A poignant tale that explores the hidden struggles of middle class life in the 1960’s. The writing is descriptive and nostalgic of this era. It is a story that will stay with the reader long after the last page has been turned.
Many thanks to Black Rose Writing and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a lovely written book and I found it so charming. I loved the stories and I enjoyed the scene setting which was done really well. The characters were all distinctive and I could really sense what picture the author was creating. However, this was very much a visual book. By that I mean pictures were painted by words but the story wasn't really deep. And that's ok. I think there us a lot left to the imagination.
I enjoyed the interactions and the idea that the main narrator actually doesn't say much at all.
All in all a solid piece of lirlterary fiction.
Thanks to netgalley for the ARC

i wish there were more depth in the stories. interesting premises though. However, the storytelling is great, and the characters were voiced well, making them distinctive to each other.

Book Review 📚
Accustomed To The Dark by Thomas DeConna - 3.5/5 ⭐

There was so much depth to this story. There was so much emotion that really started to hit home. It was done in such a wonderful way.

The writing style really caught my attention and kept hold of it. It wasn't hard to finish the book within a day, my only trouble was some parts were extremely repetitive.

There are some great descriptions and developments throughout and I enjoyed following the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Black Rose Writing for allowing me to read this ARC - this is an HONEST review from my own personal opinion.

Deeply Thoughtful Book
This book has many levels to it. We, as normal folks, become accustomed to not seeing the darkness in our everyday lives. The author presents us with a 13 year old boy who is being exposed to the private pain and joy of his neighbors in a small rural town. The story moves well. It leaves plenty to think about and helps to ponder our lives.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

3.5
As much as I enjoyed the stories, the end was very anticlimactic. It wasn't what I was expecting (or wanting) but it did fit the theme.
The imagery was amazing though, it painted a clear picture and it brought a lot of the stories to life.
Every story shared brought new perspective and added a layer to our main character. The dynamics between his own home life and that of others, and seeing it as he is discovering it, was by far my favorite part.
I do wish there had been more depth to Jenny, but overall it makes for a great read.

<b>I received this ARC through NetGalley (thanks to Black Rose Writing!) in exchange for an honest review.</b>

<i>“And because of that, I faced a dilemma: should a journalist’s duty reveal the truth, or should a person’s emotions conceal it?”</i>

Throughout this story, we see little of Jenny Smith, a young journalist who has been given the opportunity to interview famous but reclusive AJ Kenton. Instead, Kenton himself tells the story of him going door-to-door in his neighbourhood selling flower seeds, providing Jenny not with an interview, but with one last story that could make her career if she decides to tell the truth. Through AJ's eyes, we are taken into many different households, many of which look at the picturesque image of American life (at least in the 1960s) on the outside. However, those living within those homes tell the young AJ their secrets and dreams, all whilst AJ himself deals with the issues of his own home life.

DeConna writes well, and <i>Accustomed to the Dark</i> is an easy book to read. The descriptions provide the reader with the imagery necessary to picture the scene, and it is interesting to see the different dynamics between each household, particularly in regard to the actions some have had to take to keep themselves safe as a result of the time period. Some of the dialogue feels a little stilted and at times, the plot seems to lose itself a bit, hence the lower rating, but all in all this was an easy and enjoyable read. Some parts may have benefitted from being expanded upon, as I know that I would have loved to hear more about some of these families, but it is an interesting take on the duty of journalism and honesty, and a sense of hope overlays even the darkest of pages.

This novel is very well-written, with beautiful imagery of ordinary things, like people's kitchens and living rooms. It was a little tedious at times to read through each person's monologues to an 8th grade boy (and strange, too, because why would a grown woman refer to her sex life to a child?). I found the juxtaposition between each household interesting, especially in relation to the character's own home life, which was always gray, stagnant, and full of passive aggression.
I am sure this novel accurately portrays mentalities and interactions in the 1960s, but this was the whitest, Christian, male, heterosexual novel I've ever read. I found the ending anticlimactic and Jenny-the-journalist a rather flat character.