"When reclusive novelist Senna Richards wakes up on her thirty-third birthday, everything has changed. Caged behind an electrical fence, locked in a house in the middle of the snow, Senna is left to decode the clues to find out why she was taken. If she wants her freedom, she has to take a close look at her past. But, her past has a heartbeat..." -Goodreads “You'll feel me in the fall backwards."
Mud Vein is one of those books that when you're done and you put it down the first thing that you think is "what the hell did I just read?", and that's a good thing. I'm going to rate this book, but I have no idea at the same time if the rating will be fitting... I just don't know. I can see why someone would rate this a one and why someone would rate this a ten.
Mud Vein follows Senna, a recluse writer and Isaac, her ex. The two wake up locked away in a cabin in the woods. Neither of them remember how they got there, where they are, or why they are there. Despite their best efforts the two can't seem to escape. Senna is one of the most complex female protagonist I've ever read. She is a broken women. A sad women. Seeing everything as grey and empty. Senna is a female I think so many women can relate to, but again you might not be able to explain why. I personally felt this magnetic pull towards her. I constantly found myself wanting to know more about her. Senna's character was one of such little words, yet one that didn't need to speak all the time. It had me floored. Isaac, wow, he was a perfect male lead. I loved everything about him. I liked his light, his attitude, the way he was a nurturer, and how he was completely Senna's opposite. He is a leading male that I could spend so much time on gushing about. He is funny, sexy, charming, but someone that I feel (sadly) I can't go too in depth with. These two were day and night and their romance is gripping.
“You’ve been silent your whole life. You were silent when we met, silent when you suffered. Silent when life kept hitting you. I was like that too, a little. But not like you. You are a stillness. And I tried to move you. It didn’t work. But that doesn’t mean you didn’t move me. I heard everything you didn’t say. I heard it so loudly that I couldn’t shut it off. Your silence, Senna, I hear it so loudly.”
The two of them will also drive you mad! Tarryn has it so that she reveals their traits in such a peppered way that you'll be thirsty to know more. I was so frustrated by them that at around the 20% mark of this book I almost threw in the towel and DNF'd it. However, my goodreads friends told me to push through and just make it to the end. The uphill battle was worth it. I don't know how you're able to full understand a character, but feel at the same time you don't know them at all. That's how Tarryn makes you feel the whole time. Any flaws in the plot is repaired by these two characters. That and the romance. The romance in this book was so bizarre and amazing.
The plot of Mud Vein is all over the place. It's a romantic thriller and reads to a T like one. There is always something happening even in its more "calm" moments. The whole book is bang after bang, twist after twist. It's timeline bounces around often, and at first this made reading a bit confusing. That might have been what was so off putting at first. The fact that things took a while to click just made pulling through this book a little rocky... Then again I also won't say that things ever full click. It's in present time, past tense, and even at one point in time is from some else's point of view. Those chapters, the Nick ones, were my favorite. They are flawless!!! I could read an entire book from his POV. The plot, though "messy", still manages to somehow be put together and it's twist is a complete blindside. I did not in any way, shape, or form see it coming... Don't get me wrong, you know it's coming, and you've been waiting 200 pages for it but good God... My brain short circuited for a minute and I forgot how to breathe.
It's really genius... With that being said, there is also something missing about the ending. At first thought I didn't like it, but now having time to think about it I actually like how things are left off.
Mud Vein will pull you in, tear you apart, make you miss something you didn't know existed, and then... leave you wanting more. Mud Vein is a flawed book, and that is exactly what makes it so wonderful. It's scattered, muddy, and oh so dark. The best part of this book is that it is so, SO quotable. So many lines from this story had me in tears and those powerful beautiful lines are what gives this book an extra kick.
“He kissed me with color, with drumbeat, and a surgeon’s precision. He kissed me with who he was, the sum of his life—and it was all encompassing. I wondered what I kissed him with since I was only broken parts.”
Tarryn Fisher will make you realize that you don't have to be the sun, that you can be the rain... and that's okay.
10!?/10 Stars
-Angela
