Challenge Corner discussion

From award-winning and USA Today bestselling author Kosoko Jackson comes his adult fantasy debut, a stand-alone novel blending of art history, time- and globe-hopping adventure, and dark horror and fantasy about ten cursed paintings and the lengths people will go to collect them, destroy them…or be destroyed.

?A picture is worth a thousand nightmares.

A struggling painter, Lewis Dixon is shocked when the British Museum shows an unusual interest in his art. While he’s always felt there’s something powerful about what he puts on canvas, he also felt there was something disturbing just under the surface—especially as he was compelled to make a painting of a painting—one that he has a connection the object of his art is one of the ten paintings his great-grandfather created over a hundred years ago. Only Lewis’s version is surreal…and maybe just a touch horrific.

Still, he accepts the invitation, only to find not a curated show, but a to see if he not only has the magic necessary to enter the paintings, but also the strength to escape them. Because unbeknownst to Lewis, there is power in his art, just as the ten paintings carry with them both immense eldritch abilities and a terrible curse—making them, perhaps, the most valuable works of art in the world.

And Lewis has been asked to destroy them all.

With orders from a mysterious museum official, Evangeline, and partnered with an alluring agent in her employ, Noah Rao, Lewis must plunge into a world of black markets, gothic magic, ancient history, and unspeakable terror to save those unlucky enough to call any of the paintings their own, and to hopefully locate the tenth painting in the series, long missing, the powers of which are suspected to be most devastating of all…

I'm here! I will probably start kinda later today. Also I just saw all the link craziness lol

right? Just wild - that it kept deleting the thread!!
I think it's part of the "adult fantasy" synopsis but who knows!

I'm finishing up a few so I'll start later tonight!

I had two I had to get done today so will probably start late tonight before bed. Sorry I have a couple arcs direct from authors and I always try to prioritize that!

The prologue is suitably creepy! Not traditional horror but gives the heebie jeebies

Just started chap. 7

(view spoiler)[ I think I’m starting to get some of what’s going on? lol probably not and I’m assuming there will be more twisties. Definitely more fantasy/paranormal feeling rather than horror. I do like this house just because I was obsessed with the Disney Channel movie Smart House growing up (hide spoiler)]

Chap 12

(view spoiler)[ oh there’s the traditional horror lol (hide spoiler)]

ooh that was a good prologue!
sorry, got stuck on a read that seemed to take me forever! finally on this one!

No worries! I'm enjoying it but it's pretty intricate and my focus was all over the place today. I'm about 60% through! I might read something lighter tonight just while my brains doing its own thing and come back to this tomorrow

I'm fine with BR where we're both not here at teh same time. I'll come back if I finish first :)

Through Part 1 - 5 chapters

wow, you are right! very intricate with a lot of moving pieces
(view spoiler)[ and people
the paintings - the hope that there are 10 (but only 9 known so far)
I wonder if his "cleansing" of them is really a good thing. What they experienced makes it seem like it is
and this other lady seems really terrible

but when everyone has secrets, it's really hard to know, right?

love the rich descriptions of the paintings and the life of an artist and how they put their soul into the pieces.

curious to see where it goes from here (hide spoiler)]

Just finished chapter 29 (view spoiler)[ I can’t believe it took his artists eye and his wish to create. I’m not creative or artistic at all and I still think that would devastate me (hide spoiler)]

sorry, camping and we've had a big system coming through all day! I have the slowest internet! lol

Part 2 / 37%

(view spoiler)[
ugh, so frustrated with Lewis! Why does he think he knows the best way to do anything? and now he's lost his hand, holy crap! He's lucky he lived!

I wonder how the 2 ladies tie together! and the one that stood outside, she must want these for bad reasons, right? Hmm. . . (hide spoiler)]

through Part 3 / 22 chapters I think

(view spoiler)[ wow, so they just stumbled into Japan. these 2 are really reckless together. . .I don't know if they make a good team.

and I thought the other magic ladies argument for the paintings to stay "alive" would be more compelling but I think it's more the reason to get rid of them. they are unhinged/dangerous magic allowed to just affect and hurt those around it without them knowing. . .

and yikes, she said the next one will kill them all? (hide spoiler)]

Trisha wrote: "through Part 3 / 22 chapters I think"

(view spoiler)[ I think that is why so many people said this still felt YA to them. They absolutely act like they're at most 19-20 with how they bumble into things. (I still loved it though) (hide spoiler)]

and done

although I did enjoy this one - I agree, I found it a bit more YA than I'd thought it would be!

(view spoiler)[
Lewis really did lose a lot when he was toying with the magic. He just kept flying off the handle as if he knew best

I was glad when they finally got Casandra on their side and she was actually helpful. When he got those 6 months with his mom, I really thought they had reversed time and given him a new outcome (and his hand back!!) but . . .no. I was sad when that was gone!

interesting that they added in the Jack the ripper - and tied it to Edgar!

i found it interesting, the idea of reversing the title or the theme of the painting. but I thought the overall message was really heavy handed lol

it was good but it definitely bogged down in the details and a romance I didn't love (hide spoiler)]