I am so impressed that this is Nolden's first novel. The setting is appropriately creepy, and I thought she did an amazing job making this atmospheric and giving us history at the same time. At times it was hard to read, and it definitely has its disturbing parts, but I was completely captured by this novel and didn't want to put it down. Cora's character really frustrated me at times, but at the same time, my heart broke for her as well. All I wanted was for her to be completely free from her tormentors, and because of her, this book makes for a tough read.

The audiobook for The Vines is done very well and is narrated by Jess Nahikian. Since it's a very thick book, I mostly stuck to the audio as well as following along in my physical copy. A lot is going on and at times it is confusing, so reading this would be the way to go for some people. I was fine on audio for the most part though, and I loved how Nahikian brought the book to life. I think they picked the perfect narrator to voice this novel, and she did really well with each different viewpoint. I have to give props to Nolden for writing something this in-depth, especially when she was fighting leukemia, and I can't believe how scarily similar her plot ends up being with our current times. I didn't know anything about North Brother Island before reading The Vines, and I am pretty horrified to learn its past. If you are a historical fiction fan who likes eerie novels and medical thrillers, I highly recommend checking this one out.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.