The May Queen Murders

by Sarah Jude

Stay on the roads. Don’t enter the woods. Never go out at night.

Those are the rules in Rowan’s Glen, a remote farming community in the Missouri Ozarks where Ivy Templeton’s family has lived for centuries. It’s an old-fashioned way of life, full of superstition and traditions, and sixteen-year-old Ivy loves it. The other kids at school may think the Glen kids are weird, but Ivy doesn’t care—she has her cousin Heather as her best friend. The two girls share everything with each other—or so Ivy thinks. When Heather goes missing after a May Day celebration, Ivy discovers that both her best friend and her beloved hometown are as full of secrets as the woods that surround them.

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Horror, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Contemporary, Fiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published May 3, 2016

About the author

Sarah Jude lives by the woods and has an owl that lands on her chimney every night. She grew up believing you had to hold your breath whenever you passed a graveyard or a bridge spanning water. Now she writes about cemeteries, murder, and ghostly apparitions. She resides in Missouri with her husband, three children, and two dogs.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the kind of story that had a lot of potential to be good. Instead it struggled to keep my interest. I could not bring myself to care about the characters. The ending had a lot that felt thrown together and rushed making it all a little too complicated. Overall, The May Queen Murders just didn’t work for me. I’ll go ahead and explain the plot, then go back and reiterate how I’m feeling.

Sixteen year old Ivy Templeton lives in an isolated farming community called Rowan’s Glen. The community dates back centuries meaning the Templetons and other family’s ancestors had lived there a long time. They live an old-fashioned sort of life closed off from the rest of society (with a few exceptions that I’ll get to). They also have their own traditions and folklore their people believe and follow. For the longest time, there was no electricity in Rowan’s Glen, but now they have solar panels and a hydropower mill, though the power can be spotty. The community residents get their use out of candles more than not. The community is self-sustaining with farming and the capabilities of hand-making items. They will take goods to the market in town to sell to outsiders, but beyond that..the only time Rowan’s Glen residents mix with outsiders is those who attend the public school. They used to get away with schooling in the community church basement until the state got involved.

There are stories that have been passed down through generations. Ivy’s Mamie always took it upon herself to tell the tales until her husband died and she hasn’t said a word since. Ivy is a bit superstitious as she never let herself forget the things her Mamie told her. The story of Birch Markle is the most haunting of them all because you still hear his screams in the woods. He killed a girl twenty five years ago, the night of the last May Day celebration, and disappeared in the woods. Nobody has seen him since, but the tale left behind other noticeable changes in Rowan’s Glen; the screams heard in the woods every so often, May Day was no longer celebrated, and going in the woods or staying out late both became frowned upon. Now with an increasing number of dogs going missing and other strange happenings, Rowan’s Glen thinks bringing back the celebration could bring something positive to the community.

Ivy’s cousin (and best friend), Heather, has been keeping secrets and drifting from their friendship. This brings up a lot of issues for Ivy making it a part of the central mystery..what is Heather’s big secret? Why has she made friends with outsiders? Why is she keeping things from Ivy? It becomes an even bigger issue when Heather goes missing the night of the May Day celebration. What is really going on in Rowan’s Glen?

As you can probably see, this novel had a lot of potential. The plot sounds intriguing with the mystery and setting of a secluded community. Only the idea of Rowan’s Glen before reading reminded me of The Village or The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly, but this one wasn’t quite as isolated, cult-like, or interesting in that sense. There were a few odd moments in the story that just didn’t add up. If you choose to read, you’ll probably have a “if this just happened..then how is THAT even possible right now?” moment. I’ll keep these details to myself due to spoilers. Even though I loved that the author brings diversity with a half-mexican main character, I still couldn’t bring myself to feel anything except indifference towards the characters. I didn’t care. I really almost stopped reading a few times only pushing through because it wasn’t too long of a book. The ending got extremely complicated. It wasn’t a cut and dry kind of conclusion. It was reveal after reveal..and then oh wait another reveal, which all kind of undermined the last given a page or two sooner. Some could say “ooh twists galore!” but I was so over it by that point. There may have been a few good, gruesome horror moments. It wasn’t enough for me to look past the rest of the book.

I'm still debating if I was too kind with my rating -_- I hate writing bad reviews. Sorry, guys! Ugh.

I received an e-arc in exchange for an honest review via edelweiss.

[Shelby *trains flying monkeys* · Rating 2 out of 5]

The blurb on this book completely tricked me! This book was supposed to be good.

Ivy lives in the Glen. She lives in a remote community that sticks to itself and doesn't really care for outsiders (they call them rollers) Life is simple in the glen, they don't have regular electricity, TV or any modern conveniences.


Ivy sticks to her memories of her mamie's old tales and is besties with her cousin Heather. Mamie has quit talking ever since Ivy's grandfather died though and all Ivy has of her is her old tales. She just sits in the attic now.

Ivy and Heather both go to school with the rollers because of something that happened with the Glen getting in trouble (it's never explained)...Ivy notices that Heather has started pulling away from her. Heather seems to be growing up faster than Ivy and it breaks her heart.


Then animals start showing up that have been brutally murdered. There is legend of that crazy man Birch Markle surfacing again. Years ago the May Queen was murdered and everyone knew Birch done the deed but he ran off in the woods and all they see or hear of him now is the screaming in the woods.


(That would get on my dang nerves! All that screaming at night for all those years and no one snapped and hunted him down and told him to shut the hell up?)

There is talk of not having the May Day celebration or the crowning of the May Queen. Too much badness is going on in the Glen. But they go ahead with it anyways. *sigh*

Heather's secrets get her in trouble but of course Ivy is spying to find them out anyways. One thing that drives me nuts in a book like this is if there is a crazy ass murderer in the woods do you continually wander off by yourself in the woods? Stupid or brave. I'm kinda going with stupid.


This book could have been good. It just lacked the skill set to do so. Great blurb. Good story base..but it just felt like a hot mess to me. It tries way too hard, loose ends are left hanging and Ivy's character in the beginning was so awkward..then once she gets a boy's attention she is the wonderful heroine?


1.5 stars

Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review

[Sarah Jude · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still can't believe my book is coming out next year! Writing it wasn't easy. I reopened some mental scars when writing it--first fight with your best friend, first love, first time realizing your parents are flawed, first time finding yourself. I'm really proud of this story, and I hope readers enjoy it!

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Edelweiss.)

“A bird in a house means death is flyin’ about.”

This was a YA horror/mystery story, about a small community plagued by a spree of murders.

Ivy was an okay character and she clearly cared for her cousin Heather and didn’t want her to get hurt. She was also quite obvious about her feelings for Rook.

The storyline in this was about animals and then girls turning up dead and mutilated, and it being blamed on some madman who lived in the woods. We also got a bit of mystery over who it was that Heather was secretly dating, and we got a bit of romance between Ivy and rook. This story did come across as a little weird though, and I did lose interest at points.

The ending to this was okay, and the mystery of the murderer turned out to be quite complicated.



6 out of 10

[Ashley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Warning: lots of animal death in this

If you're curious about representation:
*Ivy is half-Mexican
*her parents’ “love story” is Eleanor & Park levels of racist, sexist nasty
*Heather is a lesbian and her story falls right into the old Bury Your Gays trope

It shouldn’t be nearly as difficult as it is to find a good horror novel. I’m fully aware it’s a genre as worthy and full of quality as any other, but I have such a bad radar for horror that I wonder sometimes if the good ones are just exceptions to a “YA horror is bad” rule! (Then I slap myself for being ridiculous.) The May Queen Murders was yet another novel that promised isolation, creepy happenings, and death, but it’s a letdown in almost every respect.

To be fair, the novel began strongly enough in tone and in establishing Ivy’s obsession with her cousin. However, the setting didn’t feel quite right; though Rowan’s Glen is an isolated quasi-Amish village in the mountains, the story is set in the modern world and the children leave their village to go to school in the “modern” world. Going back and forth between the two felt jarring in a bad way. Perhaps it would have been better served in an alternate-universe sort of setting akin to The Glass Casket by McCormick Templeman: not quite low fantasy but certainly not our world.

Ivy’s character is deeply inconsistent, switching between an almost virginal persona scandalized by anything outside the norm to one comfortable with sex and drugs. Whichever one the scene requires, that’s who Ivy will be. At least she’s the only inconsistent character, I suppose? The rest are just weak.. Even the revelation that Heather is a lesbian–which I have no problem telling you because a character’s sexual identity isn’t a spoiler in my book–doesn’t add any depth to Heather’s character. She remains the one-note free spirit who wants out of her stifling community. Her death, though it didn’t intend to do so, plays into the narrative of punishing the gays. #EndDeadLesbians2016

But back to Ivy–or her family, more specifically. Her parents’ “love story” reminds me of Eleanor & Park in terrible ways. I don’t feel like recapping that bit here, so read up on Park’s parents’ relationship here. In The May Queen Murders, it plays out similarly. To quote Ivy’s father on how he fell in love with her mother:

“When I was eighteen, I was a missionary in Mexico. A buildin’ collapsed, no doctors for miles. This one fellow’s hip dislocated. It bulged, stretchin’ his skin all shiny. Man alive, he was screamin’.

“Anyway, this girl–didn’t speak a lick of English–begged me to help, said he was her brother. My granddaddy was what old-timers called a bonesetter, and I remember seeing him piece back together a hillman trampled by horses. So I did what he did. This fellow’s hip was fixed, and the girl was so grateful she came home with me. The next day, her daddy said I’d married her.” (ARC, p. 130-131)

Though the story is followed by a “good-humored laugh” from the guy the story is being told to, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It turns the marriage into an exchange between two men rather than something Ivy’s mother chose. Ivy’s mother does offer some input later and says she’d been immediately attracted to the foreign doctor, but I’m going to need more verbal mouthwash than that.

Speaking of Ivy’s mom, she speaks almost entirely in Spanglish. It comes across as nothing more than a way to remind us that HEY! SHE’S MEXICAN! There’s hardly any reflection on what it means to Ivy that she’s a half-Mexican girl in a very white, very anti-outsider town. The one two-paragraph reflection reads like an afterthought added when someone said, “Hey, she doesn’t think about her race at all even though she lives in a place that pays a lot of attention to it.”

Toward the end, an already shaky novel disintegrates. An obvious Chekhov’s Gun from early in the novel makes it clear who the killer is, but the significance of how the killer handles the object is never explained. Really, why did he give the necklace to Ivy without telling her it came from Rook? He had his own love interest and indicated no interest in Ivy. I NEED THIS EXPLAINED. Then a second twist about a different murder happens, but there’s no predicting it because it comes completely out of nowhere.

I get it: mysteries are hard. They can’t be super easy for readers to figure out, but they can’t be actually impossible either. Readers want the challenge a mystery offers! The problem here is that the second twist has literally no clues to follow to the conclusion of whodunnit. That entire plotline seemed to mean absolutely nothing until the very end. Being handed the solution to a mystery we never knew the book cared about just isn’t fun and that’s what The May Queen Murders does.

If you want some quality YA horror, I recommend Daughter Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics instead. Or This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers if you want some horror with ZOMBIES. (Her other books aren’t actually horror but are definitely horrifying. Read them.) The May Queen Murders just isn’t up to snuff. My quest for more good YA horror continues!

[Aditi · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The more you leave out, the more you highlight what you leave in.”

----Henry Green


Sarah Jude, an American author, pens a captivating psycho-thriller in her debut book, The May Queen Murders that is set across a farming community village where the folks still believe in superstitions and peaceful life with no electricity, among them are two teenage girls, but when one of them goes missing in their community festival, things turn quite worse, as the other teenage believes that there are secrets that she doesn't know about her missing cousin as well as about the place she calls home.


Synopsis:

Stay on the roads. Don’t enter the woods. Never go out at night.

Those are the rules in Rowan’s Glen, a remote farming community in the Missouri Ozarks where Ivy Templeton’s family has lived for centuries. It’s an old-fashioned way of life, full of superstition and traditions, and sixteen-year-old Ivy loves it. The other kids at school may think the Glen kids are weird, but Ivy doesn’t care—she has her cousin Heather as her best friend. The two girls share everything with each other—or so Ivy thinks. When Heather goes missing after a May Day celebration, Ivy discovers that both her best friend and her beloved hometown are as full of secrets as the woods that surround them.


Ivy's family is the resident of Rowan’s Glen, a farming community with their own beliefs in the Missouri Ozarks, since from the beginning of time and her ancestors play an important role in this community. Ivy, along with her cousin, Heather has grown up hearing the dark and sometimes thought-provoking folklore of their community, especially the story about the man, Birch Markle, who killed the last May Queen of the community and disappeared into the dark woods and never to be found again and it is true that his screams can be still heard. But little did Ivy knew that her cousin, the chosen May Queen, disappears on the night of their community's May Day celebration, thus forcing Ivy to ponder about her drifting friendship with her once upon a time cousin-cum-best-friend, Heather, who has her own secrets and plans.

The story line has so many dynamics, angles and layers to make the story enticing yet the author's approach of presenting the story had shortcomings thus making it bit of a dull story. The book opened with a promising approach as the author strikingly arrests the dark, eerie atmosphere through her words where the readers are bound to have that creepy sensation on their skins. But midway through the book, when the twists start unspooling, the story becomes obvious and predictable. The book cover image is really dark and beautiful and has an arresting feel to it.

The author's writing is articulate and laced with proper emotions to make the readers comprehend with it. The narrative is dark and somewhat twisted and at times will keep the readers engaged to the free-flowing dialogues. The pacing is really good and swift enough to make the readers sway with its flow. Although the mystery part lacks depth and edge and for regular crime fiction readers, the climax becomes an obvious thing. At some point in the story, I realized that I have forgotten on whether I was reading a teen fiction or adult fiction, as the author seems to lose her touch from the emotions of a vulnerable teenager, rather than portraying with bit mature emotional content.

The characters are another disappointing aspect of this story considering the fact that a teenage female protagonist, Ivy, does not sync with a real life teenager as her demeanor is vague even though she is shy and timid and believes in superstitions like her folks. In short, it becomes quite difficult for the teen readers to connect with Ivy's issues and flaws. Heather is the exact opposite of her sister, she is wild and carefree, and harbors a lot of secrets. The supporting cast is also not that well-developed.

In a nutshell, this book seems like a promising and compelling thriller, but can be easily skipped as there are far better novels out there.

Verdict: Not so much of an appealing story!

Courtesy: Thanks to the author, Sarah Jude's publishers for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book.

[Lexie]

Finishing a book and not at all knowing how to feel about it.

There should be a club.
And T-shirts.
And buttons.
And a slightly inappropriate anthem.

[Lisa Mandina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really more of a 4.5 stars. The ending, the twists and turns that just kept coming! No time to rest! I could totally see a movie being made from this, one that I'd be sure to see in the theater. Full review to come on my blog, Lisa Loves Literature in the next week or so.

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ivy's family has lived in the remote community of Rowan's Glen in the Missouri Ozarks for centuries. She loves the traditions and the superstitions associated with that way of life and wouldn't trade it for anything. She doesn't care that the other kids at school think the kids from Rowan's Glen are weird, and she has her cousin (and best friend) Heather at her side. As far as Ivy knows, they share everything, that is, until Heather goes missing after the community's May Day celebration. Ivy quickly begins to realize that the town is as full of secrets as the woods surrounding them.

The May Queen Murders by Sarah Jude is a decent YA mystery debut. It has quite a bit of potential, but it doesn't quite live up to it. The characters are interesting to follow, but I didn't click with them; however, it was good to see the diversity. Initially, I was expecting the murders and mutilations to have some sort of supernatural twist, but that's not the case at all. In fact, there are multiple reveals - one after another, after another. I enjoyed working through the mystery, but what made me lower my rating from a four stars down to three is all of the last minute reveals. The last 30 pages are unnecessary and overly gory that just seemed to me to be tacked on for the sake of another shock.

Overall, Sarah Jude's debut, The May Queen Murders is a decent mystery à la M. Night Shyamalan's The Village, but unfortunately it features an overstuffed and unnecessary denouement.

[Obsidian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Seriously???

I don't even know what this book was supposed to be. I felt at one point that perhaps my day drinking was interfering with me being able to understand what was going on, but I took a crack at this Monday morning (sober) and I just gave up. Nothing makes sense at all. I was trying to read this book for Halloween Bingo 2017 and feel annoyed that I DNFed it instead of pushing through. But honestly, I don't have the patience to work through this book.

The main character (16 year old Ivy Templeton) is just not interesting. I know there's probably some dark family secret thing going on in the town of Rowan's Glen, but if you can't grab a reader early on, I don't feel the need to just force myself to read what is shaping up to be a blah book.

I will also say that the author did not do a good enough job of setting up Rowan's Glen as a place that is a step out of time. It didn't read believable at all. And the further I kept reading about things that were traditions, I started to feel annoyed that this was shaping up to be a terrible facsimile of "Children of the Corn".

I will also add that the writing was not very good. I just had a hard time even working my way through paragraphs. We get random information dumps and than just mysterious things happening.

[Stacee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This synopsis had me really excited and I couldn't wait to read it.

Ivy is a decent MC. She comes across as quite sheltered, but I think it's mostly due to her back woods upbringing. She's co-dependent and pretty needy, but by the end of the book here has been some growth. There are a few other secondary characters, but I'll let you find them on your own.

Plot wise, I don't know what to say. Honestly, I was expecting some supernatural explanation, so I was a bit disappointed by the reveal. But then there's another reveal. And another one. The last couple of chapters were so jammed, it seemed a bit info dump-y. Perhaps an extra chapter or something would have helped.

Don't get me wrong, I did like it. I was compelled to keep reading and eager to see how it all turned out. At the same time, it felt like something was missing.

**Huge thanks to HMH Kids and Edelweiss for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review**

[Paige Bookdragon]

I accidentally deleted my arc. I want to stab someone with a pencil. ♥

[☾]

the cover played me like a violin, i couldn’t get past chapter three.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The May Queen Murders is set around the main character of Ivy Templeton, who lives in a remote farming community, Rowan's Glen, in the Missouri Ozarks. Ivy's family has lived there for centuries and they live an old-fashioned, simple way of life. The kids from the local high school think everyone from Rowan's Glen is a bit odd but it doesn't bother Ivy because she has her best friend and cousin, Heather, by her side. But Heather has secrets of her own that even Ivy is unaware of. Rowan's Glen however as a bit of a dark past and rules that go along with it; stay on the roads, don't enter the woods, never go out at night and don't go anywhere alone. When Heather goes missing after being crowned May Queen during the May Day celebration, Ivy begins to discover that both Heather and Rowan's Glen are full of secrets and not everything is as it seems.

First I have to say that I loved this book. I have been looking forward to reading it since it was released in May and my husband bought me a copy for my birthday in June. I was slightly concerned that a few friends on Goodreads gave this book not the greatest reviews. The people who seem not to like this book, stated it's because it is dark for them. Well the book was listed under thriller, mystery and horror as genres, so I expected it to be dark. Anyway, I really liked it. First, the story itself I really enjoyed and there are definitely more then a few plot twists along the way. I also absolutely loved the setting and how the author paints such a rich picture of not only the land in Rowan's Glen, but the character's lives as well. Even down to the way they talk and if you have ever been up in the hills, whether that's Missouri, the Carolina's or West Virginia, the dialogue is spot on, at least from my own experience. I felt like I had actually previously visited the area after reading all the descriptions of the land, barns, homes, woods, cemeteries and the surrounding areas.

I like to write spoiler free reviews if at all possible because I usually read reviews before purchasing a book. So there are things I am going to skip over reviewing to keep it spoiler free. I really liked Ivy, Rook and Ivy's Grandma, Mamie's characters. I loved how the story was laced with Mamie's folklore and traditions. And I especially loved how all the families in this book are so close with each other and the other families in Rowan's Glen. They all try to take care of each other and honestly, it sounds like a great community to me. Minus the missing girls and dark, horror like things in the story. I like dark, so I loved this book. There were definitely a few parts that creeped me out, so props to Jude on that one because I have been reading Stephen King for the last 15 years. Overall, if you enjoy mysteries or thrillers, I think you will enjoy this book. It is well written, it is a good story and the the author paints a great picture of a rural, slightly isolated farming community in the Missouri Ozarks. Oh and the cover of this book is absolutely gorgeous! Happy reading!

[Jen Ryland (jenrylandreviews & yaallday)]

Atmospheric and suspenseful, this tale of madness and murder in an isolated town in the Ozarks is not for the squeamish (which would kind of be ... me). There's animal cruelty and a fair amount of violence in this story, if that sways you one way or the other.

I liked the care with which this small community was drawn. They eschew technology, make their own clothes, keep mostly to themselves, and are regarded with suspicion by the wider community. In this way the book reminded me a little of The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle, with the blend of the small insular community and the horror.

This was partly a friendship story between Ivy and her cousin Heather, and partly a double romance (not a triangle, though it seemed that way at one point) but to me all the carnage sort of got in the way of the human interest part of the story. I read to the end, but in all honesty this one was a little bit too gory for me.

Read more of my reviews on YA Romantics or follow me on Bloglovin

Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review!

[Destiny · Rating 5 out of 5]

The May Queen Murders by Sarah Jude is a Southern Gothic tale that delivers both a spooky and thrilling storyline. While there is plenty of gore to be creepy, there is just enough love to make it a romance. That said, the romantic story arcs make this an excellent diverse YA book, as Jude isn't afraid to explore same-sex relationships.

The atmosphere and world-building is spot on and makes the perfect backdrop for such a dark, twisted tale. Jude's descriptions are vivid and imaginative and her writing is nearly flawless. The characters are well-constructed, and while not always likeable, they are real and relatable.

Another thing I really was charmed by was how besides being dark and thrilling, this was also a book about "firsts". Main character, Ivy, is suddenly thrown into a first love and mystery and is ultimately forced into finding herself along the way.

Finally, the ending is creepy and surprising and will throw you completely off because you won't see it coming. Sarah Jude has written a phenomenal book that spans many genres and has something for pretty much everyone!!

[Jesse Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well... that was an interesting ending. Way too many reveals. It was definitely a slow burn of a mystery only picking up the last quarter of the book.

I did see Heather's love interest from a mile away though. But everything just got really messy towards the end and I didn't quite like how things turned out.

The love scenes were really quite good though. For a YA book it was quite descriptive in that department. So A+ for that.

Besides that, nothing else sparked my interest for the story. Meh.

[Shannon Miz · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
I have some mixed feelings on this book, and it ended up working out pretty evenly. In the end, I did like it more than I didn't, so that's good.

The Things I Liked:

The creepy, backward town. This place is strange. And I think it is present-day, which makes it even stranger. It's almost cultish in nature, and the atmosphere is very well done. I definitely felt like this was not a place I wanted to be! The author definitely nailed the creep-factor, and that drew me into the book.
The mystery definitely pulled me in. I wanted to know what was happening in this town- and why! That's really all I can even say without spoiling things, but I definitely was intrigued by this town and its shadiness!
Ivy worked for me as a character. I liked that she was naive and unworldly, it made sense. Even though she went to a public school, she mainly spent her time with other kids from her town, so it made sense that while she wasn't completely devoid of social appropriateness, she also wasn't really in the know either. In contrast, her cousin and best friend Heather definitely wanted to know more about the outside world, which I liked. It seemed reasonable to me that some kids would want to stay in the comfort of their own niche, while others would be stir crazy to leave it. Their relationship definitely propelled the story, and I enjoyed the contrast of their personalities. I also liked that Ivy started a bit of a romance of her own, though I do wish her romantic interest had been a bit more fleshed out, I felt like his personality was lacking a bit.

The Things I Didn't:

The whole ending was kind of a mess for me. It was too... much. There was just too much going on, yet at the same time, I felt like I was not getting answers to some of my questions, which was kind of maddening. And then when it all came out, I was just underwhelmed in general, and kind of confused.
Like I mentioned with the love interest, most of the characters rendered me a bit apathetic. Even in regards to Heather, while I liked that she and Ivy had been so close, most of what we actually see is their drifting apart, so I didn't get a real sense of who Heather is, other than "not Ivy". I felt the same for most of the other secondary characters, most of whom kind of blended together for me.

Bottom Line: Had the ending been more satisfying, I think I could have really enjoyed this one. Still, the author's writing was incredibly atmospheric and I look forward to her future works.

**Copy provided by publisher for review

[Heather Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're looking for a thrilling Southern Gothic tale filled with mystery, atmosphere, and beautifully written characters, look no further! Sarah Jude is a master of her craft. You won't be able to put this one down. Fresh edgy, and diverse YA that doesn't shy away from delving into the dark and twisted, The May Queen Murders is a must read for 2016. Loved it!

[Zemira Warner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it in one sitting because I was in the mood for something spooky.

The May Queen Murders promises a small-town mystery, superstitions, a crazy guy, murders, gore and romance(both straight and gay).

I could picture the whole town so clearly so props to Sarah Jude for creating such an interesting world. Came for the dark, creepy business but stayed for everything else.

[Patty (IheartYA311) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creepy, dark and weird. Just what I expected. The Mayqueen Murders is a good fall read. I would have rated it a 4 instead of 3 but it
had pacing issues and some aspects seemed implausible. The first half was a slow burn but I really sunk my teeth into it after that. I may have nightmares tonight.

[Ideally.Portia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everybody knows if you go in those woods, there’s a chance you ain’t coming out.

I loved this book. I had a feeling I was going too, but it really did give me what I wanted. I was glued to the pages, and I just couldn’t get enough. This is a really great debut novel.

May Queen takes place in an incredibly small town, that does things in all of the oldest ways. There are no cell phones, or other modern conveniences. What the town of Rowans Glen does have is a dark history. Because of this, everyone knows to stay out of the woods, don’t travel alone at night. Keep to the main roads, and all that jazz. But there are plenty of horrors waiting for the towns people that will come right to their doorstep. The woods aren’t the only problem. Our protagonist, Ivy, gets caught up in everything and is the unfortunate one that uncovers so many secrets.

One of my favorite things about this book was that the town (Ivy especially) heavily believes in old superstitions. I love it. There are so many throughout the book that I find so interesting. Not only that, but they have teas they brew for just about everything, from headaches to nightmares. Everything is passed down from generation to generation. This all helps to really provide that feeling of how old the town is and how close knit all of the families are.

“A bird in a house means death is flyin’ about.”

My absolute favorite thing about this book was how ominous it felt the entire time. Nothing ever felt light or good. It was sinister and Gothic. I was constantly anticipating the next bad thing that would happen. And there was blood. And I love when things get bloody. It actually reminded me of another book I read in the fall, and LOVED. Daughters Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics (click the title if you would like to see my review!). It was very different, but provided that same ominous feeling, everything being so eerie and bloody. So if you liked this book, check that out, and vice versa.

Something I would like to point out about this book is that is a tiny tiny bit sexual a couple of times. Like, not New Adult levels of sexual, but sexy on a young adult level in a way I didn’t expect. So this creepy, eerie book even has some mild sensual moments. Lol…. random, I know, and unexpected, but very well written. I wonder what Jude could do with a New Adult novel???

Anyway, I loved it. I definitely recommend checking this out!!

**Original review can be found at No BS Book Reviews!**

[Summer (buttermybooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Everybody knows if you go in those woods, there’s a chance you ain’t coming out.”

After finishing The May Queen Murders, I decided that I needed to wait a few days before writing my review. The ending of this book had such a flurry of revelations that I needed a few days to let everything settle before I could adequately describe how I felt about it.

That being said, I LOVED IT. The May Queen Murders is a story set in the Ozarks in a town called The Glen. The whole vibe of this book is very dark and ominous. Sarah did an awesome job with building the perfect scenery to go with her story. I really loved the main couple in the book. Ivy was such an interesting character and I LOVED that she was part hispanic. Rook was also SO SWOON WORTHY. Their dynamic was so sweet that it almost hurt. I was a little worried that there would be a love triangle but that was quickly resolved. The story really focuses on tales that had been passed down through generations about what happens when you go into the woods. After the town decides to bring back the May Queen festival, things start getting crazy. I don’t want to get into too much detail because im afraid ill SPOIL IT and no one wants that. I think the best part of reading this was the angst and intensity of the mystery! I really hope everyone gets a chance to experience this book the way that I did, by going in blind.

The May Queen Murders is definitely a ‘hormance’ and reminded me a bit of Blood and Salt by Kim Liggett. This genre is quickly becoming a favorite and this book definitely didnt disappoint on either count! If you want a quick and creepy read, this is definitely for you!

[K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trigger warnings: murder, mutilation, animal cruelty, assault, mental health, death of an LGBTQIA+ character.

The whole time I was reading this, it reminded me of M. Night Shyamalan's The Village. It's about a teenage girl who lives in a community that keeps itself separate from the world, that embraces the ways of the past, that is kept out of the woods that surround it by a monster (although in this case, it's a man who murdered a girl 20ish years earlier), that finds itself dealing with animal mutilations. And much like in The Village, she's in love with the boy next door, and the relationship between them feels very similar.

Aaaaaaaaanyway.

This took a really long time to get going. And then once it DID get going, I found the story kind of...basic? IDK, it's dealing with horrific crimes and disturbing content. But at the same time, I didn't find the writing particularly compelling and I was kind of bored by the characters. It should have been creepy and spooky and mostly it was just...kind of mediocre. Womp.

[Roxanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Between a 4.5 and a 5 for me. I love vibe of her book it's quirky a sense of otherworldness and so engaging! I was hooked from the start and read the majority of it in one sitting.

Ivy and Heather are best friends until secrets start tearing them apart. When ivy sees weather's shadow self she knows something bad is going to happen. As ivy tries to find out what was going on and uncovers her cousins secrets the danger surrounding her reaches epic levels.

I won't spoil the ending but I will say I enjoyed the revelations and didn't see the deeper tangle at all. I am looking forward to her next book. I love the quirky horror she delivers!

[Kirsti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Awwww, this has been on my to-read since May 2016 and it was a let down :/ I have had it on every wish list/birthday/Christmas list for ages, and when I finally received a copy I was so excited! But then reading it I felt like it was nothing like what I expected. From the beginning I was just waiting for the murder to happen (come on, not a spoiler, it's in the title!) But then it takes FOREVER for someone to die, and then randomly everyone else and their dog goes that way (hmmm don't read this if you don't like animal deaths :( I wish I'd realized sooner how descriptive it was) and the romance is icky for the main character, and then the OTHER romance would have been great if it wasn't a plot twist and then they kill her (I think that's vague enough?)

Anyway, two disappointing books in a row. I need something good!

[Brend · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Ravencrantz · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's October, I've been in a terrible reading slump, and I needed something really spooky to try and draw me out. Horror in general is a tricky genre, and I've only found a handful of books over the years that have truly spooked me. I was still hopeful about this book, until I went to add it to my shelf and noticed the rating. I try not to take ratings too seriously, but in this case it should have served as a warning.

The blurb pitches us a mystery of a missing girl after a big celebration, but that doesn't even happen until well after 100 pages into the book. Up until then it's nothing but boy trouble and dead animals. It got old fast, and I kept wanting to ditch this book, but I pushed through in hopes the ending would make up for it. I know horror and thrillers can be a slow in the beginning. They have so much to set up, it's going to drag a bit. This was Too Much. There was no real set up for the reveals, they were all thrown together in one big lazy climax. One after another we were told who the Real killer was and each one revealed, no actually it was some other guy. All in all, about five different people were accused of being the killer. That doesn't sound too bad, except all but thee obvious red herring was revealed in the last 60 or so pages.

This book has a clear pacing problem, and in a thriller/horror novel, that's a huge deal breaker. On top of it all, it used a character being gay as a plot twist and on top of that, the character died. So two strikes there. This book left me so frustrated it had so much potential and it fell so flat.

I can't speak on the diversity front. Our main character is mixed race, with a mother from Mexico. I don't know if this was done well or in an offensive way, but I do know that our main character didn't grow much. She's so obsessed with her cousin, it's borderline creepy. Her cousin is the only one to call her out on this, but in the end nothing changes! Sure her cousin isn't around anymore, but she's still obsessing over her life. I'm willing to leave it as grief, but given how no one else was really fleshed out, I think it's simply a characterization problem.

Overall disappointing and a waste of time. Might read something else by the author if I happen upon it at the library, but I'm not going to seek anything out.

[Kathy Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in the Ozarks, in the town of Rowan's Glen, THE MAY QUEEN MURDERS tells the story of generations of secrets coming to light. The kids have always been scared into obedience by the tale of Birch Markle who murdered the last May Queen and who ran away to the woods and can now be heard screaming in the night.

This is a story told by Ivy who loves living in Rowan's Glen. She buys into all the superstitions and practices. She tells about her cousin Heather who has been her best friend since they were born. Heather is discontented with life in the Glen and eager to escape. She is keeping secrets from Ivy which hurts Ivy. The two begin arguing about Heather's choices and their friendship almost breaks when Ivy believes that Heather and Rook, the boy Ivy loves, are in a relationship.

When Heather is crowned the May Queen, disappears, and is found murdered, Ivy needs to solve the mystery of Heather's life and uncover the secrets in the Glen.

This story was by turns homey and scary. The richly detailed Ozark setting and the insular nature of Rowan's Glen contrasted nicely with the dark evil that had been living there for generations.

Fans of mysteries will enjoy this story.

[Katrina♡•• · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hated this book so much. Ivy was the worst idiot MC you could ask for. She is weak minded and pathetic. Like an ass who hides in the corner and expects everyone else to fill in for her shortcomings.

Throughout I wanted to do this to her




Worst portrayals of females which is weak and stupid. I hated how the author put Ivy so pathetic as if females are not strong and cant do anything on their own. It was nit a scary book and the plot was awefully poor. I wanted to dnf so many times. Milo, the druggie, was the only interesting thing abt the book and of course he was not the centre of attention. Of course Mr. Goodie Goodie Rook was the hero and the one everyone favoured. I hate the constant repetetion of this trend. Such an overall dissappointment.

Recommended to: No One