Goose Reads 2023! (Closed)

Week 26 - The Gunner and the Florist

Week Twenty-Six- June 25th - July 1st

Title: The Gunner and the Florist

Author: CrystalCallistral

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Number of Chapters: 18 (as of reading)

Completed? No

Link (Added as an in-line comment):

Blurb:

There's a war in London. No one knows how it truly started, but those caught in the fray can either struggle or thrive due to the nation-wide influence of two formidable factions: the Crimson Syndicate and the Brotherhood of the Verita Aser. Two separate organisations, each battling for triumph over the other. 

Lennox, a Verita florist, is one of those struggling. He's been given an impossible task: to balance his failing family business with his judgemental and egotistical parents. A run-in with Ren Ryker--a talented gunman from the opposing faction--might just be his long-awaited escape route.

Ren, on the other hand, should be thriving. Each job he completes earns him constant praise from his leader and brings the slightly sadistic Crimson Syndicate closer to victory. By his standards, he should be flourishing in every sense of the word. But despite his accomplishments, a single failed mission loses him the Syndicate's trust, and he's beginning to realise that killing Lennox and his family may be the only way to stop his previously unrivalled success from crumbling before his eyes.

Goose's Thoughts:

It's Week 26, we are officially half-way through this challenge, and we are entering into the dark world of crime syndicates!

Set in an alternate version of London, this story is one full of cold, hard characters, with one still believing there to be an escape route. Lennox is a fascinating character in this story and I loved how complex he is from the very beginning. Despite everything we learn about him and his life, Lennox still believes that is a way to escape the life he leads and wants nothing more than to free his brother from the life he lived under his father's thumb.

In contrast, Ren is such a dark, cold, calculating character. As a sniper, he sees nothing wrong with the violence unfolding around him, but he is quick to jump to Lennox's defence even if it poses a threat to himself. There are small glances of normalcy from Ren and a sign that maybe he isn't all that comfortable with the life he leads, but they don't last too long. There are also brief moments when we see him care for Lennox which makes for an interesting contrast. 

The world-building in this story is insane and I love how much care and thought has gone into the two opposing factions and how they operate. Having the war as a backdrop makes for an interesting contrast as the scenes can go from perfectly normal to slightly chaotic because of this war. It's also interesting to see how numb these characters are to the war judging on their reactions to the gunshots and general violence. It's quite the stark contrast.

Not only is the world-building amazing, but the descriptions throughout really add to the story and these contrast between the normal and the chaotic. Crystallia can be talking about something as normal as a flower shop and then add a description of blood or a corpse just to jar the reader that little more.  

Compared to the other three stories I read as part of my Pride Month edition of Goose Reads, Crystallia's story definitely takes the cake as being one of the darkest. There is no light-hearted fluff, or cute baking moments for these two characters, but that doesn't make them any less interesting or worthy of a read.

If you're looking for a dark story full of complex characters, a crime syndicate, and a flower boy in desperate need of a hug, then I would definitely recommend this one.

Thank you for writing such an amazing story, Crystallia!

-Goose