Review of Killing the Rougarou
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Meghan Werner
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- Latest Review: Killing the Rougarou by Shawn M Beasley
Review of Killing the Rougarou
[Following is a volunteer review of "Killing the Rougarou" by Shawn M Beasley.]
Killing the Rougarou is the story of James “Girl” Gauthier. James is the only girl of 4 children and the apple of both her father and grandfather’s eye. When James was a little girl, she was attacked. This begins a series of tragedies that mark different points of James’ life. Though her attacker was caught and went to prison, she finds it difficult to form relationships and often struggles with anxiety and feeling out of control in her life. Before the attack James’ family was carefree, but after it felt like a wall was built around the Gauthiers. Just when James is making the decision to move on with her life, by leaving home and spreading her wings, her past comes back to haunt her. While trying to form a relationship with Cat, she must confront her demons.
My first impression was that there was a lot of telling. I felt like the amount of information given made the beginning of the story feel stilted. It took me out of the story. The author wanted to introduce all the information immediately, instead of allowing it to be introduced organically as it fit into the story. I felt the author’s pride in their place of origin, but many of the details felt unnecessary or were placed in the story awkwardly. In other books that I’ve read with similar explanations required, the author had a dictionary of terms, etc. elsewhere within the book.
Once I got past the first quarter of the book, I definitely enjoyed the story more. However, I had an issue with the lack of self-awareness of any of the characters. And that didn't change throughout the book. There was little to no character growth. The only character growth that I noted was reliant on the relationships. One character meets another character and falls in love and suddenly they’re different.
The timeline was also awkward for me. We have the setup of the overarching theme in the prologue, and it makes sense. But then we go back in time to the beginning of the relationship of Matthew and Jessie, the main character’s parents. There was a lot more emphasis on that relationship than I felt made sense for this story. This story is part of a series and the backstory of that relationship and what happens to one of the characters may have been better suited as a prequel.
I think focusing so much on that relationship took away from what could have been character growth of the main character. I liked the idea of James as a character. There was room for her to grow and evolve, but there was a missed opportunity. And focusing so much on Matthew and Jessie and their history meant that it took quite a bit longer to get to the conflict that defines the story than I was comfortable with. This part of the story felt too long.
After the prologue, when we go back in time, the timeline is pretty linear until the last quarter of the book. Then we're thrust back and forth through time in other characters' stories. It was confusing.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories about family dynamics and complicated relationships. Readers who dislike a surprise pregnancy and miscommunication should avoid this book. Additionally, anyone who has triggers surrendering sexual assault, should skip this one.
I’m rating Killing the Rougarou a 3 out of 5. Because though I enjoyed the premise, the execution wasn’t my favorite. The jumping around in timelines was often confusing and the character growth could have been better.
******
Killing the Rougarou
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Killing the Rougarou is the story of James “Girl” Gauthier. James is the only girl of 4 children and the apple of both her father and grandfather’s eye. When James was a little girl, she was attacked. This begins a series of tragedies that mark different points of James’ life. Though her attacker was caught and went to prison, she finds it difficult to form relationships and often struggles with anxiety and feeling out of control in her life. Before the attack James’ family was carefree, but after it felt like a wall was built around the Gauthiers. Just when James is making the decision to move on with her life, by leaving home and spreading her wings, her past comes back to haunt her. While trying to form a relationship with Cat, she must confront her demons.
My first impression was that there was a lot of telling. I felt like the amount of information given made the beginning of the story feel stilted. It took me out of the story. The author wanted to introduce all the information immediately, instead of allowing it to be introduced organically as it fit into the story. I felt the author’s pride in their place of origin, but many of the details felt unnecessary or were placed in the story awkwardly. In other books that I’ve read with similar explanations required, the author had a dictionary of terms, etc. elsewhere within the book.
Once I got past the first quarter of the book, I definitely enjoyed the story more. However, I had an issue with the lack of self-awareness of any of the characters. And that didn't change throughout the book. There was little to no character growth. The only character growth that I noted was reliant on the relationships. One character meets another character and falls in love and suddenly they’re different.
The timeline was also awkward for me. We have the setup of the overarching theme in the prologue, and it makes sense. But then we go back in time to the beginning of the relationship of Matthew and Jessie, the main character’s parents. There was a lot more emphasis on that relationship than I felt made sense for this story. This story is part of a series and the backstory of that relationship and what happens to one of the characters may have been better suited as a prequel.
I think focusing so much on that relationship took away from what could have been character growth of the main character. I liked the idea of James as a character. There was room for her to grow and evolve, but there was a missed opportunity. And focusing so much on Matthew and Jessie and their history meant that it took quite a bit longer to get to the conflict that defines the story than I was comfortable with. This part of the story felt too long.
After the prologue, when we go back in time, the timeline is pretty linear until the last quarter of the book. Then we're thrust back and forth through time in other characters' stories. It was confusing.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories about family dynamics and complicated relationships. Readers who dislike a surprise pregnancy and miscommunication should avoid this book. Additionally, anyone who has triggers surrendering sexual assault, should skip this one.
I’m rating Killing the Rougarou a 3 out of 5. Because though I enjoyed the premise, the execution wasn’t my favorite. The jumping around in timelines was often confusing and the character growth could have been better.
******
Killing the Rougarou
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Killing the Rougarou by Shawn M Beasley
