Hello everyone!
I am back with another book review, Teeth in the Mist by Dawn Kurtagich. Thanks so much to Hachette Books Canada for sending me an ARC of this book for an honest review, as always, all opinions are my own.
This story follows three women along three different timelines. Zoey, in modern day, has been called to the ruins of Mill House ever since her father ventured there years ago and returned without his memories. After her mother tells her she is going mad just like her father, Zoey decides to make the trek to the eery abandoned home. In 1851, after the death of her father, Roan is sent to live under the guardianship of Dr. Maudley, whom she has never met. Arriving at the Mill House, Roan knows something isn't right there. The servants can't seem to leave and she doesn't know why she has been sent there, of all places. Hundreds of years earlier, in 1583, Hermoine Smith travels with her husband to a strange mountainscape where he is determined to build the largest water mill and mansion - no matter the cost.
I think each of these storylines was really well done and worked together well. Being that this was an ARC, there were a lot of pages that were promising final art and designs to come with the publication, so I think each perspective will be better illustrated than they were when I read them. I most enjoyed Zoey's perspective, but you definitely need the other two to help develop the plot and figure out - if you can - what is happening.
While this book had some creepy moments, it was not as horror-y as Kurtagich's other books, at least in my opinion. I usually spook pretty easily, but I was able to read this one before bed. I'm not sure if I'm getting more used to scary books or what, but I almost wouldn't even call this horror? There were definitely some occult/witchy things happening, but that wasn't necessarily scary to me.
This book is also apparently a retelling of the folktale of Faustus, one that I wasn't familiar with, but essentially a man sells his soul to the devil. I'm still not 100% sure if I'd call it a retelling, the book more uses the tale as a jumping point at the beginning and then loosely ties it back together towards the end.
Overall, I definitely think this was a good book, it just didn't scratch the usual Kurtagich itch I get when reading her books.