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Tufa #4
Chapel of Ease
The latest installment in Alex Bledsoe's critically-acclaimed Tufa series that Kirkus Reviews calls "powerful, character-driven drama...a sheer delight." (starred review)
When Matt Johanssen, a young New York actor, auditions for "Chapel of Ease," an off-Broadway musical, he is instantly charmed by Ray Parrish, the show's writer and composer. They soon become friends; Matt learns that Ray's people call themselves the Tufa and that the musical is based on the history of his isolated home town. But there is one question in the show's script that Ray refuses to answer: what is buried in the ruins of the chapel of ease?
As opening night approaches, strange things begin to happen. A dreadlocked girl follows Ray and spies on him. At the press preview, a strange Tufa woman warns him to stop the show. Then, as the rave reviews arrive, Ray dies in his sleep.
Matt and the cast are distraught, but there's no question of shutting down: the run quickly sells out. They postpone opening night for a week and Matt volunteers to take Ray's ashes back to Needsville. He also hopes, while he's there, to find out more of the real story behind the play and discover the secret that Ray took to his grave.
Matt's journey into the haunting Appalachian mountains of Cloud County sets him on a dangerous path, where some secrets deserve to stay buried.
When Matt Johanssen, a young New York actor, auditions for "Chapel of Ease," an off-Broadway musical, he is instantly charmed by Ray Parrish, the show's writer and composer. They soon become friends; Matt learns that Ray's people call themselves the Tufa and that the musical is based on the history of his isolated home town. But there is one question in the show's script that Ray refuses to answer: what is buried in the ruins of the chapel of ease?
As opening night approaches, strange things begin to happen. A dreadlocked girl follows Ray and spies on him. At the press preview, a strange Tufa woman warns him to stop the show. Then, as the rave reviews arrive, Ray dies in his sleep.
Matt and the cast are distraught, but there's no question of shutting down: the run quickly sells out. They postpone opening night for a week and Matt volunteers to take Ray's ashes back to Needsville. He also hopes, while he's there, to find out more of the real story behind the play and discover the secret that Ray took to his grave.
Matt's journey into the haunting Appalachian mountains of Cloud County sets him on a dangerous path, where some secrets deserve to stay buried.
315 pages, Hardcover
First published September 6, 2016
About the author
Alex Bledsoe
68 books799 followersI grew up in west Tennessee an hour north of Graceland (home of Elvis) and twenty minutes from Nutbush (home of Tina Turner). I've been a reporter, editor, photographer and door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman. I now live in a big yellow house in Wisconsin, write before six in the morning and try to teach my two kids to act like they've been to town before.
I write the Tufa novels (The Hum and the Shiver, Wisp of a Thing, Long Black Curl and Chapel of Ease), as well as the Eddie LaCrosse series (The Sword-Edged Blonde, Burn Me Deadly, Dark Jenny, Wake of the Bloody Angel and He Drank, and Saw the Spider). the Firefly Witch ebook chapbooks, and two "vampsloitation" novels set in 1975 Memphis (Blood Groove and The Girls with Games of Blood).
I write the Tufa novels (The Hum and the Shiver, Wisp of a Thing, Long Black Curl and Chapel of Ease), as well as the Eddie LaCrosse series (The Sword-Edged Blonde, Burn Me Deadly, Dark Jenny, Wake of the Bloody Angel and He Drank, and Saw the Spider). the Firefly Witch ebook chapbooks, and two "vampsloitation" novels set in 1975 Memphis (Blood Groove and The Girls with Games of Blood).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 144 reviews
April 4, 2018
Chapel of Ease is book four in the Tufa series and I listened to the audio version of this book as part of my personal challenge to finish all the book before the 6th and last would be published 10 April 2018. I made it by the way.
Chapel of Ease is the one book in the series that felt less like "part" of the series as the story isn't really about the Tufa's future. The previous books have all felt a lot more like each story is bringing the Tufa story to some future conclusion. This one feels like an interlude. A really great interlude of course. But, it is more about the true story the musical is based on as well as Matts experiences in Needsville.
The Tufa legend plays a major part in the story since the musical that Ray Parrish has written and composed is about a story that happened years ago. Ray himself is Tufa and there are those that don't want him to put up a musical. However, Ray dies before revealing what is buried at the Chapel of Ease (the ending of the musical doesn't reveal it) and Matt the lead star of the musical travels down to Needsville with Ray's ashes and also to get the answer to what is buried at the Chapel of Ease.
So what is buried in the ruins of the Chapel of Ease? Well, you have to find out the truth by reading the book. All I can say that the book ended so perfectly that I mentally laughed and thought: "Bravo Alex Bledsoe, I should have seen that ending coming." I love it when an author manages to surprise me (in a good way)!
This is a book that felt like I breezed through quite quickly, it's a great joy finding a book series as good as this one and work through them all as I'm working at the same time!
Chapel of Ease is the one book in the series that felt less like "part" of the series as the story isn't really about the Tufa's future. The previous books have all felt a lot more like each story is bringing the Tufa story to some future conclusion. This one feels like an interlude. A really great interlude of course. But, it is more about the true story the musical is based on as well as Matts experiences in Needsville.
The Tufa legend plays a major part in the story since the musical that Ray Parrish has written and composed is about a story that happened years ago. Ray himself is Tufa and there are those that don't want him to put up a musical. However, Ray dies before revealing what is buried at the Chapel of Ease (the ending of the musical doesn't reveal it) and Matt the lead star of the musical travels down to Needsville with Ray's ashes and also to get the answer to what is buried at the Chapel of Ease.
So what is buried in the ruins of the Chapel of Ease? Well, you have to find out the truth by reading the book. All I can say that the book ended so perfectly that I mentally laughed and thought: "Bravo Alex Bledsoe, I should have seen that ending coming." I love it when an author manages to surprise me (in a good way)!
This is a book that felt like I breezed through quite quickly, it's a great joy finding a book series as good as this one and work through them all as I'm working at the same time!
May 17, 2016
I was fortunate enough to get an advanced copy of Chapel of Ease.
At first, it will seem like it is not a Tufa novel. After all, it begins in New York City! The main character is clearly not Tufa. But hang with it. It goes places. Like all of the Tufa series, there are haints and people cured by song. There are the good Tufas and the bad. And then, this time, there is more: an unusual love story, and a play that in some ways mirrors the plot of the book. Bledsoe is really coming into his own as a writer, now. The play-within-a-play motif is reminiscent of Shakespeare. We have an advisory ghost, we have people hidden behind curtains in theaters, observing things that are pivotal to the plot. The Chapel itself in some ways feels like a stage, and the chapel is in the set of the play on stage, too. It's very meta. The book is written in first person.
Much of the conflict is about the clash of city vs. country, and the main character is schooled on the ways of country folk in Tennessee, and, of course, the Tufa. The themes mostly revolve around respect: respect for different lifestyles, respect for the dead, respect for people and their secrets. A great mystery lies at the center of the plot. And also, it's funny in parts. Bledsoe has a great ear for dialogue.
I can't say any more without revealing anything important- just read it!
Note: This book can stand alone. Those who have read the other Tufa novels will enjoy it, but it isn't necessary.
At first, it will seem like it is not a Tufa novel. After all, it begins in New York City! The main character is clearly not Tufa. But hang with it. It goes places. Like all of the Tufa series, there are haints and people cured by song. There are the good Tufas and the bad. And then, this time, there is more: an unusual love story, and a play that in some ways mirrors the plot of the book. Bledsoe is really coming into his own as a writer, now. The play-within-a-play motif is reminiscent of Shakespeare. We have an advisory ghost, we have people hidden behind curtains in theaters, observing things that are pivotal to the plot. The Chapel itself in some ways feels like a stage, and the chapel is in the set of the play on stage, too. It's very meta. The book is written in first person.
Much of the conflict is about the clash of city vs. country, and the main character is schooled on the ways of country folk in Tennessee, and, of course, the Tufa. The themes mostly revolve around respect: respect for different lifestyles, respect for the dead, respect for people and their secrets. A great mystery lies at the center of the plot. And also, it's funny in parts. Bledsoe has a great ear for dialogue.
I can't say any more without revealing anything important- just read it!
Note: This book can stand alone. Those who have read the other Tufa novels will enjoy it, but it isn't necessary.
June 23, 2016
I believe in magic. I don't mean the hocus-pocus stuff, but in an underlying magic that is the song and beauty of our world, something, that, if we're very lucky, or very blessed, or maybe blind, stupid drunk, we can occasionally unlock. I think it's that belief that makes me like books that give secret histories-- a magic woven in between our own known world and history that, in the telling, doesn't necessarily change what we, the unmusical, know, but once we learn gives added dimension. I think this is also one of the reasons I like Alex Bledsoe's novels of the Tufa so much. The Tufa are magic hidden in plain sight. And in each of Bledsoe's four Tufa novels, we get a little glimpse of the song that carries them.
This novel, Chapel of Ease, is due out September 6, 2016. I am completely grateful to Diana Pho at Tor Books, for not making me wait that long, and getting me an ARC. Chapel of Ease stands apart from the first three books (The Hum and the Shiver, A Wisp of A Thing, The Long Black Curl) as it is partially set in New York City, but overlaps for a portion of the book with the familiar setting of Cloud County. My experience with the other three books was to get completely lost in the rhythms, melodies, and words laced throughout the story. With this book, though the novel is essentially about a musical written by a Tufa, to open off-Broadway, the music didn't carry me as much, but the telling of the story did. Maybe that's because I also happen to love books that weave two story-lines. And, if one is in the past, and one present day, even better. From the moment this story started, through to the very last lines, it held me. (See plot summary kindly provided by Tor Books above.)
Reading this in the wake of the horrific shooting in Orlando also helped a bit in my processing of that tear in our fabric of humanity. The explorations of differences in groups of people, in sexual orientation, in beliefs, and even in the biases of country vs city/city vs country that were so carefully, and eloquently developed within the plot helped with my own inner dialogue. It all flowed quite naturally, as a piece of the plot, not like the remuddles I've seen plastered on other stories to bring them up to date. I'm so very happy to have a novel that presents a really interesting non-stereotypical gay man as a main character, not as a sidekick. I, as a straight woman, really liked being inside his head, and in his heart. I also liked yet another glimpse of the magic that may be hidden in our world, and how it may not be confined only to those mountains in Cloud County.
I have to wait a bit for the next novel in the series (even for an ARC) but I will try to be patient. We're headed to our mountain cabin in Rabun county, and I may even dust off my dulcimer. But, before that, I have a big decision to make: which of Alex Bledsoe's series do I explore next?
This novel, Chapel of Ease, is due out September 6, 2016. I am completely grateful to Diana Pho at Tor Books, for not making me wait that long, and getting me an ARC. Chapel of Ease stands apart from the first three books (The Hum and the Shiver, A Wisp of A Thing, The Long Black Curl) as it is partially set in New York City, but overlaps for a portion of the book with the familiar setting of Cloud County. My experience with the other three books was to get completely lost in the rhythms, melodies, and words laced throughout the story. With this book, though the novel is essentially about a musical written by a Tufa, to open off-Broadway, the music didn't carry me as much, but the telling of the story did. Maybe that's because I also happen to love books that weave two story-lines. And, if one is in the past, and one present day, even better. From the moment this story started, through to the very last lines, it held me. (See plot summary kindly provided by Tor Books above.)
Reading this in the wake of the horrific shooting in Orlando also helped a bit in my processing of that tear in our fabric of humanity. The explorations of differences in groups of people, in sexual orientation, in beliefs, and even in the biases of country vs city/city vs country that were so carefully, and eloquently developed within the plot helped with my own inner dialogue. It all flowed quite naturally, as a piece of the plot, not like the remuddles I've seen plastered on other stories to bring them up to date. I'm so very happy to have a novel that presents a really interesting non-stereotypical gay man as a main character, not as a sidekick. I, as a straight woman, really liked being inside his head, and in his heart. I also liked yet another glimpse of the magic that may be hidden in our world, and how it may not be confined only to those mountains in Cloud County.
I have to wait a bit for the next novel in the series (even for an ARC) but I will try to be patient. We're headed to our mountain cabin in Rabun county, and I may even dust off my dulcimer. But, before that, I have a big decision to make: which of Alex Bledsoe's series do I explore next?
April 18, 2024
This series just gets better as I read it all. I loved the characters and the story. The deer and coyotes were an amazing part (not a spoiler and it won't make sense unless you read it!) and I just blew through the whole book so fast. I love this series.
September 6, 2016
Chapel of Ease, Alex Bledsoe's fourth foray into the mysterious world of the Tufa, is a departure from the previous books in the series: It is written in the first person, and Matt, the POV character, is an actor in New York who has been cast as the lead in a new off-Broadway musical.
There is a Tufa connection, of course. The playwright is from Cloud County, Tennessee, and his words and music tell of a mystery and a love story over a century old. Music is a core element of Tufa culture, but not advertising themselves to the world at large is another Tufa characteristic... and the playwright knows it. As for the mystery at the center of the show, it serves to add more fuel to the fires of the cast's curiosity. Who, we wonder, will get burned?
As a New Yorker by birth who has lived most of his life in the South, Matt's initial lack of familiarity with Southern culture gave me numerous chuckles as I recalled my own years of learning. But there's real dramatic tension in this novel, in no small amount provided by the way Matt chooses to deal with his sexuality - he is gay - in a part of the world where acceptance of LGBTQ lifestyles is, perhaps, less assured than it is in the Big City. And yet the people of Cloud County prove surprising in so many ways, even to those of us who have come to know them over the course of the last three novels.
Alex Bledsoe has chosen to tell another story about a fascinating mythic American culture of his own invention, and he has told it in an effective new way. It's a refreshingly different perspective.
Just don't think he tells you everything.
There is a Tufa connection, of course. The playwright is from Cloud County, Tennessee, and his words and music tell of a mystery and a love story over a century old. Music is a core element of Tufa culture, but not advertising themselves to the world at large is another Tufa characteristic... and the playwright knows it. As for the mystery at the center of the show, it serves to add more fuel to the fires of the cast's curiosity. Who, we wonder, will get burned?
As a New Yorker by birth who has lived most of his life in the South, Matt's initial lack of familiarity with Southern culture gave me numerous chuckles as I recalled my own years of learning. But there's real dramatic tension in this novel, in no small amount provided by the way Matt chooses to deal with his sexuality - he is gay - in a part of the world where acceptance of LGBTQ lifestyles is, perhaps, less assured than it is in the Big City. And yet the people of Cloud County prove surprising in so many ways, even to those of us who have come to know them over the course of the last three novels.
Alex Bledsoe has chosen to tell another story about a fascinating mythic American culture of his own invention, and he has told it in an effective new way. It's a refreshingly different perspective.
Just don't think he tells you everything.
June 3, 2018
Not really. The story is engrossing, and the writing professional. I read it till the end, but I didn’t like any of the characters. They didn’t feel real, and none of them was sympathetic, not even the protagonist, Matt. He should’ve been. He is an interesting personage, a New York actor, at the height of his career, so he must be around his late 20s or early 30s, but he acts like a willful child, indulging his curiosity and disregarding any possible consequences to himself and the others. The villains are almost a caricature as well, not real, not alive, too evil.
The entire story would probably look very well as a comic book, but as a novel, it lacks depth.
The entire story would probably look very well as a comic book, but as a novel, it lacks depth.
December 13, 2017
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars, really. This book is entirely from the viewpoint of Matt Johannsen, a young male dancer who's moved to NYC for his bite of the Big Apple and bigtime showbiz. He's also gay and a martial arts expert, which is a skill that comes in handy several times. Matt gets involved with a new musical production called Chapel of Ease, written by a Tufa who's moved to New York to stay. If you've read the other Tufa books, you'll know that it's seen as a very bad idea for a Tufa to leave Needsville, Tennessee, for more than a short time.
The Tufa are otherworldly in their good looks and their musical talent. Matt sort of falls for Ray, the composer. When Ray dies unexpectedly just before the show is due to premiere, Matt ends up volunteering to return his remains to Needsville, a place he's never been. And there the fairy tale really begins.
A good part of this book takes place outside of Needsville, to its detriment I think. Needsville is so vividly filled out and its characters are so rich that Matt has a hard time keeping up. The centuries-long concerns of Faerie make his life seem ephemeral in comparison. For all that, Matt's a plucky protagonist, and he was fun to follow. He just didn't have that melacholy, tragic core that's so enthralling about the Tufa. Since if you've read the books, you already know quite a bit about what's going on, the outsider looking in viewpoint was sort of frustrating.
The idea was that Ray, the composer, had written about a real event concerning a Chapel of Ease ( a place built to house itinerant preachers) which was a love story and a tragedy. One of the characters buried something in the Chapel of Ease, and the audience never finds out what it is. Matt is on a mission to find out if something is buried in the real Chapel of Ease that the musical is based upon. He finds out what it is- but we, the readers, never do! Matt and Ray both decide that it's just not important. Well, that's great! I didn't buy into that romantic idea. You tease a mystery for a whole book and I want to know the answer!
This book also depended a lot upon descriptions of music, and I think it was a bit more difficult to pull off this time. We get a whole musical described without hearing any of the songs, and there's also a description of dancing without ever seeing the performance. The description didn't quite let me make the leap to feeling like I understood the experience.
This entry on its own is not my favorite of the Tufa books. I think it will end up being important, though, as a stage of the Tufa beginning to interact with the rest of the world more once again, pushing past old taboos.
3.5 stars, really. This book is entirely from the viewpoint of Matt Johannsen, a young male dancer who's moved to NYC for his bite of the Big Apple and bigtime showbiz. He's also gay and a martial arts expert, which is a skill that comes in handy several times. Matt gets involved with a new musical production called Chapel of Ease, written by a Tufa who's moved to New York to stay. If you've read the other Tufa books, you'll know that it's seen as a very bad idea for a Tufa to leave Needsville, Tennessee, for more than a short time.
The Tufa are otherworldly in their good looks and their musical talent. Matt sort of falls for Ray, the composer. When Ray dies unexpectedly just before the show is due to premiere, Matt ends up volunteering to return his remains to Needsville, a place he's never been. And there the fairy tale really begins.
A good part of this book takes place outside of Needsville, to its detriment I think. Needsville is so vividly filled out and its characters are so rich that Matt has a hard time keeping up. The centuries-long concerns of Faerie make his life seem ephemeral in comparison. For all that, Matt's a plucky protagonist, and he was fun to follow. He just didn't have that melacholy, tragic core that's so enthralling about the Tufa. Since if you've read the books, you already know quite a bit about what's going on, the outsider looking in viewpoint was sort of frustrating.
The idea was that Ray, the composer, had written about a real event concerning a Chapel of Ease ( a place built to house itinerant preachers) which was a love story and a tragedy. One of the characters buried something in the Chapel of Ease, and the audience never finds out what it is. Matt is on a mission to find out if something is buried in the real Chapel of Ease that the musical is based upon. He finds out what it is- but we, the readers, never do! Matt and Ray both decide that it's just not important. Well, that's great! I didn't buy into that romantic idea. You tease a mystery for a whole book and I want to know the answer!
This book also depended a lot upon descriptions of music, and I think it was a bit more difficult to pull off this time. We get a whole musical described without hearing any of the songs, and there's also a description of dancing without ever seeing the performance. The description didn't quite let me make the leap to feeling like I understood the experience.
This entry on its own is not my favorite of the Tufa books. I think it will end up being important, though, as a stage of the Tufa beginning to interact with the rest of the world more once again, pushing past old taboos.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 28, 2018
This ended up being a satisfying read! The last few chapters were extremely suspenseful!
The blending of 2 plots, the NYC musical theatre play and hidden magic in the Appalachian setting worked very well. The only thing I found off putting about this book, as well as the other Tuffa novel I read, The Hum and the Shiver are the romantic/sexual scenes. I don't mind sex in a story. There is no graphic sex in either novels, nor does the romantic subplot in anyway dominate the stories, but they are just kind of silly, like romance novels. They just seem unrealistic and off.
Regardless for now I'm going to keep reading this series when I want something fun and light.
The blending of 2 plots, the NYC musical theatre play and hidden magic in the Appalachian setting worked very well. The only thing I found off putting about this book, as well as the other Tuffa novel I read, The Hum and the Shiver are the romantic/sexual scenes. I don't mind sex in a story. There is no graphic sex in either novels, nor does the romantic subplot in anyway dominate the stories, but they are just kind of silly, like romance novels. They just seem unrealistic and off.
Regardless for now I'm going to keep reading this series when I want something fun and light.
August 12, 2018
The Tufa series is so much fun -- a mix of Appalachian folklore and mythology around the Fae -- I enjoy these a lot. I only have one left in the series and I'm putting off reading it so I can still enjoy the anticipation.
January 28, 2021
Notes:
Currently on Audible Plus
I keep forgetting to mention how much I enjoy the way music & dance are woven to be at the heart of the Tufa life. Love it!
Currently on Audible Plus
I keep forgetting to mention how much I enjoy the way music & dance are woven to be at the heart of the Tufa life. Love it!
February 20, 2017
I could not put this book down. I had to find out what was going to happen--again and again! I love the style and cadence, and the author's superb use of picture-words made my brain so happy.
This is my first "novel of the Tufa," so I will have to get the others from my library very soon.
I actually would give this book just shy of the full five stars because...
This is my first "novel of the Tufa," so I will have to get the others from my library very soon.
I actually would give this book just shy of the full five stars because...
June 10, 2016
Alex Bledsoe’s writing is what music is to the Tufa. It’s hauntingly beautiful in his worlds and you never want to leave.
I was lucky to win an advanced copy of Chapel of Ease and it did not disappoint. I am not one who normally cries reading a book and this one had me teary several times. Chapel of Ease is my new favorite book in the Tufa series.
We start out taking a break from the normal Appalachian mountains setting and instead start the journey in New York with Matt Johanssen. Matt is not a Tufa but a New York actor cast in the show “Chapel of Ease” written by Ray Parrish, a Tufa living in New York. Ray’s show is based on his people folklore and what is buried under the Chapel of Ease. Not everyone is excited about the show but the critics rave and the show is moving forward. When tragedy hits we do get to once again transport alongside the characters into Needsville and the magickal and mundane lives of the Tufa.
By far this has easily become one of my favorites. It’s unique as are the characters this time and I loved it.
My only regret is this is purely in book form. I would love to hear the haunting melodies and see the magickal songs take life in the show ‘Chapel of Ease’.
I was lucky to win an advanced copy of Chapel of Ease and it did not disappoint. I am not one who normally cries reading a book and this one had me teary several times. Chapel of Ease is my new favorite book in the Tufa series.
We start out taking a break from the normal Appalachian mountains setting and instead start the journey in New York with Matt Johanssen. Matt is not a Tufa but a New York actor cast in the show “Chapel of Ease” written by Ray Parrish, a Tufa living in New York. Ray’s show is based on his people folklore and what is buried under the Chapel of Ease. Not everyone is excited about the show but the critics rave and the show is moving forward. When tragedy hits we do get to once again transport alongside the characters into Needsville and the magickal and mundane lives of the Tufa.
By far this has easily become one of my favorites. It’s unique as are the characters this time and I loved it.
My only regret is this is purely in book form. I would love to hear the haunting melodies and see the magickal songs take life in the show ‘Chapel of Ease’.
December 24, 2020
The first three books in the Tufa series took place almost entirely in Needsville, a tiny Appalachian town where the Tufa settled before the coming of the first men. Not before the coming of the first white men — they were here before the ancestors of the "original" Native Americans arrived. By now, we know what they are: they are the descendants of the Tuatha Dé Danann, exiled since time immemorial over a little spat in the Old Country. Although the Tufa are mostly human at this point, they all have a little faerie in them.
Chapel of Ease starts in Manhattan, and at first it seems like it's a diversion from the Needsville-centered tales of the previous books. The main character is a city boy named Matt Johansson, an actor and dancer who's just scored a part in an off-Broadway production called "The Chapel of Ease." He has no idea what a "chapel of ease" is, but the producer is an up-and-coming talent named Ray Parrish, and as soon as Matt hears the songs for the play, he knows he has to be part of it. All the other actors feel the same way.
We've already learned that Tufa sometimes get wanderlust, but are inevitably drawn back to Needsville. We also know the Tufa have a preternatural talent for music. So it turns out that Ray Parrish is a Tufa, and his play is based on an old Tufa story about star-crossed lovers from the 19th century.
Well, we also know the Tufa don't like their stories being told to outsiders. So when Ray dies before opening night, all signs point the reader towards dark plot twists.
In fact, however, Chapel of Ease is a pretty light tale all the way through. Matt takes Ray's ashes back to Needsville, carrying with him all the baggage of a Manhattanite expecting these rural Southern folks to be a cross between Lil' Abner and Deliverance. He does find them to be a little strange and unlike what he expected, but also, for the most part, friendly. Until he starts poking around looking for the real-life Chapel of Ease that Ray's story was based on. Then he gets dragged into soap operas involving Ray's hunky gay brother, Ray's hot jailbait sister who wants to get out of Needsville and go to Manhattan herself, and the Tufa from the other side who really are into blood feuds and trying to make outsiders squeal like pigs.
For much of the book, the reader is, like Matt, carried along by the mystery of the Chapel of Ease. What did the young woman bury there, before her tragic end? What is the secret? Like Ray, we are looking for the twist, the Big Reveal that will justify the importance of this Macguffin. And like Ray, when we find out what it is, it's really not important to the story at all.
I don't know if Matt is meant to be a continuing character, since he's going back to Manhattan and his romance with CC seems to be a country fling (and he's also learned that non-Tufa who hook up with Tufa tend to meet sad ends). The characters from the previous books make brief appearances, but this volume almost seemed like a filler novel. I am still enjoying the series, as a bit of authentically American fantasy even if it does draw heavily on paranormal romance tropes.
Chapel of Ease starts in Manhattan, and at first it seems like it's a diversion from the Needsville-centered tales of the previous books. The main character is a city boy named Matt Johansson, an actor and dancer who's just scored a part in an off-Broadway production called "The Chapel of Ease." He has no idea what a "chapel of ease" is, but the producer is an up-and-coming talent named Ray Parrish, and as soon as Matt hears the songs for the play, he knows he has to be part of it. All the other actors feel the same way.
We've already learned that Tufa sometimes get wanderlust, but are inevitably drawn back to Needsville. We also know the Tufa have a preternatural talent for music. So it turns out that Ray Parrish is a Tufa, and his play is based on an old Tufa story about star-crossed lovers from the 19th century.
Well, we also know the Tufa don't like their stories being told to outsiders. So when Ray dies before opening night, all signs point the reader towards dark plot twists.
In fact, however, Chapel of Ease is a pretty light tale all the way through. Matt takes Ray's ashes back to Needsville, carrying with him all the baggage of a Manhattanite expecting these rural Southern folks to be a cross between Lil' Abner and Deliverance. He does find them to be a little strange and unlike what he expected, but also, for the most part, friendly. Until he starts poking around looking for the real-life Chapel of Ease that Ray's story was based on. Then he gets dragged into soap operas involving Ray's hunky gay brother, Ray's hot jailbait sister who wants to get out of Needsville and go to Manhattan herself, and the Tufa from the other side who really are into blood feuds and trying to make outsiders squeal like pigs.
For much of the book, the reader is, like Matt, carried along by the mystery of the Chapel of Ease. What did the young woman bury there, before her tragic end? What is the secret? Like Ray, we are looking for the twist, the Big Reveal that will justify the importance of this Macguffin. And like Ray, when we find out what it is, it's really not important to the story at all.
I don't know if Matt is meant to be a continuing character, since he's going back to Manhattan and his romance with CC seems to be a country fling (and he's also learned that non-Tufa who hook up with Tufa tend to meet sad ends). The characters from the previous books make brief appearances, but this volume almost seemed like a filler novel. I am still enjoying the series, as a bit of authentically American fantasy even if it does draw heavily on paranormal romance tropes.
August 29, 2018
87 points/100 (4 ½ stars/5)
Alert: LGBT themes
Matt Johansson is a performer in a musical by Ray Parrish. Ray wrote the story based off true events that happened in his hometown of Needsville, Tennessee. The musical has one mystery that refuses to be answered: what is buried in the ruins of the chapel of ease? When Ray unexpectedly dies after opening night, Matt decides to take him home, and figure out the mystery once and for all.
Chapel of Ease is very different than all of the Tufa books to date. It doesn't exactly feel like the series until part of the way through the book. In fact I had to double check I had opened the right book because it starts out so different. Overall, I'm a bit confused on this one.
It was an odd shift. The rest of the series has been third person following various citizens and guests of Cloud County. This wasn't. It was first person, and it starts in New York City. The whole book is first person, but eventually we end up in Cloud County. Typically, I prefer first person perspectives, and I've been told I'm weird because of this. Yet, in this series I actually preferred the third.
The musical based on events that took place in Needsville fascinated me. I had to know the whole story, the true story. And, I had to know what was buried. Obviously because it is a musical, there was a lot of music. For once, I actually understood a large part of it. I was very proud of myself over this fact (probably shouldn't have been, though).
Other than to get the main character to Tennessee, I'm not really certain why Matt had to bring the ashes to Ray's family. I'm especially not certain why he stuck around so long. Maybe this is a cultural difference I have just never had to run into before. I'm not certain.
The best thing about this series has been the Tufa. Since the main character is an outsider, we get to learn about them all again. Reading these back to back, and it can get a bit repetitive. I've noticed something, though. They reveal their secrets to outsiders really, really easily. How they've kept all of this so under wraps for so long if they tell everyone as easily as they tell Matt. He wasn't married to one of the Tufa, or even going out with one when they told him. Maybe they can read the signs better than me.
Frankly, I'm not surprised at the end of this book. If you've read it, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't you'll figure it out.
To read more reviews in this series and others, check out keiki eats books!
Alert: LGBT themes
Matt Johansson is a performer in a musical by Ray Parrish. Ray wrote the story based off true events that happened in his hometown of Needsville, Tennessee. The musical has one mystery that refuses to be answered: what is buried in the ruins of the chapel of ease? When Ray unexpectedly dies after opening night, Matt decides to take him home, and figure out the mystery once and for all.
Chapel of Ease is very different than all of the Tufa books to date. It doesn't exactly feel like the series until part of the way through the book. In fact I had to double check I had opened the right book because it starts out so different. Overall, I'm a bit confused on this one.
It was an odd shift. The rest of the series has been third person following various citizens and guests of Cloud County. This wasn't. It was first person, and it starts in New York City. The whole book is first person, but eventually we end up in Cloud County. Typically, I prefer first person perspectives, and I've been told I'm weird because of this. Yet, in this series I actually preferred the third.
The musical based on events that took place in Needsville fascinated me. I had to know the whole story, the true story. And, I had to know what was buried. Obviously because it is a musical, there was a lot of music. For once, I actually understood a large part of it. I was very proud of myself over this fact (probably shouldn't have been, though).
Other than to get the main character to Tennessee, I'm not really certain why Matt had to bring the ashes to Ray's family. I'm especially not certain why he stuck around so long. Maybe this is a cultural difference I have just never had to run into before. I'm not certain.
The best thing about this series has been the Tufa. Since the main character is an outsider, we get to learn about them all again. Reading these back to back, and it can get a bit repetitive. I've noticed something, though. They reveal their secrets to outsiders really, really easily. How they've kept all of this so under wraps for so long if they tell everyone as easily as they tell Matt. He wasn't married to one of the Tufa, or even going out with one when they told him. Maybe they can read the signs better than me.
Frankly, I'm not surprised at the end of this book. If you've read it, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't you'll figure it out.
To read more reviews in this series and others, check out keiki eats books!
September 26, 2021
Chapel of Ease is the fourth in Alex Bledsoe's Tufa series. Published in 2016, the book is in the Fantasy genre and has 315 pages.
Ray Parrish of Cloud County, Tennessee, is now a writer and composer in New York City. A Tufa, his Off-Broadway musical is based on his hometown and the people he calls family.
The protagonist, Matt Johansson, is an actor who has auditioned for the lead role in Ray's story. He becomes fast friends with Ray Parrish so when Ray dies Matt offers to take Ray's ashes home to his parents. There he meets the Tufa world and the backstory to Chapel of Ease and all its music.
In book number four, several characters come back to life from earlier books and new story lines make themselves known. Reading the stories in order is preferable. Character-driven, the story is built upon the Appalachian mountains where real life is seen and imaginary life is not open to all.
I have enjoyed this series overall, but favor some of the books more than others. I have enjoyed reading Bledsoe's "world-building."
Ray Parrish of Cloud County, Tennessee, is now a writer and composer in New York City. A Tufa, his Off-Broadway musical is based on his hometown and the people he calls family.
The protagonist, Matt Johansson, is an actor who has auditioned for the lead role in Ray's story. He becomes fast friends with Ray Parrish so when Ray dies Matt offers to take Ray's ashes home to his parents. There he meets the Tufa world and the backstory to Chapel of Ease and all its music.
In book number four, several characters come back to life from earlier books and new story lines make themselves known. Reading the stories in order is preferable. Character-driven, the story is built upon the Appalachian mountains where real life is seen and imaginary life is not open to all.
I have enjoyed this series overall, but favor some of the books more than others. I have enjoyed reading Bledsoe's "world-building."
May 2, 2019
Very readable continuation of the stories of the tufa people. A tufa singer songwriter writes a musical about a mystery buried in the chapel of ease in Cloud county Tennessee. He dies suddenly and his friend takes his ashes back home and seeks to unravel the mystery.
During this time he plays music, finds love, meets some mean nasty people and oh , fairies .
During this time he plays music, finds love, meets some mean nasty people and oh , fairies .
April 7, 2021
I LOVE Alex Bledoe's novels about the "Tufa" people of Appalachia -- an imagined community of fae folks led mostly by women and bound together by songs. This was a second reading but still a delight! An off-Broadway perfomer travels to tiny Needsville to bring home the ashes of his friend, playwright Ray Parrish, and to try to solve the mystery behind a a new hit show. Differing sexualities are accepted without much comment here -- but not all mysteries are meant to be solved. A fine bit of escapism!
October 31, 2017
Loved it. I was anxious for them to get back to Cloud County. I wanted more Needsville at the beginning of the story but understand he had to build Matt's character first.
January 1, 2017
I was very excited to come across a new book in the Tufa series. These books center on a group of people deep in the Appalachian hills whose background is - well, that's the major secret of the books. Suffice it to say that they bring the fantasy element, and music figures large into that fantasy.
This is the first of the Tufa books written in first person. That person is Matt Johannsen, a Broadway performer looking for his big break. He is tapped for a lead role in a new off-Broadway production by Ray Parrish, a show which tells a story from Parrish's home, deep in the Appalachian hills. Central to the story is a run-down chapel of ease, the site of a Civil War era secret. Matt is utterly charmed by Ray's intense, open personality and his Southern quirks. Ray is producing this show without the approval of the Tufa, who value their privacy and fear the production will bring unwanted attention. When disaster strikes the play, Matt volunteers to go to the Tufa, where he hopes to find the secret in the chapel.
All of the Tufa books display Appalachian stereotypes, and in this title we have the intersection of New York sensibilities against mountain attitudes, of Broadway and bluegrass. Matt is afraid his sexuality will set the Tufa against him, but he is able to connect to the them through his music. This book is fast-paced, and a quick read. I would recommend reading the previous Tufa novels first, and they're worth the time to read them.
This is the first of the Tufa books written in first person. That person is Matt Johannsen, a Broadway performer looking for his big break. He is tapped for a lead role in a new off-Broadway production by Ray Parrish, a show which tells a story from Parrish's home, deep in the Appalachian hills. Central to the story is a run-down chapel of ease, the site of a Civil War era secret. Matt is utterly charmed by Ray's intense, open personality and his Southern quirks. Ray is producing this show without the approval of the Tufa, who value their privacy and fear the production will bring unwanted attention. When disaster strikes the play, Matt volunteers to go to the Tufa, where he hopes to find the secret in the chapel.
All of the Tufa books display Appalachian stereotypes, and in this title we have the intersection of New York sensibilities against mountain attitudes, of Broadway and bluegrass. Matt is afraid his sexuality will set the Tufa against him, but he is able to connect to the them through his music. This book is fast-paced, and a quick read. I would recommend reading the previous Tufa novels first, and they're worth the time to read them.
![Profile Image for laurel [the suspected bibliophile].](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/users/1645808644i/7494844._UX200_CR0,6,200,200_.jpg)
August 5, 2016
To start off with . . . this is a Tufa novel. And it's the fourth one. So if you've stuck around this long, you know you're getting into a roller coaster of emotions, music and crazy hillbilly
This time, the Tufa go to the Big Apple. Matt, a non-Tufa dancer, is invited to audition for a role in a new play by Tufa Ray Parrish. The play centers around two threesomes separated by time but joined by location and a deep secret. As the cast begins to steep themselves in the music, they find themselves becoming more and more perplexed by the mystery of the chapel of ease and the secret buried at its heart. But when Ray dies just after the press review, the secret seems to be lost. Matt volunteers to take Ray's ashes to Tennessee, determined to see right by his friend and unravel the mystery. Very quickly, he finds himself dancing out of the flames into the fire...
Holy moly. You've heard of a runner's high? I had a fucking reader's high by the end of this thing. And yes, that is totally a thing. If it's not, then it is now. Tight writing, great characters, and it's THE TUFA! Seriously, the series keeps getting better and better. More, more, more!
Oh, and the secret? Like Ray says, it doesn't matter at all.
I received this ARC for an honest review from NetGalley.
This time, the Tufa go to the Big Apple. Matt, a non-Tufa dancer, is invited to audition for a role in a new play by Tufa Ray Parrish. The play centers around two threesomes separated by time but joined by location and a deep secret. As the cast begins to steep themselves in the music, they find themselves becoming more and more perplexed by the mystery of the chapel of ease and the secret buried at its heart. But when Ray dies just after the press review, the secret seems to be lost. Matt volunteers to take Ray's ashes to Tennessee, determined to see right by his friend and unravel the mystery. Very quickly, he finds himself dancing out of the flames into the fire...
Holy moly. You've heard of a runner's high? I had a fucking reader's high by the end of this thing. And yes, that is totally a thing. If it's not, then it is now. Tight writing, great characters, and it's THE TUFA! Seriously, the series keeps getting better and better. More, more, more!
Oh, and the secret? Like Ray says, it doesn't matter at all.
I received this ARC for an honest review from NetGalley.
August 16, 2016
As soon as I began reading I fell into this powerful story and didn't awake into reality until some 8 hours later with a shiver of emotion. I vaguely remember my husband warming something up for me to eat. He knows how I get.
The story is told first person by Matt, a NY singer, dancer and actor who is invited to participate in an off-off Broadway show where he meets Ray, the writer and composer of a play about the ghosts of love and loss, in the backwoods of a mountain community. Mr. Bledsoe has an absolutely marvelously talented skill of putting you right there with the characters, their hope and heartbreak. There is magic in this story, a little bit of the magic from his other Tufa clan stories, but also the ephemeral magic of romance and of the human beings' drive of curiosity.
If you are a fan of Sarah Adderson Allen books, Alex Bledsoe can't be missed.
If you are looking for a tender, heartful gay male romance this is a must read.
I obtained this ebook work from NetGalley for an unbiased review.
The story is told first person by Matt, a NY singer, dancer and actor who is invited to participate in an off-off Broadway show where he meets Ray, the writer and composer of a play about the ghosts of love and loss, in the backwoods of a mountain community. Mr. Bledsoe has an absolutely marvelously talented skill of putting you right there with the characters, their hope and heartbreak. There is magic in this story, a little bit of the magic from his other Tufa clan stories, but also the ephemeral magic of romance and of the human beings' drive of curiosity.
If you are a fan of Sarah Adderson Allen books, Alex Bledsoe can't be missed.
If you are looking for a tender, heartful gay male romance this is a must read.
I obtained this ebook work from NetGalley for an unbiased review.
September 8, 2016
I love this series of books! Bledsoe's writing puts us into the magical world of the Tufa with such ease and beauty.
This is a little bit of a departure--the book starts off in NYC, of all places! It's told from the point of view of Matt, who is a singer, dancer, and actor. He's invited to play a role in an off-off Broadway musical written by Ray Parrish, who is a Tufa.
Matt's journey brings him to Tennessee, to Tufa country. We meet some old friends there and some new ones.
If you haven't read this series, I highly recommend picking up The Hum and The Shiver, the first of the stories.
This is a little bit of a departure--the book starts off in NYC, of all places! It's told from the point of view of Matt, who is a singer, dancer, and actor. He's invited to play a role in an off-off Broadway musical written by Ray Parrish, who is a Tufa.
Matt's journey brings him to Tennessee, to Tufa country. We meet some old friends there and some new ones.
If you haven't read this series, I highly recommend picking up The Hum and The Shiver, the first of the stories.
November 4, 2023
3.5/5
In true Alex Bledsoe manner, the strength of this book lies in the depiction of the Tufa, with the uncanny combination of their human-facing squalid, impoverished existence in rural Appalachia, alongside their otherworldly magic and music. Each part is equally real, both the mundane and inhuman. And both components have their good and bad elements; it's nothing so simple as 'squalid human side = bad; magical fairy side = good'. The human hicks can be kind and decent and bigoted and cruel; and the magic of their songs and flights can be sinister and beautiful.
This book is a departure from previous Tufa tales, told entirely from the perspective of an outsider, one Matt Johansson, a New York stage actor. He is cast in a musical about Tufa history written by an ex-pat Tufa named Ray(ford) Parrish, which centers around the mystery of an ancient article buried by a long-dead Tufa in an old Chapel of Ease down in Tennessee. For a while it seems as if the primary conflict in the book might relate to the reluctance of the Tufa community to see their story told to outsiders, attracting attention of the outside world, but that actually fizzles out in a way I'm not entirely sure worked. Instead, the primary tension centers around the mystery what's buried in the chapel. In the play the mystery is never solved, which drives the cast of the play wild with frustration. Eventually, Matt finds himself travelling down to Needsville, Tennessee, the heart of Tufa-land, to seek out the original chapel that the play was based on, and dig up the mystery to find out for himself what it is.
A great deal of this driving tension derives from the fact that Ray is adamant that, for the purposes of his play, the actual revelation of the mystery is second to the story that is built around it. For this reason it's not necessary to reveal the solution to the audience. The emotional drama is all the more powerful if people remember the mystery; because once it's solved they won't care anymore. And it's entirely clear that Alex Bledsoe is playing a similar game with us, the readers of the book. This means, though, that Bledsoe has tied himself in a knot, because if he reveals the mystery to us, the reader, he's betrayed Ray Parrish's deeply held belief that the revelation is irrelevant; but if he doesn't reveal it, then we the readers share in the cast's frustration at being kept in the dark. And although Bledsoe is a very good writer, he is not a fairy-descended Tufa whose powers of music and dance are literally magical, rendering the emotional arc of the story so compelling that the solution becomes irrelevant. I think he managed to thread that needle in a way that made sense, but I was still left feeling a little dissatisfied in the end.
I should also mention that, although Bledsoe does the cultural representation of rural Appalachia with sensitivity and nuance, he really struggles with other bits of representation. I'm still fuming at how he treated the one black guy in 'Long Black Curl', and in this book he decides to take on gay people. Matt is gay. Down in Needsville, he starts a romance with a gay Tufa man. This is fine. The Tufa, apparently, are totally cool with gay people (except when the nasty ones call them 'faggots' an awful lot, but this is explained as being 'not personal', because they just use all the racial slurs as needed for outsiders; which, apparently, makes it less bad?).
No, the problem is more a sort of clumsiness in dealing with the situation. First, Matt is constantly turning lustful eyes on everyone and worrying about whether he'll be able to work effectively with them through his insta-crush. This is something I always find irritating, because fucking adults should be able to fucking control themselves and do their fucking jobs. But, to be fair, in previous books lustful men turn their gazes on women to similar effect, so it's a sort of equal opportunity male gaze thing, I guess. Alex Bledsoe's men have real difficulty keeping their brains out of their pants. But Matt has a boyfriend back in New York at the same time he's hooking up with his Tufa lover. This is excused by the arrival of a text message apparently intended for someone else, which implies his boyfriend is cheating on him back in New York. But because cell phone reception is so bad in Needsville, Matt can't get in touch with him to hash it out; which means that, in the event the text message was in fact innocent, he was fully cheating on his boyfriend.
Also, Matt knows martial arts, because his father told him when he came out that he would need to learn how to defend himself. And he's constantly using it against Tufas giving him a hard time. To be fair, they're not giving him a hard time for being gay (he does an awful lot of trespassing in his search for the Chapel of Ease), but it's the being gay bit that was responsible for him knowing how to kick some ass. And it just has the same sort of tokenistic feeling of forced competence that sets my teeth on edge when a girl!boss and strong!female!character has no flaws in an attempt to counteract the narrative that girls are weak. Like, I get the intention. I understand where it's coming from. But it still feels off. Matt is a lustful gay guy who can't keep his eyes to himself, cheats on his lovers with other men, but isn't your typical pansy-ass weako, because he knows Muay-Tai. It's well-intentioned, but it's clumsy.
At least he doesn't end up dead like the token black guy in the last book. That's progress, I guess.
In true Alex Bledsoe manner, the strength of this book lies in the depiction of the Tufa, with the uncanny combination of their human-facing squalid, impoverished existence in rural Appalachia, alongside their otherworldly magic and music. Each part is equally real, both the mundane and inhuman. And both components have their good and bad elements; it's nothing so simple as 'squalid human side = bad; magical fairy side = good'. The human hicks can be kind and decent and bigoted and cruel; and the magic of their songs and flights can be sinister and beautiful.
This book is a departure from previous Tufa tales, told entirely from the perspective of an outsider, one Matt Johansson, a New York stage actor. He is cast in a musical about Tufa history written by an ex-pat Tufa named Ray(ford) Parrish, which centers around the mystery of an ancient article buried by a long-dead Tufa in an old Chapel of Ease down in Tennessee. For a while it seems as if the primary conflict in the book might relate to the reluctance of the Tufa community to see their story told to outsiders, attracting attention of the outside world, but that actually fizzles out in a way I'm not entirely sure worked. Instead, the primary tension centers around the mystery what's buried in the chapel. In the play the mystery is never solved, which drives the cast of the play wild with frustration. Eventually, Matt finds himself travelling down to Needsville, Tennessee, the heart of Tufa-land, to seek out the original chapel that the play was based on, and dig up the mystery to find out for himself what it is.
A great deal of this driving tension derives from the fact that Ray is adamant that, for the purposes of his play, the actual revelation of the mystery is second to the story that is built around it. For this reason it's not necessary to reveal the solution to the audience. The emotional drama is all the more powerful if people remember the mystery; because once it's solved they won't care anymore. And it's entirely clear that Alex Bledsoe is playing a similar game with us, the readers of the book. This means, though, that Bledsoe has tied himself in a knot, because if he reveals the mystery to us, the reader, he's betrayed Ray Parrish's deeply held belief that the revelation is irrelevant; but if he doesn't reveal it, then we the readers share in the cast's frustration at being kept in the dark. And although Bledsoe is a very good writer, he is not a fairy-descended Tufa whose powers of music and dance are literally magical, rendering the emotional arc of the story so compelling that the solution becomes irrelevant. I think he managed to thread that needle in a way that made sense, but I was still left feeling a little dissatisfied in the end.
I should also mention that, although Bledsoe does the cultural representation of rural Appalachia with sensitivity and nuance, he really struggles with other bits of representation. I'm still fuming at how he treated the one black guy in 'Long Black Curl', and in this book he decides to take on gay people. Matt is gay. Down in Needsville, he starts a romance with a gay Tufa man. This is fine. The Tufa, apparently, are totally cool with gay people (except when the nasty ones call them 'faggots' an awful lot, but this is explained as being 'not personal', because they just use all the racial slurs as needed for outsiders; which, apparently, makes it less bad?).
No, the problem is more a sort of clumsiness in dealing with the situation. First, Matt is constantly turning lustful eyes on everyone and worrying about whether he'll be able to work effectively with them through his insta-crush. This is something I always find irritating, because fucking adults should be able to fucking control themselves and do their fucking jobs. But, to be fair, in previous books lustful men turn their gazes on women to similar effect, so it's a sort of equal opportunity male gaze thing, I guess. Alex Bledsoe's men have real difficulty keeping their brains out of their pants. But Matt has a boyfriend back in New York at the same time he's hooking up with his Tufa lover. This is excused by the arrival of a text message apparently intended for someone else, which implies his boyfriend is cheating on him back in New York. But because cell phone reception is so bad in Needsville, Matt can't get in touch with him to hash it out; which means that, in the event the text message was in fact innocent, he was fully cheating on his boyfriend.
Also, Matt knows martial arts, because his father told him when he came out that he would need to learn how to defend himself. And he's constantly using it against Tufas giving him a hard time. To be fair, they're not giving him a hard time for being gay (he does an awful lot of trespassing in his search for the Chapel of Ease), but it's the being gay bit that was responsible for him knowing how to kick some ass. And it just has the same sort of tokenistic feeling of forced competence that sets my teeth on edge when a girl!boss and strong!female!character has no flaws in an attempt to counteract the narrative that girls are weak. Like, I get the intention. I understand where it's coming from. But it still feels off. Matt is a lustful gay guy who can't keep his eyes to himself, cheats on his lovers with other men, but isn't your typical pansy-ass weako, because he knows Muay-Tai. It's well-intentioned, but it's clumsy.
At least he doesn't end up dead like the token black guy in the last book. That's progress, I guess.
August 3, 2016
As a reader who doesn't typically read fantasy, I have to say this novel sucked me in from the very beginning! I love that it feels modern with the New York City/Broadway scene, and overlaps into the fantasy world of the Tufa in Tennessee. As this is the first Tufa book I've read, I can't wait to read the others!! It's truly an engaging, refreshing, and original story. It left me wanting to know more, and wishing that Chapel of Ease was a real play I could buy tickets for!
January 12, 2017
4.5 stars
This one was really quite good. At least half of it takes place in New York City centered around the theater.
There's also much more romance in this one than any of the previous entries although it's m/m romance. I really am enjoying this series. I'm glad it was recommended to me and that I picked it up.
This one was really quite good. At least half of it takes place in New York City centered around the theater.
There's also much more romance in this one than any of the previous entries although it's m/m romance. I really am enjoying this series. I'm glad it was recommended to me and that I picked it up.
August 17, 2016
For those reading the Tufa novels, the Chapel of Ease is a homecoming indeed. Alex always leaves the reader wishing to sink further into the world of the Tufa and rubbing the pages together while hoping to double the page count; this book is no exception.
October 8, 2016
This isn't as suspenseful as the previous books as the big reveals are over. Its more of a character driven love story with some adventure to the plot. If you find the dynamics of Tufa culture interesting you will enjoy adding this to the read list.
November 13, 2016
Will review at www.fantasyliterature.com
October 21, 2018
Chapel 0f Ease by Alex Bledsoe is book four in the series about the Tufa. There are some books and some series that you simply never want to see come to an end and the tales of the Tufa are such tales of love and bitterness. Tales of remorse and new beginnings. Tales of fantasy and of the stark reality of a people and place and of a homeland lost.
Matt Johanssen auditions for an off-Broadway production called the Chapel of Ease. He meets the show's writer and composer, Ray Parrish and finds himself instantly attracted to the young and strange young man. Parrish's charming southern lilt and dark looks have Matt finding himself falling in love with him. This is nothing new for Ray, this is something that comes easily for his kind. Ray Parrish is one of the Tufa and his play, the Chapel of Ease is one of the earliest tragedies of his kind. A tale of love and lost and tragedy. But as opening night approaches, strange things seem to happen around the play. A young dreadlocked girl follows Ray around and a woman warns him to stop the show. Then, after the show opens, Ray mysteriously dies in his sleep.
The cast are broken hearted but the show is sold out and the Chapel of Ease is drawing critical and heavy fan praise. The show is postponed for a week and Matt volunteers to take Ray Parrish's ashes back to his home in Tennessee. Back to Needsville. Back to the Tufa. Only Matt doesn't really know what is waiting for him deep in the Appalachian mountains where he will be cutoff from the world he knows. It is there that Matt hopes he will find out the real mystery behind the Chapel of Ease. The mystery of what is buried there.
The legend of the Tufa says that they can cast a spell on any regular people they come around. Women who fall in love with Tufa men will kill themselves once they are left and men fare no better with Tufa women. But there is much more to the Tufa than sex appeal. They are creatures of lore and dark history and they guard their secrets with brutal violence when necessary.
"...That's not what I mean. Raymond was gifted, even for one of us.' She seemed to read my thoughts, because she smiled and said, 'I must sound like a crazy person. What I mean is, most of the Tufa are musical. We start learning when we're babies how to sing and play. But only a few of us have the gift of creating great music out of whole cloth. Rayford was one of them.'
'And you don't approve of how he used that gift?'
'It's not me. It's...'
'His family?'
'Partly. They never approved of him running off to New York,'
'Why?' I pressed.
Bliss looked out at the trees again. I can practically see the truth straining to get past her reserve. 'Because he was drawing too much attention to himself.'
'Too much attention?'
'Had you ever heard of the Tufa before you met Rayford?'
'No.'
'Exactly. And a whole lot of us want to keep it that way. We like being forgotten, and it's getting harder and harder to do..."
The Chapel of Ease is a tale of forbidden and tragic love. It is also a mystery and like most mysteries in the world of the Tufa, it is well hidden by the past and by the power of the Tufa. If you have read any of the Tufa novels than you are very aware of who and what the Tufa are. If not, I will not spoil the pleasure of finding out the truth of the Tufa here.
Bledsoe has created a world of lore and fantasy, yet set so distinctly in the reality of the mountains of Appalachia and the remoteness and poverty of the life the Tufa lead. So different from the world they were banished from.
The books of the Tufa are fun and great reading. Pick these up!
Matt Johanssen auditions for an off-Broadway production called the Chapel of Ease. He meets the show's writer and composer, Ray Parrish and finds himself instantly attracted to the young and strange young man. Parrish's charming southern lilt and dark looks have Matt finding himself falling in love with him. This is nothing new for Ray, this is something that comes easily for his kind. Ray Parrish is one of the Tufa and his play, the Chapel of Ease is one of the earliest tragedies of his kind. A tale of love and lost and tragedy. But as opening night approaches, strange things seem to happen around the play. A young dreadlocked girl follows Ray around and a woman warns him to stop the show. Then, after the show opens, Ray mysteriously dies in his sleep.
The cast are broken hearted but the show is sold out and the Chapel of Ease is drawing critical and heavy fan praise. The show is postponed for a week and Matt volunteers to take Ray Parrish's ashes back to his home in Tennessee. Back to Needsville. Back to the Tufa. Only Matt doesn't really know what is waiting for him deep in the Appalachian mountains where he will be cutoff from the world he knows. It is there that Matt hopes he will find out the real mystery behind the Chapel of Ease. The mystery of what is buried there.
The legend of the Tufa says that they can cast a spell on any regular people they come around. Women who fall in love with Tufa men will kill themselves once they are left and men fare no better with Tufa women. But there is much more to the Tufa than sex appeal. They are creatures of lore and dark history and they guard their secrets with brutal violence when necessary.
"...That's not what I mean. Raymond was gifted, even for one of us.' She seemed to read my thoughts, because she smiled and said, 'I must sound like a crazy person. What I mean is, most of the Tufa are musical. We start learning when we're babies how to sing and play. But only a few of us have the gift of creating great music out of whole cloth. Rayford was one of them.'
'And you don't approve of how he used that gift?'
'It's not me. It's...'
'His family?'
'Partly. They never approved of him running off to New York,'
'Why?' I pressed.
Bliss looked out at the trees again. I can practically see the truth straining to get past her reserve. 'Because he was drawing too much attention to himself.'
'Too much attention?'
'Had you ever heard of the Tufa before you met Rayford?'
'No.'
'Exactly. And a whole lot of us want to keep it that way. We like being forgotten, and it's getting harder and harder to do..."
The Chapel of Ease is a tale of forbidden and tragic love. It is also a mystery and like most mysteries in the world of the Tufa, it is well hidden by the past and by the power of the Tufa. If you have read any of the Tufa novels than you are very aware of who and what the Tufa are. If not, I will not spoil the pleasure of finding out the truth of the Tufa here.
Bledsoe has created a world of lore and fantasy, yet set so distinctly in the reality of the mountains of Appalachia and the remoteness and poverty of the life the Tufa lead. So different from the world they were banished from.
The books of the Tufa are fun and great reading. Pick these up!
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