Narrated by Lisa Datz. OMG, this novel is a psychological horror! As you begin the story you realize that something is off-kilter with Ivy and her mother, and definitely the Rumbaugh twins at the pharmacy. But you can't quite grasp what. Eventually the story builds with one horror after another until the shocking climax of Ivy succumbing to the Rumbaugh love curse. Lisa Datz's excellent interpretation makes this story even scarier: she reads in a matter-of-fact, everyday tone that belies the twisted aspects of the situation. (Some readers have tagged this book as "incest" but the graphic scenes don't involve that.) Definitely not for everyone but a worthy read if you have the stomach for it. ( )

Strange book involving love, and human taxidermy. I liked it, anyway. ( )

This book was definitely a odd read. It is well-written, so I will give it that. However, the subject is not for everyone. Fans of gothic novels might find this as a good contemporary supplement. ( )

Delightfully demented and wonderfully weird. ( )

What is The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs? As a book, it's sort of what would happen if an old VC Andrews plot fell into the hands of a good writer and a better editor, and the 300 pages of gratuitous sex were removed. As a concept, the Love Curse is an excessive, obsessive mother-love, an Oedipal complex passed down through the generations. It's a dark, gothic story, involving taxidermy, identical twin brothers, their mother (from whom they can't bear to be parted), a young girl, and her mother. Ivy is drawn to the Rumbaugh twins; her mom wants her to leave their small town and break away from their influence. I hesitate to go into more details for fear of ruining the many, somewhat disturbing plot points.

It's certainly an original story, and well presented. It's fairly short (under 200 pages), which feels about right for this story--any longer and it would have felt plodding and tedious. It's well-written and it's weird. I'm not sure I'd call it horror, exactly, despite what the Cataloging-in-Publication data says, but I don't really know what genre I'd put it in. I guess "horror" is the closest fit, until "gothic story" catches on as a genre label. ( )