Please note that this book is not for me - I have read the book, However I had to DNF and because i do not like to give negative reviews I will not review this book fully - there is no specific reason for not liking this book. I found it a struggle to read and did not enjoy trying to force myself to read this book.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused and thank you for the opportunity to read this book

Awesome Irish YA dark fantasy. This is excellent reading and I can’t wait to start the sequel.
After finishing this I bought the audiobooks as I want to hear the story!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

Set in Ireland, this present-day folk story tells the tale of twin sisters Madeline and Catlin who, with their mother, move in with the mother’s new husband Bryan. Bryan just so happens to live in a castle. In the town girls have gone missing for generations and only body parts have ever been found.

I liked how eerie and atmospheric this book was and each character had depth to them. The only thing I didn't like in this book was the very graphic description of animal abuse and think there should be some warning for readers especially as this is meant to be a YA novel.

This is a creepy little book that's more contemporary with a dash of unsettling <em>otherness</em> than a full on fantasy - but uses that to great atmospheric effect.

It is really unsettling at times, thanks in part to the fragmented and at time apparently disconnected sentences used. It's not what you expect and breaks the flow, putting you on edge. You know there's something going on, something hidden below the surface, but not what. And the book rarely ends up actually explaining it, so there are more unanswered questions than answered. It makes it feel like fighting up a sand dune, unable to get enough purchase as there's so much obscured. You have enough to understand what's happening in the now, but not what's happening in every part of the world - which really helps drive the atmosphere.

At its heart, this is a book about twin sisters, and a manipulative, predatory man taking advantage. It's about toxic relationships and controlling, isolating behaviour - and how trying to intervene can be turned against you. How there often isn't a "right choice" to make in those situations where you want to help because it's such a toxic web.

I'll be honest, I did not like Catlin. The story is told from Madeline's perspective, and I am much more like her (quiet and not fond of having to meet new people.) While Catlin can be a wonderful sister, it often felt like it was only when in private, when there wasn't someone to impress. Otherwise, everything had to revolve around her (and so she makes some truly horrible remarks about Madeline's sexuality because it's a conversation that centres Madeline and is about a part of her life that doesn't need Catlin.) I wanted someone to sit Catlin down and force her to see how self-centred and dismissive she was.

In all, it was a really well crafted book, and I will be interested to read the sequel at some point.

This is an object lesson in not being seduced by a pretty cover into requesting the first and second book at the same time ☹ I’d forgotten that I’d read some of this author’s work before and found that her style did not gel for me. This was no exception. When the darker parts of the book were happening, I was engaged, but the rest was very bland. And yes I can see what she was going for but story is king and she just didn’t deliver an engaging story for me. Someone who likes misty, literary fantasy which focuses on coming of age may like it more than I did.

Perfectly Preventable Deaths was something that I thought would be absolutely perfect for me. It sounded unique and spooky and just what I was looking for, for the spooky season. Unfortunately this one fell a little bit flat for me. It was intriguing but slow in pacing. As a plot-driven reader, slow pacing just doesn't really do it for me. I may go back to this one at some point but for now I am putting it to one side and picking up something else. If you love intrigue and not a lot of action, you'll probably love this one but unfortunately this one just wasn't to my tastes.

Full of dark humour and beautiful prose, Deirdre Sullivan’s unsettlingly creepy and wickedly macabre gothic YA thriller is what I’d imagine Netflix’s Sabrina would look like—if Holly Black and Krystal Sutherland co-wrote it!

Everyone in Ballyfran has a secret, and that is what binds them together…

When sixteen year old twins, Madeline and Catlin move to the strange and isolated town of Ballyfrann, a place littered with the corpses of small creatures, infamous for the young girls who’ve gone missing over generations in surrounding mountains they now call home.

As a distance starts to grow between them, Catlin falls in love as Madeline begins to understand her own witch-like abilities she quickly realised that Ballyfrann isn’t nearly as unassuming as she’d originally thought. For the place is full of predators and the wildlife isn’t all they hunt.

And when Catlin falls into the gravest danger of all, Madeline must ask herself who she really is and who she might have to become to save her sister.

I’m in awe at how much I loved this, the world building was incredible and the unsettling feeling Dierdre Sullivan manages to portray even in the most mundane moments was just spectacular. From the moment both girls arrived at their new home dubbed ‘the murder palace’ I got a sense of foreboding and dread that only heigtened as the story progresses.

I loved Madeline, who was the more introverted and awkward of the twins but seemed to be one of only a few characters that actually picked up on the strangeness of everything. I mean, secretive and evasive locals are a huge red flag (though I must confess, I do find unusually small towns creepy at the best of times.)

We don’t get much character development outside of Madeline and her family (and Lon) but with the standoffish nature of the town it really plays up the uneasiness that the setting evokes.

The inclusion of missing girls into the plot was also pretty ingenious but also felt rather prescient given the events that’ve transpired in the UK (and in many other places) involving the harassment and violence against women. It’s this (grounding the gothic horror elements in reality) that makes it all the more eerie, but for reasons other than the supernatural.

Overall a quick and undeniably addictive read—and that ending was definitely a shocker I literally cannot wait to start Precious Catastrophe.

Also a huge thank you to Hot Key Books and NetGalley.

Madeleine and her twin sister, Catlin, are moving with their mum to their new step-dad Brian's hometown of Ballyfrann. A town that is known for missing girls, and found body part in the mountains. To the castle - an actual castle - Brian's father built, and where Brian's aunt Mamó also lives - a surly woman who constantly glares at them and doesn't seem to want them around. It's a small town where everyone seems to know everyone, but no-one really seems all that interested in getting to know them. Except for Lon, an older boy of 19 or 20, who has taken a keen interest in Catlin - who's interest is very much returned. It doesn't take long for Catlin to become infatuated with him, but Maddie has felt uneasy about him since they met. Maddie herself is feeling quite strange; there's some instinct in her that tells her things aren't right. She has a compulsion to gather things she believes will protect her family; salt, sage, berries. But she's also discovering her own sexuality when she meets fellow new-comer to Ballyfrann, Oona. As Catlin gets more and more entangled with the controlling Lon, Maddie's unease grows. But when the two stumble across the dead body of a fox in the woods that has clearly been sacrificed, and get Mamó for help, they realise there is definitely something strange about this town. Maddie discovers magic lives in the world, that Mamó is a witch and she might be, too. Mamó offers Maddie the opportunity to be her apprentice, but it would mean giving up on all her plans for the future, and embrace a part of herself that she's been made to feel ashamed of. But when Catlin's life is in danger, Maddie will do anything to try to save her.

At it's heart, Perfectly Preventable Deaths is a story about twin sisters and their bond. I absolutely loved Maddie and Catlin, and their relationship. Catlin is confident and sure of herself, without being arrogant, which I don't really think we see much of in YA? She's an extrovert, while Maddie is an introvert, with pretty low self-esteem. They're a bit like chalk and cheese, but they love each other. They bounce off each other so well, and they're just so funny. I loved them! And their bond was just so beautiful. Until Lon gets his claws into Catlin, she becomes infatuated, and practically addicted to him, and everything else seems to fade. Maddie really struggles with the distance growing between them, especially as she doesn't trust or like Lon, and is certain that he's no good. It was heartbreaking, but it was just wonderful seeing how much Maddie cared about her sister, but wasn't quite sure what the right thing to do was.

Perfectly Preventable Deaths is a slow burner of a novel. Not a huge deal happens at first, but that's mainly because Ballyfrann is a town full of secrets, and they're kept under lock and key for the most part. There's a pervasive sense of something not being quite right - a strangeness to the town - but for a fair while, you can't put your finger on it. A lot of the story is build-up and introspection, though it's far from boring, because there are hints throughout of something, but you just don't know what. There's the castle with it's strange secret passages, the fear and respect Brian's not-so-nice father inspired. How everyone seems to be wary of Lon, but won't say why, or do anything about it. Something is going on, and there's a definite atmosphere. And finding the sacrificed fox scares the crap out of Maddie and Catlin. Who would do that? Why would they do that? Who or what are they sacrificing it to? And, also, what happened to the missing girls, that only a few body parts were ever found? What is going on here? The more uneasy Maddie feels, the more she gathers and hides things around the house, to keep them safe - a compulsion her mum tries again and again to stamp out of her, because "this isn't normal behaviour." Mamó will only say so much, saying Maddie doesn't need to know more yet, but also refuses to answer some questions unless Maddie becomes her apprentice.

But the pace is dialled right up for the last third of the novel, and oh my god, it was just brilliant! It's sinister and malevolent, and frankly, quite messed up. And I can't talk about it without spoiling it! I do wish that Maddie was at a particular place at a certain point in the book, because I would have liked to have seen what happened first hand, but mate, it blew my mind. Not all questions are answered, and you are left with even more - especially with the epilogue!

I have thoughts and I have theories, and I need answers! Perfectly Preventable Deaths feels very much like a first book in a series, with all the build up, and all the left over questions, and I honestly can't see how this could be a standalone with that epilogue. I need to know what happens next, I need all my answers, and I need to know if my theories about the epilogue are correct, because if they are... well. I am just not ok, ok? I'm not. This story may have a conclusion, but there is so much more going on, and I think danger is practically next-year-or-so imminent! And I think Ballyfrann and it's history is seriously, possibly, really, really screwy, especially if people are perhaps purposely overlooking things, and... I am just extremely worried for Maddie, Catlin and their mum right now, and I think they need to get out of Ballyfrann pronto! I just need the sequel!

As you can probably guess, I adored Perfectly Preventable Deaths, and highly recommend it! It's such a mysterious, magical thriller, and I am just hooked. Do not sleep on this one!