Passable horror story involving an old plantation, mysterious man-eating vines, and an old curse. I found Blake to be the most likable character. Mourning the loss of his murdered boyfriend, he winds up an unlikely hero by becoming part of the curse. The open-ended ending was not what I was hoping for. ( )

The Vines was a strange novel. It read quickly, (listened quickly?), and it was fun, but the whole time I felt that it was missing something .

I'm cool with plant-creatures and bugs, but I was not satisfied with the explanation for them, nor was I satisfied with the development of the characters. I especially loved Nova and while I felt she had plenty of page time, I did not feel that I got to know her as well as I would have liked. She discovered a program that a professor was putting together regarding slave narratives and I would have enjoyed learning more about that also.

A few times it seemed that the story was trying to figure out what it wanted to be. A commentary on slavery? On homosexuality? On the unfaithful? Or all of the above?

Overall, though, I did enjoy the quality of the writing and the descriptions. Even though I didn't out and out love this novel, I will try more of Mr. Rice's work in the future, because I feel like he has true writing chops and the potential to be amazing.

( )

I cannot express enough how much I loved this book! I honestly don't understand why it has such a low rating. I definitely recommend the book. Great writing Christopher Rice! ( )

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I'd actually chosen this book as a Halloween read, but I didn't manage to read it till late December. However I was really looking forward to it.

After Caitlin witnesses her husband's cheating on her at her Birthday party she decides to kill herself in the gazebo. But instead of dying her blood brings an old force back to life. What force? The very evil force of plants and bugs.

I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. The story was just very thin (not that I expected deep philosophical questions to be answers) and not that original. And there were a lot of things that just didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the story. The ending felt weird too. Although it never became the horror story I thought it would be, it was enjoyable to read (as long as I didn't start to think about the plot holes and just kept reading).

The writing was quite good, I still have another one of his books, A Density of Souls, and I'm hoping I will enjoy that story better. When I requested The Vines, I'd no idea it was Anne Rice's son and frankly I haven't read anything by her either, so I won't be able to compare anything.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ( )

The Vines is the latest Southern Gothic horror tale by author Christopher Rice and it is one very creepy story. It takes place in an old mansion on the outskirts of New Orleans. The mansion may have been restored to its original southern glory but it can’t escape its cruel southern past. In fact, when its owner, Caitlin Chaisson, tries to commit suicide after finding her husband with another woman, she fails but when her blood is absorbed into the ground, it sets off a horrifying chain of events that is rooted literally in that past.

This is a tale drenched in the lore, superstitions, and history of the Bayou and dripping with atmosphere and creepiness. Character development receives a bit of short shrift here but that’s okay because it is replaced by nature as antagonist and there is something truly frightening about the idea of nature as blood-thirsty villain. The Vines was great fun to read but I feel I need to add a warning because there is a downside to reading it - you may never look at vine-covered buildings the same way again. ( )