Ok so, I’ll admit I’m not always a fan of first person narration, but Barlow does it well. This book had some very chilling elements, and may not be for all readers. With that out of the way, it was interesting to watch Jack grow and develop as a character. There were a few snags in the flow, but not enough to make me not like this book. If you enjoy (very) dark horror, you’ll likely enjoy this quite a bit!

Pivot is the first book I have read by this author.

The story is about Jack who is raised by Cyrus, a mystical cult leader. While doing that he hones Jack into the perfect weapon to use against anyone who opposes him.

It is not long, however, before Jack discovers that Cyrus and Roland are not the only ones living in Cyrus’s mansion. There, too, exists a mysterious creature in the depths of the house with supposed immortal magic. According to Roland, this creature is responsible for all the miraculous things Jack has witnessed throughout her childhood, including Roland’s resurrection. The creature, potent and powerful, only weaken in the presence of Cyrus’s red velvet box—a dark, enchanted tool that grants Cyrus his invincibility and ensures his reign.

Sad to say I had to DNF this book. Not because of anything bad. I’ve just come to realize that horror and thriller books just aren’t for me.

Thank you again, though, for the opportunity to read and review this. Sorry it didn’t work out.

Wasn’t entirely sure what to expect with this novel, however sometimes I find that’s the best way to enter a story. Totally blind and at the mercy of the author. In this case it was a good choice as the author took me on a completely unexpected journey. I am a big horror fan, and this story was definitely laced with horror, but had a deep complexity which elevated the story beyond a simple scare-fest. The characters were very well-drawn and equally complex, leaving me with many moments where I questioned who exactly to root for. I will definitely be looking for more books from this author.

Rating: 8/10

A dark and twisted cult mystery that is begging to be read.

L.C. Barlow has spun together such an extraordinary story with Pivot. The setting is extravagant and luxurious despite the overwhelming feeling of despair as we journey through the book. Pivot is an eye-opener and gives the reader multiple lessons throughout. One strong theme throughout is that of redemption. No matter what we have done we can always change and I feel this is an important lesson for all of us to remember.

For me, a sign of a good author is the ability to craft a character that has all the usual traits of a villain but also makes us fall in love with them. Barlow does just that with Jack Harper. Jack is our protagonist that has been trained from a very early age to kill with no regrets for Cyrus. Even though we would understand Jack to be a bad person, Barlow pulls all the right strings and I found myself hopelessly in love with Jack and scared that something might happen to her.

I always like to include a ‘things I didn’t like’ section in my reviews but honestly, Pivot doesn’t have anything that I felt needed to be mentioned. It didn’t leave me wanting more, it didn’t leave me with a bad taste in my mouth so to say and I felt I was given enough detail about the mysterious *no spoilers* that I am happy to wait till the next instalment for this to be expanded on.

Now I will say that Pivot sits on the fence between a standalone and a ‘to be continued’ in terms of storyline. I am happy that I received a full story with Pivot but I’m a sucker for detail and I often find myself wanting more detail. Barlow leaves us wanting more from the story but not in a bad way. You will be wanting to pick up Perish, book 2 of the Jack Harper trilogy, after finishing Pivot and luckily for me I have a copy right next to me waiting to be read.

Keep an eye out for my review of Perish.

I did not receive this book despite downloading the title multiple times. I did not finish the book I did receive, the Late Bloomer, by Mark Falkin.

This thrilling YA Thriller is not for the faint hearted especially with the graphic first chapter and themes throughout the book. Saying that, I found the way this was written to be very enticing and didn't want to put the book down.
The only reason this is a 4 and not 5 stars is due to the over-use of metaphors, some were used effectively and spot on whilst others just seemed a bit thrown in.

The storyline is a classic "good" vs "evil" and moral compass story which always pulls me in and very easy to follow. I'm interested to see how "Jack"'s story continues.

I didn’t know what to expect with this one. The description was pretty vague, but the book pulls you right in showing you a young girl (who I thought was a boy for half of the book since they only ever call her Jack) being trained in the art of killing. Pretty cool, right?

Jack’s training is being conducted by a cultish leader, which sounds creepy, but picture that leader being charismatic and irrefutably likeable. Evil, sure, but you kind of like listening to him talk. Like Negan.

So creepy cult happenings going on everywhere, and you think you know what’s going on and have a grasp of everything and the stakes. Then a supernatural angle is brought in. Powers. And everything changes again.

Despite the constant shift, this isn’t a story full of twists and turns. I found myself surprised a few times, but there were no moments that shocked me. Twists were brought on slowly. At the beginning of the reveal, you don’t know anything, but before the reveal is done, you’ve figured it all out. Always interesting, but always a bit like slipping into a warm bath.

I feel like the characters were a bit lacking. The main few were pretty good, but anyone else was flat and often single-serving. They didn’t seem to have a life, or even an existence, outside of what our main characters needed them for.

This book would be a good fit for fans of Supernatural or Constantine. It was definitely a fun read, though I’m not sure if I’d be in for a sequel unless I knew certain characters would make a return…

From a young age, Cyrus has taught Jack to kill but what happens when it comes time for the student to
question her teacher?

This has got to be the most surprising book I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Pivot is a dark and twisted tale of dark magic, cult control and the internal struggle between what you have been taught and what you know to be right.

I enjoyed this book so much more than I feel I should have. From the very first page of kill training I was hooked and the author did not let up for a second! More than the plot, which was both fantastic and unique, I loved the writing. Barlow has taken horrific circumstances and turned them into something
beautiful, in a way, which is how the characters see them. Let’s be honest, Jack lives in a world where killing is a joy and the author has written that point of view in a way that the reader can really feel that.

“Murder is poetry...and I have written chapters with knives”

Who writes like that? I mean, how amazing is that singular line? Even though there were many awkward
moments and more than a few times where I was so frustrated at what Jack was doing and why, this book was so beautifully written that I was completely captivated right from that first, unsettling page.

Pivot is the twisted thrill ride I have been waiting years in line to get on and I can’t wait to get on again!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book to read and give my
own, honest opinion.

Pivot follows cult leader Cyrus as he builds an empire via intimidation, force of will, and undisclosed dark magic. Combining elements of horror, suspense, and the supernatural, Pivot is told through the eyes of Jack as a young child through late teenage years as he is groomed and shaped by fear and ritual abuse to become an obedient follower and assassin for Cyrus, the story is not for the faint of heart. As Jack learns that there is a being hidden in the house that is connected to Cyrus' power, he walks a fine line trying to discover more about it, and the suspense is palpable as Jack tries to investigate the house without being discovered by Cyrus. We know Jack is losing his humanity. Jack knows it, too. Will finding this hidden being be Jack's salvation, or his final damnation? This book stayed with me long after I finished it, and is a rather short but well written one. Recommended.

PIVOT is the first book in a trilogy, and I’m looking forward to reading more about Jack Harper. I was hoping to learn more about her in the first book by way of backstory, as the reader is given very little information about her. There was one scene where Jack’s actions are unclear to me, perhaps it was something I missed. I love stories centered around the supernatural, and this book didn’t disappoint in that regard. I definitely look forward to reading more books by L.C. Barlow.

Thank you, NetGalley and Rare Bird Books Publishing, for providing me with an advanced copy of PIVOT in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this YA thriller. Cults and the paranormal and twists and turns. Characters are interesting and motivations are unclear making for a fast page turning read.

This one was definitely not for me and it's not for the dark content involved either.
I don't actually mind dark in my books and actually read quite a lot of stuff that touches on the bizarre and just plain wrongness, but this just never manage to capture or even retain any of my attention and if I'm honest it was really bloody confusing and also at times rather boring.
If this wasn't a review copy I am sure this would have been a DNF, I persevered to see if it got any better for me.
This was told from the protagonists pov seven-year-old Jack after she is taken in by the mysterious and enigmatic cult leader Cyrus.
This cycles all the way from age seven up to seventeen giving us insight into Jack's strange and unusual childhood as she is taught by her new friend Roland everything she needs to know about killing.
This deals with themes that some readers might find objectable especially as Jack is so young when she begins her education of death.
Jack is a product of her upbringing and the seventeen-year-old Jack who chains smokes is proficient in death and also an addict is perhaps not a surprising end-game for the teenager but then add in a supernatural curve-ball in the shape of a mysterious creature held captive by her guardian in the mansion basement and this then becomes more about that age-old battle between good and evil and which entity will eventually come out on top here in regards to young Jacks inner battle.
I feel that though originally imaginative this lost points and by extension me in its actual execution.
It looked so good on paper but didn't for live up to its initial promise.
I believe there are two more parts to come after this but for me, this was the end of the line.
There was nothing technically wrong with the writing itself this really was just a strange one that I didn't enjoy.
I voluntary reviewed a copy of Pivot (Jack Harper Trilogy #1).

Pivot by L.C. Barlow is book one in herJack Harper Trilogy.
Pivot is written in a single pov, and that's fitting for the story and the characters.
Pivot is a read with dark scenes and not for the faint of heart.
Pivot is a unique story with great writing.
I enjoyed reading the book. 4 Stars.

"Yes, yes, murder is poetry... and I have written chapters with knives."

What a unique and interesting story. Opening chapter has a man teaching Jack, a seven year old, how to kill. Instantly intrigued! I know this has been published previously and after a cursory glance at the reviews after I finished, I wonder if I read the same book as those who read this years ago. How much did they change as the things people pointed out and didn't like, I didn't catch. How very curious.
"Yes, yes, murder is poetry... and I have written chapters with knives."

What a unique and interesting story. Opening chapter has a man teaching Jack, a seven year old, how to kill. Instantly intrigued! I know this has been published previously and after a cursory glance at the reviews after I finished, I wonder if I read the same book as those who read this years ago. How much did they change as the things people pointed out and didn't like, I didn't catch. How very curious.

What I loved about this is it has a bit of a sorrowful vibe from the get go. A seven year old kid (named Jack and who I stupidly thought was a boy until 60% in), is primed by Cyrus to be a killing machine as he (Cyrus) works to transcend himself up and above humanity. This isn't the work of God. He is on the other side of the veil and his manipulation and cult like fascination due to certain *powers* he wields, brings forth a purpose with no real ending. No real reasoning. And for this, I was utterly intrigued.

We see Jack through ten years. We see how she interacts with Roland and Cyrus and how smart she is in putting two and four together. To be honest, the last quarter of the book, while still fascinating, did begin to lose a little bit of luster. However, it did leave me wondering where does it go from there? But maybe that's a question that won't ever be answered and that's kind of the point. Seeing as this is the first in a trilogy, maybe I will get some answers... but I'm sure if I care to - and I don't mean that in a bad way. I'll certainly be side eyeing any red box that comes across my path and I certainly would be interested to see where this trilogy goes.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for my honest review

I know other reviewers have mentioned this as well, but man, talk about an opening to a book. Seven year old Jack is getting a life lesson, and that lesson is in killing. Jack is being trained into a weapon that Cyrus can use and keep at his disposal. Cyrus is the leader of a powerful cult and he has powers beyond Jack's imagination. 

There is plenty of violence to go around in this book, and I can see this not being for everyone. I also know that the first person perspective isn't a writing style most like - I'm not sure why - but that's always good to know before starting. This is a book where you need to suspend some reality, this falls into the paranormal/horror fantasy genre. I found this really absorbing and captivating. Barlow was able to keep the pacing up to where I kept saying to myself, "one more chapter", and that's always a positive! 

We go through a decade with Jack, from age seven to seventeen, and see the growth within the cult. How Cyrus is grooming her to be something she slowly realizes she doesn't want to be. She knows the secrets to Cyrus' powers and she is desperate to hold onto her humanity. Oh, I will mention, that I was 100% positive that Jack was a boy for a good portion of the book, oops. There were some questions and things were left open-ended, BUT you have to keep in mind that this is book one in the Jack Harper trilogy. I'm definitely curious to see where things will go from here and where Barlow will take Jack.

I enjoyed this title, though i thought it read more as a YA book than a regular adult fiction. The first third or half had a few clunky bits here and there, but I thought the whole mystery of revealing just what was the source of the villain's power was compelling. How the the strange things in her environment fit together was what kept me interested until the end. I would have liked a little more grittiness and realism Jack's preparation and her experience as an assassin. They came off as perfunctory, and lacking immediacy and real peril. It read a bit like an 80s movie montage...and not in a good way.

It had an interesting premise that could have been expanded on in more detail, but wasn't. The start of the main character's redemption story is not entirely believable, but of course desirable and so I suspend my disbelief. I'd be interested to see where the story goes over the next two books however.

Thank you to Red Bird Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So- here's the deal. And this isn't even a matter of like suspending disbelief or any of that because for a while it was a really good, if not horrific grimnoir satanic book. But then? Then I just got really confused.

Jack is basically taken in by a cult that is led by the devil (no, the actual devil) whose followers think he is the coming savior. And Cyrus (that's the name the devil, who has taken human form, is going by these days) has convinced everyone that Christians don't even really believe in God, just give them a hot minute and they will believe in Satan like really quick.

And while I think the part about turning to Satan is most definitely extreme. There are studies pointing to this generation holding the largest amount of atheists and agnostics to date- so there's that.

On a much broader scale, we a lot on the idea of angels vs. demons (or fallen angels, even) - if you look at Dogma, The Library of the Unwritten, Good Omens etc... there is a lot of exploration of what is actually good vs. what is actually evil, and how either extreme can go too far and cause issues. Or, how they can, actually work together. But I digress (which is real easy to do when you aren't sure what is happening to begin with).

So Cyrus takes a kid in, named Jack (I think he took him or bought him or just kidnapped him from his mom, who was an addict- not really clear on that point). Pivot is entirely told from Jack's point of view. However, it jumps back and forth across timelines (before and after Cyrus). So it is jack as a kid and then Jack while he's in college. And I've read books that take this structure before, so it isn't something I'm not used to but I this is really where I started losing track of everything and felt like I needed an etch-a-sketch.

Because the dots weren't connected. During the time as a kid, with Cyrus, he is being trained as an assassin, thief and basically learning all about what Cyrus is, and indoctrinated into the belief system,  and there is a mysterious box (that I still don't completely understand but has some magical power beyond what is already outlined in Cyrus being... well the devil). 

The other part is told from"post-Cyrus" when Jack is in college. And here is the part that really did me in. Because I'm not sure if it is like Jack blocked it all out, but he didn't because he's suffering from PTSD, I think because, even if he doesn't know it, I think he's showing all the signs of it. He has a drug problem, he's partying constantly and just not healthy.

Some might consider the next paragraph a spoiler- it is a reveal - one shocking reveal that I'm going to mention- because I have to- but it isn't the end but- skip it if you need.

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And then here is the real kicker-- because-- and again-- this is really when I started looking at reviews because I didn't want to start offending people by misrepresenting things I didn't understand- but no- this is what it is. Like I don't know 70%  into the book there is this big reveal that Jack is actually not a boy.  And not like he came out or is trans or identifies as... like he's a woman but that is not what the plot has you believe. BUT I DON'T KNOW WHY. 

I don't even mean I don't know why for the character. I mean I don't know why in the like the book- like what was the point. I would go back and reread to figure it out except- I'm not sure I would completely understand it even if I tried. Or then again- maybe I'm just an idiot and it was right there in plan site the whole time- and I just didn't figure it out. I'm not really sure. Because if you haven't noticed- I don't know much of what I read at all. 

And the way it keeps jumping back and forth (and yeah looking back on all the sexual exposure Jack has as a child- ok maybe there were clues- but then was the devil trying to convince Jack he was a boy or should I have known)? Except it doesn't help that the way they move from one timeline to the next is really jarring. Like whiplash jarring. So it didn't help my skills of deduction? 

And if is what Cyrus was trying to do... why not let the readers in on it- like- give us more back story or motivation or a plot device. Like still...
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And look, again, maybe I'm an idiot- I'm really willing to take this into consideration. Maybe this book was just like <insert literary figure here> that wrote this horror, satanic, cult, social experiment book that just went completely over my head. 

I'm completely willing to accept that. If you read this book and you want to throw something at me and say ... DID WE READ THE SAME BOOK? BECAUSE THIS IS GENIUS! THIS IS A COMMENTARY ON X, Y, AND Z (well outside of what I did compliment it for up front), I get it. No problem.

I'm willing to take that stance of, its me not the book, it is me on this one. OR even that it is the edition of the book I read.  And if it is a question of this edition being a chopped up, mess of the original- then please don't come after me because I can't help what happened there. 

Last. Lord. The ending. I don't even know. It's like. Jack thinks about doing something. Is about to and then boom. Book ends. I know there is another book coming but still. I was like. But what because it is all ambiguous on what or whether and consequences of such actions if it happens? 

So if you were wondering why I hadn't posted this review a month after I read the book?Now you know why. It is near migraine inducing. If anyone does read it or has read it... I'd love to hear from you... because I'm just curious. Some people REALLY loved it. Seriously. Some people DNFd it. Some hated it. And then some read the old version. And I? I was just confused.

Metaphorically heavy, deeply disturbing and quite honestly, solidly written with what is probably an unrelaiable narrator vibe this mystery was solid and kept me on the edge of my seat while reading. I really enjoyed the book and felt that it was interesting, even if I had to suspend disbelief at some point.
I had a very few minor niggles, which reduces my rating somewhat, though it's hard to explain exactly what it was. There were a few inconsistencies, I felt, in behaviour and motivation, but that was all.
An enjoyable read.