Rating: 
Summary: Strong First Book
Review: I am writing this review from 37,000 ft, a first for me, and find it oddly humorous that I will pass over Chattanooga, TN in a few moments on my celestial journey from St. Louis to Orlando, considering I just finished Cherie Priest's Four and Twenty Blackbirds, a supernatural tale of the haunting and hunting of a young girl from that very town. I wonder if I were able to drop the book from an open window, would I be able to hit someone who recognized it? Four and Twenty Blackbirds definitely feels like a first novel in those first few hours of reading as we get to know her as an author and watch her characters crawl into our world from her rich, and dangerous imagination. Ms. Priest seems to be pushing the edges of the medium, using analogy and simile like a large hammer to bludgeon us with her wit and creativity. She uses images and phrases that please the mind like expensive chocolates please the palate. I often found myself rereading a particular phrase just to let it melt on my tongue a little longer. While momentarily pleasing, it does have the effect of pulling us out of the story. Once she gets past the basic introduction of the characters and into the main course of the story she begins to grow comfortable in letting the story create the images without pushing so hard and that's when things get really interesting. Her descriptions of the forests and hills around Eden's home had me swatting at insects and smelling moldy, humid air. Her characters began to grow into living breathing people before my eyes and soon I realized that I cared about them. I soon found the book hard to put down and, once I did put it down, hard to stop thinking about. Priest has created a wonderful story that pulls you into a fully realized locations full of interesting believable characters. I imagine that she has spent lots of time in forests, poetry slams and coffee houses to so easily transport us there with her. I thank her for allowing us along for the ride and for the delicious chocolates she provided along the way. I look forward to her next story if only so I can bite into it and let it drip down my chin.
Rating:
Summary: Chilling
Review: I don't normally like the word "engrossing," but it does describe this book. I could not put it down! The setting is richly detailed and compelling, and the narrorator's sense of alienation was sympathy-inducing rather than whiney. What makes it really great horror is that it only steps over into implausible, not going so far as to be impossible, and that makes for a definate, up-all-night with the lights on read.
Rating:
Summary: Chilling
Review: I don't normally like the word "engrossing," but it does describe this book. I could not put it down! The setting is richly detailed and compelling, and the narrorator's sense of alienation was sympathy-inducing rather than whiney. What makes it really great horror is that it only steps over into implausible, not going so far as to be impossible, and that makes for a definate, up-all-night with the lights on read.
Rating: 
Summary: Hard to put down!
Review: I found this book from up and coming author Cherie Priest hard to resist. It has a beckoning mixture of southern culture, ghosts, and horror. To put it simply.. read this book. I can hardly wait for new releases from Ms. Priest.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing.
Review: I just absolutely love this book. It's so haunting, and addicting, I just couldn't put it down. It's brilliantly written, very deep and dark. Cherie has a wonderful talent and I wish I had her knack for putting my darkest thoughts onto paper. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful!
Review: I loved the book - definately lived up to my expectations! Had a hard time putting it down!
Rating:
Summary: Simply Irresistible...
Review: I waited eagerly for my copy of Four and Twenty Blackbirds to arrive in my mailbox. Sadly, by the time it had, i was buried under a mountain of schoolwork. The book sat by my bedside, eagerly taunting me. I could not give in to its sweet words of seduction, for I had the feeling that if I did, I would not be able to escape the grasp of Cherie's enchanting tale... ...and I was right. Even reading through a fever induced headache, I simply could not put this book down.
Rating:
Summary: All I can say is "Wow."
Review: I was very surprised at this book, even though I'd been watching the author's writing habits and style for a while now. She's very crisp, clean, and draws on strings within the imagination-all things which make up a fascinating read, in my opinion. It's onlly lack is that it was too short, so now I get to sit on my hands waiting for another book!
Rating:
Summary: And still it lingers...
Review: I'm a pretty slow reader. It will take me weeks to finish a book, sometimes, and that's why I don't read too often. Very rarely can an author entangle my imagination to the point where I will actually set aside time to read or even carry a book with me so that I can grab a page or two if I find a few minutes of down time. Then again, very rarely do I find an author like Cherie Priest. Honestly, I've never been south to places like Florida or Tennessee... physically. Until I read Ms. Priest's first novel "Four and Twenty Blackbirds," I'd never even traveled to these places mentally. After finishing her book, though, I can remember feeling the sticky humidity and hearing the chirping of the locusts. Cherie Priest got into my head and painted the walls of my imagination with her mystery, her horror, her suspense, and her dark humor. It's been a couple of weeks since I finished reading it and I STILL find myself reliving some of my favorite and scariest moments. This book actually made me fear turning out my own lights, some nights. I remember experiencing a whole spectrum of emotions as I raced from page to page. Fear, anger, triumph, sadness, nervousness.. there was a movie playing in my head to this book. As an artist, myself, Cherie Priest is a true inspiration. She awakens your creativity and heightens your senses. Four and Twenty Blackbirds is a book that I will read again and again. It's hard to articulate just how incredible this book is. I'm recommending it to all my friends. Thanks, Cherie, for a wonderful journey through time and the supernatural. I can't wait for another.
Rating:
Summary: Astoundingly Captivating
Review: It has been a long time since I have found a book that has held me captive and made me really NOT want to put it down. I felt resentment towards sleep and going to work, because that would interfere with reading this book.
There were sections that made my skin crawl, and made me jump at every noise that I heard...I felt like I was there with the main character, experiencing everything that she was....
I can only anticipate more from Cherie, and am very anxious to read anything else that she puts out there...
This book is a MUST have!!!
| 
