Sometimes, books just don’t hit the spot. And this just happens to be one of them, for me. If you’re new to my blog, you know that I do my best to remain impartial while writing reviews. There are plenty of books out there that aren’t for me, but might be someone’s new favorite. While reviewing, I try to focus exclusively on objective criteria. If my personal feelings on a book differ greatly from that, I’ll disclose my own personal thoughts and feelings as its own entity. I’m sure you can imagine where I’m going with this, right?
Before I get into the nitty gritty, let me tell you about Small Angels by Lauren Owen.
Chloe and Sam have come to a small Suffolk village for one reason and one reason only—to be married. Lured in by St. Michael and All Angels church (otherwise known as Small Angels)’s rustic charm, she’s determined to have a quaint, intimate wedding in her groom’s childhood home town. To her surprise, the villagers seem less-than-pleased. In fact, most seem to think it’s a bad idea. Just at the edge of Mockbeggar Woods, she soon realizes that the natural splendor loses its charm when something sinister begins to stir within.
Objectively, this book is atmospheric and haunting. Owen’s writing can inspire goosebumps and an overwhelming sense of foreboding. This ghostly small town horror certainly has enough layers of mystery to keep the reader turning its pages. The pacing was a bit too slow for my taste. I expect a certain measure of build-up to make the “spooks” impactful, but in the end it ended up feeling overwritten. The introduction to the book featured a prolonged speech that bordered on the edge of “info-dumping.”
I do my best to avoid spoilers in my reviews, but for the sake of explaining my reasoning, I feel that it is pertinent to give some minor spoilers. Proceed with caution, friends!
A huge part of the mystery surrounding Small Angels is simply that no one will talk about it. And seemingly for no reason. It left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth that so much of the happenings could have been resolved with a warning from the groom-to-be. I wasn’t particularly keen on how the “grand reveal” went either, where Sam seemed nonplussed about his bride’s experiences. Owens did explain in the end why no one spoke about the church, nor its mystery, but it felt almost like an afterthought addition. As if the story was already hurtling down hill, and there needed to be a convenient explanation for why Chloe was allowed to slip so far through the cracks.
Overall, I feel like this book can be objectively rated a 3.75, or even a 4 star. For me, personally, it was a 3 star.
Now, onto my reasoning.
I felt that the book was dense, bordering on overwritten. I didn’t much enjoy the reading process. It felt more like slogging through the chapters, purely so that I could unravel the mystery. The story focused primarily around Chloe, which I felt was a disservice. The Gonne family was infinitely more interesting (particularly Lucia). The story might have been more enjoyable if it was written from the perspective of Lucia watching as another horror began to befall Small Angels. But, that’s just my own personal preference!
As it bears repeating, I’m sure this book is going to be someone’s absolute favorite book of all time. Owens does write beautifully and the story is very interesting. I believe this is just another simple situation of, “it’s just not for me.”
Have you read Small Angels? What were your thoughts? If not, have you ever been disappointed by a book you had high hopes for?
You can find Lauren Owen: Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter, and Website.
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Ivy Whitaker 