Yellow Jessamine

Was okay, felt a little rushed in parts, especially towards the end. Might have been more interesting as a full novel.

This is very much an awkward story, but the vibes are immaculate. The craftsmanship leaves something to be desired, but considering I read Starling's later, much better constructed work first, I may be judging it too harshly. There are a few too many eleventh hour revelations, and the ending feels vaguely pasted on, but I really respect the commitment to not giving characters an easy way out, or readers an overly detailed play-by-play. Ultimately, this story does all the good things I expect every Caitlin Starling story to do: make me scared, make me happy, not let characters off the hook, and make me briefly question the nature of existence.

Yellow Jessamine by Caitlin Starling started incredibly strong but pittered out and ending with a whimper.

Evelyn Perdanu is a shipping magnate, the only living survivor of her family. She walks the city veiled and hidden away from the eyes of those around her. Her country is slowly dying, rotting away like food left out to spoil. Arriving from her last voyage out, she discovers that a plague has visited her city, and it is traced back to her crew. They act erratically and slip into catatonia. She begins to investigate the plague as much for the city's sake and those in it as for her own company and family name. What she finds is complicated and horrific.

Also highly confusing to me as a reader.

This story started beautifully. It was atmospheric and enchanting. We learn little bits of the background of Evelyn's life; we know a bit about the relationship she has with her assistant. We realize that Evelyn is a master herbalist, and she has used her herbal concoctions all over town, both for good and evil. This fantastic backstory for Evelyn gave me a solid foundation to picture her character in my mind.

This all takes place in the first act of the story.

When we start the second act, additional ideas and characters are added to the mix; the police captain, for instance. It gets confusing, and I was not sure of the importance of things. Should I, as a reader, be concerned by the Police Captain sniffing around? Or with the plague? Or with Evelyn's business interests?

By the third act, the story gets a bit stranger and still very confusing, and it just ends. I don't want to give it away, as the ending is very out of the left field.

Conceptually, this is a remarkable book. Starling absolutely knows how to work words into magic in the mind of the reader. During the story's first half, my mind's eye was covered in yellow smoke, twisted and thorny vines, and a woman sitting amongst it all veiled in black lace. It lost me in the second and third acts. The atmospheric description was constant, though, and that is why I finished the story.

Thank you Neon Hemlock Press & Netgalley for providing me with an arc for review.I wanted to love this more than I do. [b:The Luminous Dead 36117102 The Luminous Dead Caitlin Starling https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1536763558l/36117102.SY75.jpg 57707867] was a 3 star read as well but it left me with such an unsettling feeling for weeks after. I love what Caitlin Starling has brought to the table with her books. She has the ability to create some truly horrific women that I can't help but want to succeed. We are dealing with a novella here so I won't give too many details but I hoped for something else with the ending. It almost felt a little lackluster to me. I really liked seeing Starling's take on a gothic premise and am still looking forward to her upcoming releases.