So everyone raves about this book like it's the crown jewel of the Mayfair Witches series, and I'm going to be honest - it's not that. But it's also not the disaster some people make it out to be. It's this weird, lush, meandering thing that I somehow couldn't stop listening to even when I wanted to shake it and say "get to the point, Anne."
I started this one during Sophie's nap time on a Monday and immediately realized: 22 hours. Twenty-two hours. For a mom who finishes most books in a week, that's ambitious. That's like signing up for a marathon when you've been doing laps around Target. But Kate Reading's voice pulled me in during that first car-sitting session, and I just... kept going.
Ashlar Is the Loneliest Giant You'll Ever Meet
Here's what surprised me. I expected gothic horror vibes - creepy New Orleans, dark magic, Mayfair family dysfunction. And yes, that's all there. But the heart of this book is Ashlar, this ancient Taltos creature who runs a doll company (yes, really) and is basically a seven-foot-tall being with the emotional needs of someone who hasn't been hugged in centuries. His obsession with creating dolls that look like the humans he's lost? That hit me in a way I wasn't prepared for. There's a scene where he's describing the lost civilization on the plain of Donnelaith - this whole society of gentle, tall beings who danced and sang and were essentially too peaceful to survive - and I was sitting in my minivan in the garage just... absorbing it. The mythology Rice builds for the Taltos species is genuinely fascinating. They're born knowing language, they grow to adulthood in minutes, they can die from boredom. It's bizarre and specific and I couldn't look away.
But then Rice will spend what feels like three hours on Ashlar monologuing about medieval church history or the details of his business empire, and my brain would wander to whether I remembered to switch the laundry. The pacing is the real issue here. There are stretches where nothing happens except people talking about things that happened, and then talking about those things again to someone else. The pacing reminded me of Hellfire Club, which also asks you to sit with atmosphere and period detail before it earns its payoff - though that one moves a little faster once it gets going. If you need plot momentum, this book will test your patience.
Kate Reading Carries This Book on Her Back
Let me be clear: Kate Reading is doing heavy lifting here. When you have a 22-hour audiobook with long passages of internal reflection and historical exposition, the narrator is either going to save you or sink you. Reading saves it. Her Ashlar has this gentle, almost bewildered warmth - like a creature who's lived thousands of years but still can't quite figure out humans. When she shifts to Rowan Mayfair, there's a cooler, more guarded quality. And the scenes with the villainous Lasher backstory get this darker, more urgent tone that woke me right up during a particularly drowsy nap-time listen.
I will say - and this is a mom-specific note - some of the content caught me off guard. There are sexual scenes that are... a lot. And some themes around reproduction and the Taltos that made me genuinely uncomfortable. Rice doesn't shy away from the disturbing implications of her mythology, and Reading performs those scenes with the same commitment she brings to everything else. Just know what you're getting into.
The 47-Pause Test: Mixed Results
Here's where I have to be real. This book only partially survived my chaotic listening schedule. The mythology sections - Ashlar's history, the Donnelaith backstory, the Taltos origin stuff - I could pick those up after any interruption because they're essentially self-contained stories within the story. But the present-day plot with Rowan, Michael, and the various Mayfair family members? I lost track of who was scheming against whom more than once. There are a LOT of characters, and Rice introduces new ones deep into the book (the Talamasca stuff, the side villains) without much hand-holding.
I found myself rewinding during school pickup more than I'd like to admit. At 1.25x speed, the 22 hours became manageable but still took me almost two weeks. That's a commitment.
Who Should Bother (And Who Should Run)
If you've read the first two Mayfair books and you're invested in this family's saga, you probably need to listen to this one. Ashlar's story genuinely adds something to the mythology. If you love Anne Rice's style - that slow, atmospheric, almost hypnotic way she builds worlds - Kate Reading is the perfect vessel for it.
But if you're coming in cold? Don't. Just don't. You'll be completely lost. And if you need tight plotting and fast pacing, this will drive you up a wall. I enjoyed it, but I enjoyed it the way I enjoy a really long bath - it's indulgent, it's sometimes too hot, and at some point you realize you've been in there way too long but you're not ready to get out.
The Car-Time Verdict
Not groundbreaking, but sometimes you don't need groundbreaking. You need a warm voice telling you a strange, sad story about an ancient creature who makes dolls and misses his people. Made me weirdly emotional at pickup on Thursday. Not ugly-crying, but close. That same unexpected gut-punch feeling caught me off guard in We Are All the Same in the Dark - completely different story, but something about lonely, ancient grief just gets me every time. Worth it, if you have the time - and that's a big if.
