Book Review: Smoke and Key by Kelsey Sutton
Media Type: Ebook (ARC)
Title: Smoke and Key
Author: Kelsey Sutton
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Pages: Paperback; 304
Release Date: April 2, 2019
Source: NetGalley
Content Screening: Mild Violence
HDB Rating: 3*
Recommended to: Readers who enjoy slow burn stories.
A sound awakens her. There’s darkness all around. And then she’s falling…
She has no idea who or where she is. Or why she’s dead. The only clue to her identity hangs around her neck: a single rusted key. This is how she and the others receive their names—from whatever belongings they had when they fell out of their graves. Under is a place of dirt and secrets, and Key is determined to discover the truth of her past in order to escape it.
She needs help, but who can she trust? Ribbon seems content in Under, uninterested in finding answers. Doll’s silence hints at deep sorrow, which could be why she doesn’t utter a word. There’s Smoke, the boy with a fierceness that rivals even the living. And Journal, who stays apart from everyone else. Key’s instincts tell her there is something remarkable about each of them, even if she can’t remember why.
Then the murders start; bodies that are burnt to a crisp. After being burned, the dead stay dead. Key is running out of time to discover who she was—and what secret someone is willing to kill to keep hidden—before she becomes the next victim…
I’m a huge fan of Kelsey Sutton’s writing, that’s no secret at all. Each time a new book from her comes out, I eagerly grab a copy and curl with it. Smoke and Key was no exception to this rule and I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy. That made me one happy bookworm. Alas, the first time that I read this book I was in a weird time in my reading world and I didn’t click with it. Thinking that it was probably only fair to give it another shot, I read this again only a few weeks ago. This review is of that second read through.
First, credit where credit is due, Sutton’s gorgeous writing is just as vivid here as her last books. From the moment that Key falls into Under, I could picture the space around her. Dark, damp, full of twists and turns. Likewise, I could instantly picture the inhabitants of that world. People woken from their eternal sleep in various stages of decay. People who have lost their memories, and little pieces of themselves along the way. People clinging together to try and create a new home where they fit in. Key snugged into that space just perfectly and, since she was immediately likable, I had a great time following her through this story.
My biggest problem with this story was the pacing. There were portions that flew by, as Key uncovered part of the mystery surrounding her past life. However the majority of the story just took a long time to really get around to what it wanted to show the reader. Add in the fact that the magical aspects of this story weren’t quite fleshed out as well as I would have liked, and that essentially explains why this book and I didn’t click. As sweet and brave as Key was, as dreamy and mysterious Smoke was, I needed that link between them to be a little clearer so I could really soak it all in.
Overall, I loved the concept of this story! I loved the characters, and the little romance that was brewing. I just needed the rest of it to be hammered down a little more. I needed footing that was a little more solid. That’s why I’d give this book a three star rating.
