A beautiful cover, an interesting premise, and a death curse all tempted me towards reading Much of Madness by SE Summa. Thankfully, it all comes together for a wonderful payoff! If this was a standalone book, I would have given this a full five stars, but as it’s only the first in a series, it’s getting four since I know the next one will likely (hopefully?) expand on the wonderful foundation work laid here.
Summa does a fantastic job with the setting. You can tell she knows what she’s talking about as I was able to visualize the areas of New Orleans she spoke about, recognizing it from my visits there. The way she describes Nashville is just as vivid and really makes me want to book a trip there to learn about all of these fantastic areas. I want to see more of the city, and even the nature part of Nola and Nashville. Maybe in the second book??
The characters are fun. The relationship between Seraphina and Finn kills me. I just love it so much. It’s perfect. I especially love that Summa avoids creating ANY love triangles. Like wow, what a novelty, a male and female relationship that is platonic! Secretly, I kinda hope that it will always be Seraphina and Finn as the main priority in life, regardless of relationships. Then there’s Khat, Finn’s girlfriend. Seraphina dislikes Khat at the start, but then, she actually gets to know her and they actually become friends! Wow again! Women able to be friends instead of trying to fight with each other and mark their territory. It’s fantastic and feels so refreshing to read! The fourth main, Marceau, is good. He’s not as fun/flashy as Finn or Khat, but he seems perfect for Seraphina. He’s sweet and old-fashioned, but also has a great dark side (though who knows if its his dark side, or a by-product of his benefactor).
Now, to the story itself! It was super interesting! I think it was the perfect opening story to a series because it brings all four characters together and to an understanding. Seraphina wants to get rid of her curse. Finn wants her to be safe and happy. The other two are there to make that happen. Then, there’re the side stories between Marceau and Death, and Seraphina and Death, which will prove to be the greater story to come in the series.
Much of Madness by SE Summa is a really solid story with four likeable characters and I cannot wait to read the next book in the series!
