Despite (unfounded) expectations for McDonell to have written Black Chuck as a scary story, it wasn’t scary at all. Maybe it wasn’t intended to be. It was, however, an intriguing novel – in some ways more non-traditional romance than anything else.
For added (unnecessary?) layers, Black Chuck was peppered with a few different languages, including French. Although this did add to the dimensions of the story, it can make things a bit more.. chaotic when reading (especially if you don’t speak the other languages). In some ways, it could simply be McDonell exercising a bit of showiness (similarly to other authors using big words when a more common word would have worked just fine and even fit better).
Character Development
Although the character development with Réal helped to draw the reader in, it was a bit disappointing that other characters were not developed quite as intensely. The “psycho” became less and less mysterious as Black Chuck progressed, but for other characters I would have liked to see more growth or at least to have learned more about them.
Characters like Alex remained background players, and it would have been nice for McDonell to have included more from them.
Summary
The ending was a bit unsatisfactory – I would have liked for the story to have gone further and to have revealed more. Overall, however, I would give Black Chuck three stars. It managed to keep me mildly interested throughout, and although the ending left something to be desired it still fit the tale without being shocking or unpredictable.
I would recommend Black Chuck to those who are interested in dipping a toe in the waters of darker stories, but aren’t ready to take the leap quite yet. It may be a good introductory tale for them, as it toes the line a bit.
Psst! If you enjoyed Black Chuck and are looking for other similar reads, I’d suggest Sirens by Joseph Knox. With a disgraced detective and insight into the “underground” world, some unique characters keep the story interesting.
Disclaimer: I received this book for free from LibraryThing in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
Christian, wife, “hybrid” mama, I run the site All Behind A Smile to help others like me.
[…] in more reads in a similar vein to this one? Black Chuck by Regan McDonell might be just the book for you. A non-traditional romance (which touches lightly on the darker […]