Black Iris

by Leah Raeder

Laney Keating's senior year of high school sucked. It began with one moment of weakness, one stupid gesture for a hopeless crush. Then the rumors started. Slut, they called her. Queer. Pillhead. Psycho. Mentally ill, messed up, so messed up even her own mom decided she wasn't worth sticking around for.

If Laney could erase that whole year, she would. College is her chance to start with a clean slate.

She's not looking for new friends, but they find her: charming, handsome Armin, the only guy patient enough to work through her thorny defenses-and fiery, filterless Blythe, the bad girl and partner in crime who becomes closer than a sister.

But Laney knows nothing good ever lasts. When a ghost from her past resurfaces-the bully responsible for everything, the boy who broke her down completely-she decides maybe it's time to live up to her own legend. And Armin and Blythe are going to help.

Because that was the plan all along.

Because the rumors are true. Every single one of them. And Laney is going to show them just how true. She's going to show them all.

• ISBN10: 1476786429
• ISBN13: 9781476786421
• Publish Date: 7 May 2015 (first published 28 April 2015)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 12 July 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Atria Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[kimbacaffeinate]

Caffeinated Aspects:

• If unreliable narrators and dark tales filled with violence, addiction and damaged soul’s intrigues you then grab those earbuds. Raeder’s writing is beautiful, twisted, gripping and utterly soul wrenching. It is a story about vengeance, hate, prejudice, loss and love. Black Iris visits all those dark places your mother warned you about. Grace Grant does a brilliant job capturing the characters and setting the tone as she guides you down the rabbit hole.


• Our protagonist Laney Keating is an unreliable narrator and like her or love her, she takes the reader on one twisted mind-f@ck of a journey as she seeks revenge. Learning her story and traveling with her will have you cringing, feeling sorry for her, loathing her, understanding and misunderstanding her. It is like watching a train wreck- you do not want to see but you cannot quite turn away.


• I loved Raeder’s writing style it was almost lyrical as she weaved in quotes from authors and poets that eloquently expressed Laney’s feelings. Throughout this twisted tale, she addresses some dark subjects that include mental disease, drug addiction, lesbianism and bisexuality. We witness multiple partner encounters, prejudice, revenge and death. It is sometimes cruel, shockingly truthful at times and touches on the darkest aspects of humanity. Shocking, brilliant, and what the bloody hell all came to mind as I listened.


• Black Iris held me spellbound even as I shuttered. It was like a haunted fun ride at the Jersey shore. I held on because I could not imagine where the story would turn next. The last quarter of the book had me gasping as Raeder took even this experienced rider through unexpected twists and revelations. Her ability to make you loath and love the characters was impressive and she took her time fleshing out the story and provided a satisfying ending for the reader.

Decaffeinated Aspects:

• Black Iris is dark and I loved this twisty tale, but my friend and I talked about the book and maybe it is our age, but we both felt that it romanticized drug usage and alcohol addiction. Part of this stems from the author’s writing style and her poetic interpretation of the character's emotions and mindset. I am not saying it was not portrayed correctly for the story- but I am giving you fair warning, this is not a read for unstable or impressionable young minds.


• Raeder takes a no holds barred approach to drugs, mental illness, death and prejudice- particularly against lesbians and homosexuals. It is dark and may be disturbing for some readers.

Black Iris was a mind-tripping twisted tale that I won't soon forget.  For me the audio version enhanced the ride by notching up the suspense and bringing the characters to life. Leah Raeder is an author whose works I plan to continue reading.

Audio provided by publisher. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer

[whisperingchapters]

This review can be found on Latte Nights Reviews

A dark and twisted tale of an anti-heroine who will seduce you, lure you in and scare you.

I had no idea what I was going to read. All I knew was that the blurb definitely got me hooked and Natasha from Book Baristas kept saying the book was amazing and everyone had to read it.

This story is so twisted like you cannot begin to imagine! For the first time in my life, I enjoy a story that openly talks about lesbianism and bisexuality. Our heroine, or shall I say, anti-heroine of the story is not one you usually tend to like. Laney has been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, which means she is a very mentally and emotionally unstable human being. She is a character who has "manipulating" as second nature.

I am not the heroine of this story... I'm diagnosed borderline and seriously fucked-up. I hold grudges. I bottle my hate until it ferments into poison, and then I get high off the fumes.

Her past is not one you want to have. Her parents are very dysfunctional. Laney didn't even have friends in high school, especially after a scandal video made it's way into the hands of her classmates. If she used to be an outcast, she was the dust beneath your shoes after that video. One night she meets an interesting pair: Armin, a guy who treats her as if she were a psychiatric client but can't help loving her. And she meets Blythe, an intoxicating woman that Laney cannot stop thinking about. They make her feel so energetic and alive. You would think that being them will help her find redemption and save her... In the end, she is not the only one who needs saving.

This book was a major mind-fuck, the kind that I love to read. I love stories that give me a headache, trying to figure out what is going to happen, only to receive a major slap in the face at the end. It is filled with flawed characters and plot twists that you will never see coming.

Leah Raeder is an author that has a beautiful writing. Her writing is intricate, poetic, lyrical, at times metaphorical... All of these laced together can bring a very imaginative and compelling story that will leave readers excited and impatient for more.

[Angie]

I received an ARC through NetGalley.

Black Iris was very exciting for me. I loved the sound of it in the blurb, and the author's comments on it, and I did love reading it until the end. It's twisty, and mindscrewy, and sexy, and dangerous, and you never knew who's who or what's what, or what happened and when, or if it actually even happened. It was intense. Laney is not a good person. She's not someone I liked. But she's someone I liked reading about and ultimately was rooting for her.

Black Iris alternates between past and present. Chronologically, it starts on Valentine's Day of Laney's senior year in high school, follows her through that summer after, starting college, and then a year later when all of the crazy went down. I almost always like stories told this way, and this was no exception. Laney's story kept me on the edge of my seat! She is an unreliable narrator, and the jumpy timeline makes sure you never knew what was coming or what happened, or who found out what and when. The more I read, the more I had to know!

However, I must say that I hated the writing style. I am not a fan of millions of metaphors and similes. It probably works better for Black Iris than other books, since Laney is a writer and it fits the way she thinks. But that doesn't mean I like it. I also found myself annoyed whenever Laney mentions that this isn't a typical college romance novel. We don't need to be told that. It's obvious from just reading it! This was completely unlike any other NA I've read, and all of those "If this were a college romance..." bits irked me and made me feel like author was trying to convince me of that when it wasn't even needed.

Now, what I absolutely loved about Black Iris was how Laney's sexuality was discussed. She's not gay, she's not bi, she's just Laney. Yes, there is something going on between her, Blythe, and Armin, but it's not really what you'd expect. Especially as more reveals come about. I was hoping for menage, but that's not what this story is. It goes beyond that! There is a lot of sex, and it's great sex. But back to Laney's sexuality. I really loved how she talked about it. At times I felt like she was talking about me! I've never felt fully comfortable with the bi label, even though that's what I identify as for simplicity's sake. I also loved her descriptions of girls loving girls. It's a beautiful and complicated phenomenon.

Like I said, I loved Black Iris for the most part. It kept me hooked. I couldn't figure out what the heck was going on, and Laney reveals it to us in little pieces, all out of order, which kept me furiously flipping pages. But then everything comes together, and one reveal just made me roll my eyes and my frustration was audible. I could not buy into that. It seemed so out of left field and disingenuous, and lost me completely. Everything had been leading up to that moment, and then it all crumbled around me.

Black Iris is one of those great books with an awful ending that ruins it all. The whole story is quite over-the-top, but I could totally believe Laney's need for revenge and the chaos that ensues. It was just that one little thing that went too far for my liking. If it hadn't been the reason for everything that happened, I would have rated higher, but unfortunately it's how it all gets started.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.