La Cachette, Louisiana is a town of 106. The only time that number changes is when someone is born or dies but never because people choose to come here. It’s a close knit town and proclaims itself to be the ‘Psychic Capital of the World’. Being less than 2 hours south of New Orleans, La Cachette, gets it’s fair share of tourist too which help to keep the town alive. La Cachette is also a place where magic lives and has lived for generations.
17 year old Grey, one of ten kids known as the Summer Children and born during a single summer, is home for the summer holiday. During the year she lives with her dad, but come summer she’s back home with her grandmother Honey. This summer is different though, as one of the Summer Children and Grey’s twin flame, Elora is missing. Grey is determined to figure out what happened to Elora this summer, but must uncover secrets that have been buried for 17 years to find the truth.
I don’t know what I was expecting, but I was not expecting to absolutely love pretty much everything in this story. From the witchy vibes to the cajun reference, this supernatural mystery was phenemonal. I honestly can’t believe this was a debut book.
I adored the small town setting, with Sain’s writing making me feel like I was there. All of the characters were well developed, unique, and complex. Especially our Summer Children, who all have such distinct psychic gifts. I appreciated that Sain steered clear of too many New Orleans cliques but really bother the Cajun aspects out through her writing. I really don’t have a negative thing to say about this story.
If you enjoy YA mysteries, or are in need of a witchy and atmospheric read for the fall, than this is the perfect read for you. I can’t recommend it enough!
Dark and Shallow Lies comes out September 7, 2021. Huge thank you to Penguin Random House and Razorbill Books for my advanced copy for my honest review. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof_books.
