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Venery #3

A Scarcity of Condors

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Juleón "Jude" Tholet has survival in his DNA. His father, Cleón, lived through imprisonment and torture during Pinochet's military coup in Chile. His mother, Penny, risked everything to gain her husband's freedom and flee the country with their newborn son. But as a closeted gay teenager growing up in Vancouver, Jude is targeted by a neighborhood bully called el Cóndor, culminating in a vicious hate crime that forces the Tholets to flee their country again.

Jude cautiously rebuilds his life in Seattle, becoming an accomplished pianist, but his his wings have been clipped and he cannot seem to soar in his relationships. Only family remains a constant source of strength and joy, until a DNA test reveals something that shocks all the Tholets: Jude is not their child.

Stunned by the test results, the Tholets must dig into their painful past, re-examine their lives in 1973 Santiago and the events surrounding Jude's birth story. It’s a tale rooted in South America’s Operation Condor. It spreads through Pinochet’s terrifying regime of detention camps, torture, disappeared civilians and stolen children. The journey forces Penny Tholet to confront the gaps in her memory while Cleón must re-live an ordeal he’s long kept hidden away in a secret world. The tale ends with Jude digging through his genetic code in a quest to find his biological parents. Are they alive? Or are they among Los Desaparecidos—the Disappeared Ones?

Suanne Laqueur’s third book in the Venery series explores the desperate acts of love made in times of war, and the many ways family can be defined.

382 pages, Paperback

First published December 10, 2019

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About the author

A former professional dancer and teacher, Suanne Laqueur went from choreographing music to choreographing words, writing stories that appeal to the passions of all readers, crossing gender, age and genre. As a devoted mental health advocate, her novels focus on both romantic and familial relationships, as well as psychology, PTSD and generational trauma.

Laqueur’s novel An Exaltation of Larks was the grand prize winner in the 2017 Writer’s Digest Book Awards and took first place in the 2019 North Street Book Prize. Her debut novel The Man I Love won a gold medal in the 2015 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards and was named Best Debut in the Feathered Quill Book Awards. Her follow-up novel, Give Me Your Answer True, was also a gold medal winner at the 2016 RFBA.

Laqueur graduated from Alfred University with a double major in dance and theater. She taught at the Carol Bierman School of Ballet Arts in Croton-on-Hudson for ten years. An avid reader, cook and gardener, she started her blog EatsReadsThinks in 2010.

Suanne lives in Westchester County, New York with her husband and two children.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 150 reviews
Profile Image for Shabby  -BookBistroBlog.
1,585 reviews855 followers
November 3, 2019
Here's my dilemma, am I ecstatic that I have found an emotionally intelligent writer or should i mourn the fact that she's ruined me for all else. I will crave for her words and curse after I'm done cause everything else in comparison seems insipid & bland.
It's rare to see a poignant love story with heart ripping honesty and page turning quality penned so skillfully it keeps you employed from first word till the last.
I've walked in blind in the palace of words by suanne, I'm completely subsumed in the depths of its emotions, stunned by the cruelty of power hungry dictators she starkly unearths and enthralled by the redeeming power of love she pens. To say I'm enamored, would be an understatement.
Suanne has written about a rich heritage stripped and looted by its totalitarian power grabbers. An extremely painful account of an attempt to obliterate and disappear and entire generation of people of this earth and the smugness with which it was carried out in plain sight. A journey of a boy through this forrest of pain, he sees paths meandering but he is lost!
A chronicled saga of Jude, from Obscurity to Plentitude

description

Music players the doctor and therapist in this story and this verse just fits so well here :
🎼Amazing Grace, How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found
T'was blind but now I see🎼

description

"True. And. Dot-dot-dot. Who are you going to be now?"
Having endured mind altering bias and prejudices for his sexual orientation, this boy who is surrounded by unconditional love and acceptance, still carries deep emotional scars delivered ruthlessly by bigoted and dogmatic pseudo kings
The protagonist is a man of multiple identities and yet he's just an outline, a silhouette. Wandering aimlessly trying to find substance that will fill his heart & soul. he could be anyone or everyone from Croatia to Bosnia to Syria to Rohingya to Argentina or in this case, Chile

description

"I’m a Canadian citizen, a Chilean nationalist and a permanent resident of the United States. I am me. Juleón Tholet, son of Cleon Tholet and Penelope Cambie."
He has been robbed.
Broken
Stripped
Beaten
Abandoned..
And then walks in Tej -rhymes with page. He gatecrashes like an unexpected squatter and comes camps in Jude's life. He's a compatriot and a companion both. He understands and holds hands, he offers support and takes refuge in Jude's heart. They say strength lies in numbers and two hearts are better than one, especially when they both become therapy and medication for each other.
"That door stays open, you say whatever the hell you want, whenever you want."

description

The story turns around when Tej is introduced and suddenly the narrative becomes rosy, hopeful and the plot smiles. A chance test that they all take as a joke, topples over their family jenga tower.
The ruins unearth secrets, skeletons and identities tumble out, unleashing anger and frustration all around
The entire story is a reprimand, a lesson in history. It moved me deeply and unexpectedly. I've shed tears, I've had pain in my heart, I've wanted to pick up the baseball bats against the bullies and tortures.
As a citizen of this planet we are all responsible if we let atrocities be committed and bury our heads in sand.
We all should be ashamed of ourselves if we teach our kids intolerance & racist superiority.
We are all accountable if we let bigotry and homophobia run around unchecked.
I'm struggling to find a box to put this novel in. Is it a contemporary thriller, a dark historical account or a philosophical love story....or is it ALL INCLUSIVE
Whichever it is, it's profound, intelligent, essential, important and necessary story which should be on the top of your tbr!!
Of the characterization, it's weird that this book has many heroes. Nobody wears a cape but they are all saviors, Guardians and protectors.
Tej is smooth talking charmer who turns jude inside out and heals from within.
“I don’t just want to be your lover. I want to be your home. Your nine-one-one. I’m your call now. You make it and I will answer.”
Mirielle with Samson is all-encompassing and accepting, lending support & Laughter
Cleon is unchallenged as the head of the family, authoritative, dignified and protective.
“Everything happened so you could be my boy.” He ran his cheek along Jude’s hair.
“¿Somos compañeros?”
“Compañeros,” Jude whispered.
“Por siempre.”

Penny is uber courageous, soft hearted matriarch and her family's travails bleed her heart, their injuries- injurious to her.
"Her maternal instincts picked up a sword and tested its weight and edge. The She-Wolf’s eyes narrowed at an enemy not yet revealed, seeking justice for a wrong not done. Not yet."
This masterpiece has me babbling & rambling and I threaten to do so, till you pick up this book to read. While I go back to the start - The Exaltation of the Larks
10 stars for Lucy in the sky with Diamond
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Profile Image for Larry H.
2,591 reviews29.5k followers
January 5, 2020
I'm not sure who it was that first told me about Suanne Laqueur's book An Exaltation of Larks , but they said it was one of the best books they had ever read. When I picked it up, I was utterly blown away by it, and I quickly dove into the second book in this series, A Charm of Finches . That one may have been even better, and I remember falling to pieces on a plane as I finished the book, which isn't a good position to be in. (Luckily it was dark.)

You can check out my review of An Exaltation of Larks here; my review of A Charm of Finches is here.

I just read the third book in this series, A Scarcity of Condors , and once again, Laqueur has slayed me. As I said in my last review, her ability to pull you into her books so completely, to feel such attachment to her characters that you can't stop thinking about them when you're finished reading, is absolutely dazzling. I can unequivocally say that these three books are among my favorites of the decade.

Juleón "Jude" Tholet knows how to fight to survive—it's ingrained in his genetics. His father Cleon was imprisoned and brutally tortured during Pinochet's military coup in Chile; his mother Penny fought tooth and nail to get him released, and after one last horrible round of torture left him hospitalized for some time, the two, along with their infant son, fled the country and moved to Canada.

But life in Canada isn't much easier for the family, as Cleon and Penny deal with the aftermath of their life in Chile, and then Jude, a closeted gay teenager, becomes the target of a neighborhood bully who discovers his relationship with his childhood best friend. Jude becomes the victim of a hate crime and their community subsequently turns on the Tholets, forcing them to once again flee their country, this time for America.

Over time, Jude is able to carve out a life for himself in Seattle, becoming a pianist for a professional ballet company. While he has had relationships, he's never let down his guard with someone the way he did with his friend in high school. One night, he and his parents, as well as his younger sister and her boyfriend, take a genetic test for fun. The results, however, are far from funny: Jude discovers that he is not genetically related to his parents.

Penny remembers waking up in the hospital in Chile after giving birth to Jude, following an attack by a soldier. Whose child is Jude, really? Was he switched at birth? Did something else occur? In that case, what happened to their actual child? These questions force Cleon and Penny to revisit those horrible days in Chile to try and uncover the truth, while Jude has to deal with the upheaval of everything he's known his entire life. How can he not be a Tholet?

A Scarcity of Condors looks at the brutal days of Pinochet's terrible reign over Chile—the way lives were brutalized, utterly changed, and, in many, cases, ended. It's a book about how the ties of our chosen family can be stronger than blood, and how much our families can mean to us. It's a book about survival, about finding strength where there should be none, and about how love can help pull us through. More than that, this is a book about new beginnings, about realizing we're worthy of love and happiness, and how one can embrace the past without dooming themselves to live it every day.

This is a gorgeous, sensitive, sexy, emotional book, full of moments that made me smile, made me blush, horrified me, and made me full-on ugly cry at times. The characters are simply gorgeous, fully drawn and complex, and this book sees the return of two pivotal characters from the last two books. (Boy, I hadn't realized how much I'd missed them.) Laqueur has done her research on the Pinochet days and it shows, yet the book never feels too mired in history, because her storytelling is so superb.

I'll end my review the way I ended my review of Laqueur's last book: Read these books. You've simply got to.

The author provided me a copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.

You can follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
Profile Image for Bibi.
1,288 reviews14 followers
June 27, 2020
*5+++ Heartbreaking stars*

It's been a week since I finished this book and I'm still reeling from the aftershocks.

FRTC
Profile Image for Judith.
724 reviews2,811 followers
October 31, 2019
4.5








I'm pretty sure my words here won't articulate how special this book is.I'm sure this must have been a labour of love for Suanne Laqueur.The attention to detail especially regarding the Historical aspects of this story took my breath away.Difficult to read at times but so important for this story,


I had no idea...



You watch the news,you hear stories of events in other countries and move on.




I had no idea....



This is powerful stuff,so strap yourself in and get ready for the ride...




The blurb tells the story and yet there's so much more. A story of family and how lives are defined.A close bond that was so powerful I cried many times because this Author's words are quite simply stunning.I knew these people,I felt their pain,I experienced their highs and lows and never doubted they'd make it.Told in the present with flashbacks to the past it's a truly compelling journey that you go on with these amazing characters.I couldn't single one out because each characters part is so important for many different reasons.





Suanne Laqueur,you clever,clever girl.....I was speechless. Honestly I want to say more but I won't....



Highly recommended...


Review copy.
Profile Image for Suanne Laqueur.
Author 29 books1,532 followers
Read
February 2, 2021
RELEASES DECEMBER 16, 2019
description

Jude sighed. “These are my memories. They’re my stories.”

“They’ll always be your stories,” Tej said. “These will always be your people. This is your family and family is so much more than blood.”

“I know.”

“But.”

“But.” Slowly Jude changed the status of Cleon and Penny from biological parents to adoptive parents. “See, just picking from a dropdown menu feels like betrayal. One click literally makes me feel like a shitty son.”

“You,” Tej said, sliding arms around Jude from behind, “are an extraordinary son.”

Jude shook his head. “I don’t want to be anyone else’s son.”

Tej held him tight. “You’re so good.”

“I’m not.”

“You are. Trust me, I know good.”

Feeling loathsome and ungrateful, Jude created another set of parents for himself and chose “biological” from the dropdown. Unknown married to Unknown, Jude’s box dangling from the dotted line joining man and wife. He arbitrarily subtracted twenty-five years from 1973 to make an estimated birth year of 1948, in the assumed location of Santiago de Chile. He added four grandparents, all called Unknown, with “Spain or Italy?” as their assumed, estimated, hypothetical shot-in-the-dark birthplaces.

He sat back, gazing at his two-trunked family tree. One side fruitful with names and dates and history. The other barren. Just empty pink and blue boxes and question marks.

Is someone looking for me?

So many people in the world. Name. Date of birth. Date of death. Every dotted line between boxes was a connection. A relationship. A marriage. Every person’s leaf came from two leaves above. Child-parent-child-parent, backward in time, ad infinitum.

The exponential connections were staggering.

“The history of mankind is like one big love story,” Jude said, staring at his solitary blue box at the bottom of the inverted pyramid.

“You ever stop to think how many fucking people there are?” Tej said. “Not just right now but in the entire history of humanity.”

“I know.”

Millions and millions of accounts registered on this website, all with their boxes and dotted lines and stories. Somewhere in the world, a certain tree had a blank box labeled “Unknown,” with a birth date in 1973. It sat there like a patient locked door and only Jude Tholet’s key, with his specific DNA, would fit it.

What’s behind that door, though?
Is someone looking for me? Waiting for me? Wondering about me?


“What if nobody is,” he said. “What if nobody is looking for me and I go looking for them. And I blunder into their neat, ordered lives with the news I belong to them, but none of them are happy about it? The news ruins their story. What if they always knew I was somewhere out in the world, but it was a dirty little secret and they hoped I’d never turn up?”

“Well—”

“Or what if they’re delighted. What if it’s a miracle to them. What if I bring an incredible amount of joy and resolution until they find out I’m gay, and then…”

“God, man, I know.”

“Then they turn their back on me.”

Or break my leg.
Throw rocks through my window. Spray-paint
faggot on the sidewalk. Then run me out of town.

Tej’s arms tightened around him and the side of his face pressed tight to Jude’s. “I don’t blame you. I don’t blame you one fucking bit for contemplating that scenario. I don’t.”

“I can’t do it again.”

“I know. But listen. Play it through. You’re not seventeen, you’re a grown man. If they reject you, you fall right back into the loving arms of your real family.” His finger reached to touch Penny and Cleon’s boxes. “This family. These people will never let anyone hurt you ever again..."

Kindle | iTunes | Nook | Kobo | Smashwords | GooglePlay



Profile Image for Shile (Hazard's Version) on-hiatus.
1,116 reviews919 followers
November 13, 2019
4.5 stars

“Love isn’t a bed and breakfast,”

LOVED IT!

I am not sure I can do it justice, I will try.

It is no surprise Suanne can freaking write an amazing emotional story. I am happy I got to experience her storytelling once again, her books are very readable.

This series is connected, I would highly recommend you start from book 1.

Told in three POVs; Jude, Penny and Cleón’s, this is the story of the Tholet family.. Jude’s family flees Chile and settles in Vancouver then later in Seattle. Slowly by slowly are taken back to Chile through the eyes of Penny and Cleón; Jude’s parents. We get to see what happened during that awful regime of that awful dictator. His name isn’t worth mentioning. Ugh! Human beings!! We can be horrible to our fellow humans. I had no idea all this had happened. Bits and pieces yes! But the whole picture nope! I love how it was all written, the research that went into this is immaculate. I loved Cleón’s POV. There is something about that POV that just clicks.

You are five.
You think, If I am ever lost, I want to be found like this.


The characters were great. It was an instant connection from the moment they were introduced on page. Fucking Phil was hilarious. The balance between the emotional stuff and humor was amazing.

Penny and Cleón are #relationshipgoals. I love their love. It is one for the history books.

I love Jude, dear lawd! This guy deserved a break. Tej! I freaking love him to the Sun and back. It reached a point I wanted more of him. Greedy me. Jav is still my favourite in this series. Jude and Tej – they fit perfectly. So good, so so good.

I’m attempting to seduce this gorgeous gentleman and he’s wisely being prudent about consorting with arrogant and audacious men he doesn’t know.”
“In other words, Tuesday.”
Tej pointed a finger. “That was unnecessary.”


description

I felt that this was not heavy as the previous books. It was emotional and sweet. A story about hope, healing, love and family bond.

description

ARC generously provided by author in exchange for an honest review
Profile Image for James.
Author 20 books3,963 followers
February 29, 2020
A Scarcity of Condors, the third book in the Venery series by Suanne Laqueur, is a brilliant culmination of stories and characters that reach inside your body and mind with such adept strength and beauty, it cannot be forgotten. When I read the first book in the series, I was thoroughly blown away by the raw intensity and magnetism of the writing quality, character development, and life circumstances. The second book took it to an even higher level, a nearly impossible feat in my opinion. I adored the third book, but I will say it kept the game at a steady pace rather than raise the bar... but that said, as a trilogy, this is above and beyond any other book series I've ever read. Hands down, this is one of the most memorable stories I will ever come to know.

I really wanted to give this 5 stars, but in comparison to the first two, I had to show the difference in terms of how amazing the first two were... so I'm settling at 4.5 stars. But I'd recommend it more than any of the 226 books (minus the second in the series) I read in 2019. Hands Down! No questions asked. This is pure adrenaline, every possible emotion, and mind-wrecking all at once. While the topics and scenes can be harsh and difficult to swallow, they are handled with the utmost care and attention to detail. This woman can write with effortless ease and superb, flawless beauty, and I cannot recommend it enough.

I'm clearly uncertain how to write a review because to describe the plot would take pages. To showcase the love between some of the characters in just a few paragraphs is impossible. If you can handle your heart being broken, stomped on, and then repaired, you must read this book. If you can witness the disasters of 9/11, Pinochet's abuse of citizens, rape of every possible kind, murder, and torture, you must read this book. While it's visceral, vivid, and detailed, it's clean and honest. The pain won't go away for days... but it will be wrapped up in the coziest of blankets to make you feel whole enough to move on.

So... find a way to read all three. You must read in order. You need to take your time. You have to be open-minded. You need to understand love between two men, a man and a woman, parents and children, or at least want to be shown how amazing any form of it can be. This is not an easy book to swallow... from gay bashing to crushing a man's legs with a car because he looked at you funny for a second... you will never think of humanity the same way again. This is why I read.
Profile Image for JAN.
1,199 reviews894 followers
January 9, 2020
A Scarcity of Condors reads very differently from the two previous books in this series. The romance takes a back seat in this instalment.

It is a fictional work historically oriented over the Chilean coup led by General Augusto Pinochet in 1973.



The story exudes an in-depth understanding and intense research.
In other words, A Scarcity of Condors is a story where the author, using her knowledge in those facts, gives life, face and name to fictional characters who lived that atrocity.
It's moving, heartwrenching and shocking. Suanne shows no mercy, with emotional and physical pain in spades, she spares us nothing cutting deep in our skin, reaching even the bones. Dramatic much? Well, there weren't many happy moments here. It's a journey of agony that affected generations.



All my praise to this elaborated and creative work, that although fiction, none the less carries its truth, elucidating what happened in Chile in 1973.
And my love goes to Cleon,



hands down the character that came off the pages touching me the most.

So, why not five stars?

I felt that we could have been spared some moments of despair in this long journey. Under spoilers I'll mention some parts I could have given a free pass:


My other issue was regarding Jude and Tej relationship. They fell into that easy-going routine as a couple in a blink reminding me too much of Javier and Stef. That camaraderie between Stef and Jav was something very precious to me and seeing the same pattern here, kind of lessened what they had. I couldn't shake off the feeling of reading them the whole time. But as I said up there, the romance is not the essence of this story. There are much deeper life-changing events running this show. So, there was that.

I really liked this powerful journey. However, the first two books in this series, An Exaltation of Larks and A Charm of Finches are the book that always will hold a place in my heart. I can't recommend them enough. 6 Stars. All time favourites. Ever. I think I made my point. 😜

Suanne Laqueur was born to write.
Forget skills, because this,👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻 this is a gift.



Profile Image for Hulya Kara Yuksel.
987 reviews1,227 followers
December 17, 2019
It's LIVE!!!



In this year I've read a lot of great books but OMG *hands down* this book is my No.1!!! ❤❤❤

In fact this book should turns into a movie. Yeah, it is that fucking good! 😎

Suanne, you're bloody amazing. 👏👏👏


*ARC kindly provided by author in exchange for an honest review. ❤


-------------


Suanne, I love you so much. So excited for this book. ❤❤❤

Expected publication: December 16th 2019
Profile Image for Malene.
1,250 reviews699 followers
December 16, 2019
Taking authentic historical events such as Pinochet and Operation Condor and building a story around it is not an easy task. As with the other two books in the Venery series I can honestly say that Suanne Laqueur has created yet another phenomenal book.
A Scarcity of Condors doesn’t hold back but goes all in. My emotions was a punching bag. I felt it ALL! I lived and breathed for these characters. For Jude and his family.

What happens when you’re not who you think you are? Jude discovers his parents are not his biological mother and father. Then weave in the horrific events under Pinochet’s reign and a man discovering and finding biological heritage. A tour de force on my emotions.
To me A Scarcity of Condors is first and foremost a love story. Between lovers. New and old and of course the love of a strong family. The Tholet family is LOVE. Screw what DNA and blood says.
This family has been through hate, torture, losses and still they love and forgive.

A Scarcity of Condors isn’t just the journey of Jude but also of his parents Penny and Cléon.
It’s part of the Venery series and can be read as a stand-alone but I strongly recommend to read the other books. They are just as brilliant and for me I found little treats in each of them including in A Scarcity of Condors.
To end this review I’ll answer a question the author asks in her acknowledgments. Yes, you got it right! Epically so.

5+ This is Our Family Stars


33-D69-FAA-1-E3-A-4-E5-C-A390-0-C8208-B914-AA
Profile Image for h o l l i s .
2,557 reviews2,168 followers
February 14, 2020
This rating might surprise people who know how much I love this author, and this series, but my problem with this story is that, for the most part, I didn't really find myself connecting to these characters. For me, they would come alive in family or group setting moments, not always but often, or in the cheeky sizzle of chemistry-infused interactions leading upto the romance, but overall I didn't fall in love with these people or places the way I have in other Laqueur — specifically, Venery — books.

"Rosie, I need a favour."
"What, baby?"
"I'm attempting to seduce this gorgeous gentleman and he's wisely being prudent about consorting with arrogant and audacious men he doesn't know."
"In other words, Tuesday."

This particular installment feels like a big epilogue, and then some, to a story that started in AN EXALATION OF LARKS and, to a certain point, somewhat in the background, continued in A CHARM OF FINCHES. This is a conclusion that part of me thinks would've made a great novella or short story to wrap up certain questions from the first book. Because while some of this touched me, I mostly felt myself just going through the motions of the EMOtions without ever really being bowled over by them. Which makes for a lot of page time where I just wasn't really immersed in it all.

Having said that, the events, the horrible situations, they were treated with the usual care of all the author's other works. Without shying away from the stark harsh reality but equally without being gratuitous about it, either. Two very different scenes in particular come to mind where it's a retelling of second-hand events, from the perspective of someone they knew, but without putting the elements and experiences on page in all their gory or brutal glory. Which, considering the telling, was a relief. But it wasn't without impact. Which I think shows how masterful the author is. She knows when to push and when to pull back, all without losing the gravity of the moment.

"When I wasn't hiding in the closet, I was hiding under the piano."
"Well, there's a Freudian analyst's wet dream. The strong, solid barrier of wood and ivory hiding your genitals with definitive black-and-white distinctions of tone and.. sorry, I forgot where I was going with that."

And that applies to so much of this story. The introspection, the therapy, even just random events. She broke them down, processed them, likened them to other feelings or images for the characters and the readers to meet halfway and experience. Some times it was so achingly beautiful. But in this particular story I did feel a lot of it was repetitive, redundant, or rehashed.. sometimes almost word for word. I could understand revisiting some things but I think I expected to learn or see a new perspective when it was brought up again. And rarely did we get that kind of pivot.

Everything Laqueur did in this story had echoes of her other works in the sense that you know you're in the same world, with characters that connect in some ways, even only in the periphery, so things feel similar — and I mean that in a positive way. Each story handles something important, critical, pivotal, necessary. Often hard, but without flinching. Often beautiful, but also heartbreaking. This one still did all those things. Just not with the same impact on me as a reader. This had all the things I loved from other Venery books. But just didn't hit the same way.

[it] was untrue and unfair. Irrational. But sometimes you felt what you felt and nothing could assuage it.

Ultimately, I think my enjoyment of this story was less about the big picture, big connections, and more about the little ones. Quiet moments, devastating moments, which caught me in my feels, whereas the big tie-ins and some of the backstory just didn't do as much. But I suspect, and expect (and know) many people, fans or newbies alike, will love this. I will forever, and always, recommend the Venery series and my feelings on this book hasn't changed that one bit.

As per usual, I read this with my Laqueur buddy (and blog buddy!) Micky and we had a great time reading, discussing, speculating, breaking things down over the course of our Condor-ified weekend.


** I received an ARC from the author (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **

---

This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
Profile Image for Jessica Hull.
935 reviews657 followers
March 9, 2020
Few, if any, series have moved me the way Suanne Laqueur's Venery series has. Truly, this exceptional series has haunted me, scarred me, gripped me, stayed with me long after finishing each book. And this third installment, A Scarcity of Condors, shifted and scrambled around the parts of my soul once more with the harrowing story of Jude Tholet, a Chilean born gay man whose entire identity is placed into question with one vial of spit. 

The historical accuracy Laqueur weaves through her stories will haunt me for all of my days. The atrocities these characters endure, truths all too real yet fictionalized for story's sake, will live in my nightmares indefinitely. This story brutally illustrates the absolute worst of humanity while exquisitely depicting it's resilience. This is a story of hope and love, healing and human connection. It's horribly demonstrative of the damage that will likely never heal completely, a brilliant collage of the scars reminding the most UNFORGETTABLY CAPTIVATING characters of what they've survived. It's a story of what truly makes a family, a masterfully crafted gnarled tree with tenuous branches but unwavering roots, an evocative illustration of familial bonds that have little to do with blood and everything to do with loyalty and fierce, unconditional love. 

This series is one EVERYONE must read. I am the most staunch proponent of books that change the way I look at the world and this series, this book,  educated me, enlightened me, tormented me, inspired me, captivated me, uplifted me, destroyed me, changed me, COMPLETELY BLEW ME AWAY. A Scarcity of Condors obliterated my heart and I will never, ever forget it even in the moments where I'd prefer to take it off and hang it up for a while. Laqueur's inimitable storytelling, her aggressive commitment to sharing the stories of those robbed of the opportunity to do so, her unparalleled skill in tethering her reader to a story, to characters, to every nuance of their experiences... it's like nothing else. A Scarcity of Condors is easily one of the greatest stories I've ever read, a stellar addition to one of the most searing series I've ever endured. I can not recommend this story enough. 
Profile Image for Holly.
1,466 reviews1,341 followers
February 13, 2020
2.5 stars

Absolutely, 100% pick up the first two books of this series (LOVE THEM). But then pretend this book never happened. The good news is that this 'series' does not even need this third book, because it's basically a completely separate story (the first two books are more interconnected). You can totally skip this one, which I recommend.

Here are the first two books that I *really* recommend you read (in order):
An Exaltation of Larks
A Charm of Finches

This book dealt with some really serious and traumatic topics, but I somehow never had any emotional connection to any of the events or the characters. Also, I do not care for the Beatles and man there were a LOT of Beatles references in this book. True story: I was convinced by friends to go see the Beatles 'Love' Cirque du Solei show in Las Vegas and I about fell asleep during it. That's how much I don't like the Beatles apparently.
Profile Image for Sophie "Beware Of The Reader".
1,390 reviews377 followers
November 8, 2019
5 stars

 

WARNING: extra-long review ahead! So, if you like to have the gist of it, just read the sentences in bold. My excuses but as usual it seems that I am unable to write short reviews for Suanne’s books!- if I want to give them justice!

 

Once again, I am amazed at Suanne’s writing skill! In French we would say that “Elle a le sens du phrasé” what I can tentatively translate in English with a lengthy explanation meaning that she is a powerful writer.

Not a writer using many flourishes but a word magician who only needs few words to convey a deep meaning. I don’t know how many times I stopped my reading to think: “Wow! OK! Pause now because there is a thing here.”. I couldn’t resist reading some of these sentences to my son who probably politely listened to his mom when she said “See? See how deep this is? See the mastery? Do you see?”.

 

And yet for as much as I loved that book I did not fall right into it, and that’s a first for Suanne’s books! I even messaged a friend, busy reading it, calling for help!

After a long chat we both came to the conclusion that the back and forth in time, the “holes” in Jude’s story between teenage years and adulthood as well as Jude being so closed off after what he lived was probably the cause.

In Larks and Finches I was hurting with the characters right from the start. Suanne “showed” rather than “told”. That’s not what happened here …at first!

The story really kicked in once the Tholet’s family had their DNA results and Jude unraveled!



Now rewind: what is the book about?

The book is about finding yourself. Finding your place. In the world, in your family. Finding your roots and finding your tribe.



This can also be qualified as historical fiction as we get back to 1973, following Cleon Tholet, Jude’s father while he was imprisoned and tortured at the Villa Grimaldi under the Pinochet Regime. How Cleon coped, the world he built to shelter his mind when faced with torture reminded me of Geno’s coping mechanism if you have read “A Charm of Finches”.

 

The main character of the book is Judeon Tholet or Jude but the side characters take such an important place that I’d like to say that the Tholet family was the main character, lovers included. When you get one Tholet you get all Tholets. They lived through tragedies and are just so closed knit that you can’t simply talk about Jude alone.

 

Jude is now thirty-six in the story but we’ll get a look into his teenage years. When he discovered that he was gay. When he experienced an intense first love that ended up in tremendous pain and drama as he was victim of a hate crime.

I had the privilege to read a very early beta copy of this story and I can tell you that the general idea aside, it has nothing to do with that first draft. What Suanne wrote here about discovering that you are different, about playing a role not to be outed and bullied was brilliantly done.

What I respect above all else with Suanne’s writing is that she’ll never sugarcoat anything. She’ll cut to the chase and will go to the realistic, nitty gritty details. How Jude and Feno learned to have sex, with all the clumsy and painful first attempts when you are gay. What it took to “ease the process”, everything! And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, makes her writing TRUE!

These are all the information that will have you walk in the shoes of teenage Jude. He was so in love! And that will have you get back into your shell because when everything will come crashing around you, you won’t trust anyone, your family aside.

Jude will be surviving, making by, but he won’t really live as he does not dare to open up and be vulnerable again.

 

The first trope in the book is about Jude, discovering his sexual identity, getting hurt and years later, wanting to really live again.

I just would like to add something about his relationship with Tej.

I think Tej is a very worthy hero. And I’d like to draw a parallel with Jav and Finch. Jav is an artist, a creative, a writer. Jude is a musician. Finch is a healer of the soul, a therapist. And Tej is also someone who helps people as he is a dispatcher for EMR. Tej might be cockier than Finch though but the dynamic was just as perfect as for Jav and Finch!

 

The second trope is about piercing Jude’s birth mystery. Because when the Tholet family took this DNA testing their world exploded. Jude was not the biological son. But whose son was he? And what happened to Penny’s biological son?

That part was equally thrilling as we want to find answers and heartbreaking as Penny was appalled, Cleon was distraught and Jude was … lost.

Can you imagine for one second discovering that your son is not the one you don’t recall giving birth to because you had been hit by a soldier and suffered from a concussion? There is this huge blank in your head and you just can’t recall anything! Is there a mother somewhere weeping for her biological son and wondering what happened to him? And what of your own kid?

These characters suffer, doubt of their loyalties, their roots, their identities.

 

The third trope is about the political and historical events. In my history classes, nothing much was told about Pinochet’s regime. Granted it was still recent but this book shed a dark light on the atrocities committed under his regime.

And once again, it made me think.

I know that this review is already long but get ready to veer off literary course and delve into politics.

This year I have read many books about WWII, the last one being “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” by Heather Morris. Recollection of atrocities made to the Jews, the homosexuals, the …. were plenty and appalling. I knew of these already.

I have read “The Fountains of Silence” by Ruta Sepetys. The topic was Franco’s regime, its torture and how he stole babies from his opponents to give them to allies, without anyone aware of it. What happened under his regime, his tyranny was unthinkable.

A Scarcity of Condors unveil Pinochet’s horrors. His torture. The army’s despicable actions.

And I am wondering: when will men learn?

I think what Suanne wrote here is of tremendous importance.

I read to entertain, to escape but I also read to learn.

I think a book like this should be read by every kid, every teenager, everyone. Forgotte, history will only repeat itself. People are easy to manipulate in time of hardship. Crowd can be deceived. Find them a common enemy, reward some high ranking judges or military men and you’ll soon be able to rule as you’d like, imposing a regime of hate, fear and mistrust. We have contemporary examples aplenty.

I believe that educating people, opening their eyes to the past’s atrocities is the only way to avoid a repetition.

 

Because with war and civil wars come the question of the refugees. The Tholets had to flee. But Tej’s family also had to flee Lebanon when the war began. After awful losses too.

The refugee’s crisis is closely linked to wars, to climate changes.

What Suanne showed us here, is not only what causes these migrations but, with Tej’s hospitality, with Peny’s fight to welcome the Chileans refugees, she also showed that these people coming into “our” lands have lost everything and should be welcomed instead of hated. Again, a very hot topic woven in this story!

 

Sorry I know this review has been extra-long and that I probably lost many of you in the process! Suanne Laqueur has once again demonstrated that she is a force to be reckoned. A powerful writer able to embark you on the cathartic journey of her characters. She will make you suffer. She will sometimes make you blush and cringe. She will open your eyes. She will make you cry. But she also will make you rich with human knowledge.

 



***

Added bonus: the quotes!

I highlighted non stop so I’ll share some of my favorites here with you:
“Sensing he was different in a potentially hazardous way, he kept to the fringes of school society, achieving a delicate balance of popular invisibility.”

.

“Maybe I’m ready to let my house be a home.”

.

“My everyday life is rich but my love life is a third-world country.”

.
“This angel wasn’t a cherub with a halo but a seraphim with a sword. An avenger. Fighting for people’s lives, then coming home broken and bruised, singed feathers dripping behind. Too tired and used-up to even fold his wings back down.”

.

And my favorite:
“I don’t just want to be your lover. I want to be your home. Your nine-one-one. I’m your call now. You make it and I will answer.”

 
Have you read Suanne's books? Do you have some favorite and powerful writer to recommend?
 

Thanks for reading!

 
Sophie

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Profile Image for Optimist ♰King's Wench♰.
1,785 reviews3,906 followers
May 2, 2020
Disclaimer: I'm not going to be able to do this book justice with this review.

I went in warily since reviews were mixed and my own past experiences with this author have been uneven. To be perfectly frank, Ms. Laqueur has a penchant for penning painful books that tend to wring me out emotionally so I've learned to gird my loins. Her writing is some of the best there is, lyrical at times and evocative to the very end.

Why are these women here dancing on their own?
Why is there this sadness in their eyes?
Why are the soldiers here
Their faces fixed like stone?
I can't see what it is they despise
Dancing with the missing
They're dancing with the dead
They dance with the invisible ones
Their anguish is unsaid
They're dancing with their fathers
They're dancing with their sons
Dancing with their husbands
They dance alone
They dance alone


A Scarcity of Condors
was no different than the previous two books in this series in that regard but this one carved out a special place in my heart and maybe, just maybe, turned me into a fan. No one was more surprised by this development than I since not only is this not a romance but it also delves deep into a very painful period in Chile's history filled with rape, genocide and unimaginable tortures during the reign of Pinochet.

So, you can imagine my surprise when I found myself not just engrossed, not just unable to put it down but moved to tears more than once usually over fairly innocuous exchanges between the characters.

These characters are exceptionally crafted and without that the whole thing would've fallen apart. The Tholets share the spotlight in A Scarcity of Condors. Penny and Cleón, the matriarch and patriarch of the family survived Operation Condor and fled to Canada with Jude in 1973 only to see their first born, Jude, survive a vile act of homophobia in high school forcing the Tholets to flee yet again to the U.S.

The narrative bounces around in time explaining their collective pasts, stirring into the mix the delightful and unflappable Serena Tholet, sister extraordinaire, as well as Tej Khoury. Tej is audacious and irresistible. He and Jude crash into each other and choose to stay crushed. Their chemistry is undeniable and I enjoyed their angst-free, genuine and heartfelt evolution from first-time into forever.

So there are romantic elements but by and large A Scarcity of Condors is a tour de force ensemble fiction that not only kicks over the rocks of humanity to examine the ugly underbelly but obliterates them. Ms. Laqueur rarely shies away from the darkness that exists in the human psyche but here she deftly paired it, again and again, with the triumphs over said darkness especially through reliance on family, however that may be defined or redefined, as it were.

One day we'll dance on their graves
One day we'll sing our freedom
One day we'll laugh in our joy
And we'll dance
One day we'll dance on their graves
One day we'll sing our freedom
One day we'll laugh in our joy
And we'll dance

~Sting


The Tholets were woven into the Venery thread seamlessly, like they'd been there all along and that too touched me. I'm even hopeful there will be another book forthcoming in this series. Technically this book could probably be read as a stand-alone but I don't think it will resonate as much without having read the previous two but especially An Exaltation of Larks, where the Pinochet storyline was introduced. In many ways, this seems like a venerable love letter to Chileans, particularly those that were disappeared.

If you're looking for a read that will dig its claws into you and not let go, look no further.

description

A copy was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Marieke (mariekes_mesmerizing_books).
575 reviews526 followers
March 1, 2024
Actual rating 4.5 stars.

What a book and what a series! Please, this is a message to all of you here, please, read all the Venery books. They’re so impressive!
 
Some couples feel incredibly precious, and Jude and Tej are one of the most precious couples I’ve ever met in a book. From the moment they got together, they complemented each other, leaned on the other, and were always there for one another. Like Jude said (this story is built around Beatles songs):
I wanted him to take my sad song and make it better.

Sometimes, I need a reset button. Because I start to enjoy reading less. Or because I’m afraid I won’t like my next read. And I’ve decided that Suanne Laqueur will be my reset button from now on. She’s able to let you dive into a story and never want to come up until the end. Or never want to come up at all. Because she enables you to attach to her characters so strongly that you never want to leave them. Like ever! All her characters are all so powerful and yet so vulnerable. It’s a gift when you can write like this!
 
A Charm of Finches is my favorite of the Venery series. But don’t let my four star rating of A Scarcity of Condors fool you. It’s the perfect wrap-up of this series, even though, secretly, I just want more, more, more. I need all those people to stay in my life. I still want to know so much. As a mom, I want to know if Geno is still okay, I want to know if Alex and Javi can fully rebuild their friendship again, I want Javi and Stef and Jude and Tej to meet. And somehow, I also want a story about Aiden because he intrigued me. His email to Jude about condors brought me to tears and I agree with him so much, the condor was always Jude, the man who sees always everything. The man who knows his path and his purpose. So please, Suanne, can you please write another book in this series?
 
I’m urging you all to pick up this series. And if you think only one or two of those three books are your jam, that’s okay, too, because they’re all easily readable as a standalone.

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Profile Image for Deanna❤Pink Lady❤️.
820 reviews847 followers
January 3, 2020
The wonderful storytelling from Suanne Laquers is epically transforming. She takes you on a mesmerizing journey that holds your breath as well as opens your sea of emotions. The sense of family, belonging, loving unconditionally is at the heart of this story. While it can be read as a stand-alone, reading the previous books brings around a familiarity that heightens the reading experience.

While the story is fiction, it is based around facts involving the military coup in Chile by Pinochet. The atrocities and emotions detailed are not sugar coated. The story of Juléon “Jude” Tholet, his family and the repercussions of an innocent DNA test will test the fortitude of his family, his sense of belonging and his sense of who he is in this world. This story is an epic journey told in both present and past tense. In order to understand the present, the past must be put through the ringer. For every past step, there is a present step that will reshape the life of Jude and those he loves.

This story feed my emotions whole heartedly. I loved that this author got you invested in characters, their families and made you experience the trials and tribulations that each went through. Jude’s family and his new family brought the story to a beautiful crescendo that tied them both together forever. The pain and heartbreak were worth every suffering because to understand the past, it lead to the whys of the present and an over abundance of love for everyone.

The story is slow, methodical and exact. It doesn’t skim the storyline, it flourishes with open honesty. Besides the premise of Jude discovering his DNA results, it also delves into Jude’s past and his learning to trust again that the euphoric high of teen love does come back around, even in your thirties. A beautiful story of family, mystery and MM romance.

*advanced copy provided by author in exchange for an honest review*
February 5, 2022
Let us all bow to the queen that is Suanne Laqueur.

After finishing this book, I have surmised that Suanne is a



because her words are simply magic.

Now for most of the book, I seesawed between two emotions:

Emotion 1:


Emotion 2:



Now let's break down the book in a short and sweet Q&A because after all the previously written reviews, I'm not gonna add anything to all the praise.

Q: Magic words you say? What makes it so special?
A: Vey few people can, for me, surpass this author's talent.

Exhibit A:
“My mother had a saying about parenthood,” Inez said. “You’re only as happy as your least happy child.”

Exhibit B:
“You grew up in a war. Your mind didn’t make a secret world to hide in, it made a dog for you to hold. I think that’s how Papi knew you would understand.”

Exhibit C:
"Jude ran a hand down Tej’s spine, smoothing invisible feathers. Tucking them back within because today was done and there’d be no more flying or fighting."

and on and on it goes...

Q: Wow... This is beautiful. Then why all the sobbing?
A:That is because of the subject matter, which I researched during and after reading the book. The very bad man in the book, who was real, did horrible horrible things. unimaginable torturous things. and he got away with it.

NOw what Ms. Suanne does is integrate what this bad man did in her story. So the horrors and their aftermath are experienced by her characters. Let me tell you, I barely stomached some scenes. It was very hard to read the torture in particular. It reminded me of the stories that my country's people went through and it hit very close to home. But I read every word, read through tears, through rage and through awe...

Q: I'm speechless... If the subject matter is this hard, what's the romance like?
A: Even though there is a romance in this book, between one of the story's narrators (Jude) and Tej.. it is not in the forefront of the story. don't get me wrong, the romance between them is what caused Emotion #2, but it's not the focus.

having said that... Tej completely stole me away, from the moment he said: "He's not worth it."

Q: So based on what you said above, I'm not even attempt to ask about the angst-o-meter.
A: *giggles in Suanne* This author can't write fluff so save her live. AND IT'S GLORIOUS.

Q: Good to know. And the steam-o-meter?
A: low... yeah yeah I know. Layla reading a low steam book... #gasp.
I didn't miss it, and trust me when I say that what little steam there is is AMAZING.

Q: and the HEA?
A: There is one... for everyone in this book., even if some of the people waited decades for theirs.

Honorable Mentions
- Tej being Lebanese, because we Lebanese people are THE BEST... #AllHailTheCedar
- Cleon (Jude's dad): GAWD he just broke my heart. his chapters were the most beautiful.
- Penny: I want to be like her when I grow up. So breakable but strong.
- Phil: The therapist: He had the BEST lines
- Serena: Because she was an un-revolting development.
- The cameo that shall not be named: Missed you baby. You did so good in this book.

Well lookie... This turned out to be on the long side.... Oh well.

Profile Image for Bookreader87(Amanda).
1,066 reviews39 followers
December 16, 2019
THIS BOOK IS OUT NOW!! 12/16/19

I’m calling it...this book here is hands down the best book I read all year.

Reviewing this book has been difficult because I want to get my thoughts straight and my words right but I find it to be a struggle. Not in a negative way but in the best way possible.There are just so many layers to this book so much more than what the synopsis gives you. You get stories within stories and they all find a way to circle back to each other. 

This book took me through so many different emotions. I’ll be honest ,Suanne breaks your heart over and over again but she also helps you find every single piece of it and puts it back together. I highly recommend giving this one a read.

Profile Image for Xia and the Giant TBR.
Author 5 books190 followers
November 19, 2019
When reading Suanne's books you have to be prepared for the FEELS. When it comes to plot, these stories are as far away from "fluff" and "superficial" as possible. Complex, riveting and heartbreaking, they deal with the cruelty of human kind, presenting suffering in the most respectful way possible. But they also present the power that love has to heal the pain, and the stories always finish with the sun shining on the horizon.

In comparison to Larks and Finches, Condors is more mellow than the others ( as mellow as one of these Venery series books can be, mind you), but after you get through the first two books this may be just what you need. Too much gut punching emotion can turn to apathy after a while.

Like in Larks, you don't get the story of one or two MCs, but the story of an entire family, and you will adore all of them.This is a character driven book focused on the characters' inner conflicts. It is an introspective works, and what I consider literary fiction. 

I did not read the blurb before starting Condors and I was taken by surprise several times by the course of the action. Then I was taken REALLY by surprise.

I'm not going to lie and say this is my favorite book from the Venery series. My favorite will always be The Voyages of Trueblood Cay-- one of the best fantasy books I've ever read. But this is one of the best self-published books out there. If you are a fan of the Venery series you must read this. It completes the universe. You could read it as a stand alone, but I don't recommend it. Read at least An Exaltation of Larks before reading this one.

"Who are you going to be now?"

Highly recommended. 

I received an ARC in return for an honest review.
Profile Image for Christelle.
808 reviews
December 17, 2019
*4.5 stars*

The Venery series is a story-telling about life, survival, resilience, love and family, and it’s written by such a talented author, able to play with words and come up with a symphony of emotions. It’s not easy to explain, it just has to be experienced.

This is all about going back home to your loved ones. Each tale is beautiful, poignant, overwhelming and brings so much reflexion.

The series started with Alex, this little boy back in 1973 in Chile, hiding all alone in a closet for his Mum and Dad to come back home. From then, it’s a journey about life through tales of Alex, Val, Jav, Steff, Geno, and it keeps going on here with Jude, Tej, Penny and Cleon and so many others.

This last part feels like an epilogue, like the Lark and Tholet families are reaching home, with reminiscences of the atrocities of the Pinochet dictatorship and of the concentration camps during WWII, and also homophobia. Yes, humans can be their own worst enemies, the fact that history repeats itself tells it all.

Just a little niggle : at one point, I got distracted with one too many links made, but it’s only a detail.

Once again, a powerful writing delivering a unique and emotional journey.

ARC of “A Scarcity of Condors” was generously provided by the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Bookphenomena (Micky) .
2,593 reviews517 followers
December 6, 2019
This book had atmosphere, emotion and a family saga to end all sagas. A SCARCITY OF CONDORS was a complex read but then I expect complexity from Suanne Laqueur. If you are fan of the Venery series, you will feel the intertwining of these books, but in particular, there was a strong connection to book one, AN EXALTATION OF LARKS.

The third book returned fans to Chile, Pinochet’s heinous regime but it also opened that Pandora’s box wider and invited the reader to witness some of the atrocities. I say go with trepidation and that there may be themes that are difficult for some.

The book had a slow start for me, taking some time to get into the context and characters. Things I enjoyed included Penny, she was the shining light for me, easy to get to know, easy to empathsise with and admire. What was unusual for me was that I didn’t really connect fully with some of the other characters.

Jude was a character I liked but didn’t love. His repetitive reliving of past events with his psychotherapist was a bit overkill for me. I was ready for him to set down events of the past. So, imagine my delight, truly, when we got to the meet, greet and connection between Jude and Tej. These two connected at a time I just needed some levity in the heavy within these pages. All that said about this relationship, when it came to toils and troubles, there hadn’t been enough narrative for me to feel what they were feeling and so instead I felt like an outsider looking in. I loved these two the most in their early days when they were all playful banter.

The card has some digits on it. If you punch them into your phone, magic things will happen.

The themes of being disappeared, lost babies, torture and reconnecting with unknown loved ones carried gravity of emotion. There was so much going on, almost all of it was incredibly serious as you would imagine and I felt the weight of that. However, there were only a few moments of real emotional connection with the story for me and I am sad about that. Without wanting to spoil, I loved the reappearance of the character who I knew would reappear because of the context and from 70% to the end was a more avid reading experience. I struggled with Cleon’s short chapters throughout. Hollis and I buddy read this and we agreed that in some ways, parts of this book would have made a great novella to book one.

If you know me, you know that I recommend the Venery series to many and all, that hasn’t changed. This hasn’t been my favourite read but it does add to the overall narrative of these characters and context. I don’t know why some elements missed the mark for me but they did and I can’t change that. I have learnt historical detail from this book and what has been translated through human stories in this world. I am the richer for that.

** I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review. **

This review can be found on A Take From Two Cities here.
Profile Image for NicoleR.M.M..
571 reviews138 followers
March 20, 2024
Suanne Laqueur is not just an author, she’s an exceptional crafter, an artist who carefully weighs words and sentences, in order to shape them into the most beautiful story ever. That’s what she does, and there is no other writer in this era who does it the way she does. I wished I could borrow her creative mind for just a little while so I could write a proper review that does this book justice, because I am out of words. This whole series is among the best I have ever read. All 3 books heartbreaking, but oh so beautiful, making them unforgettable as the main characters are shaped into real living people, with real emotions and real lives to live.

This book is about Jude (I can’t stop the Beatles song from taking over my mind - Hey Jude, don’t make it bad, take a sad song and make it better) and I loved how Suanne crafted these lyrics into his story, how they blended into his life from the day he was born. Jude has lived through a trauma, as did his parents, who were victims of the Pinochet regime in Chile.
Their story is heartbreaking. These people are survivors, take the sad song and make it better. But sometimes something happens that throws you in a deep state of shock. And then you need your family and loved ones in order to survive. Again.

This book is an ode to family, found and blood related. It’s an ode to real love, to embrace life as it is, finding the purpose behind everything that happens, because there’s reasons. I loved Jude and Tej, they reminded me a bit of Stef and Jav from A charm of finches, though they are totally different people.

The history behind Jude’s story is very interesting but painful. The military coup in Chile in 1973, Pinochet’s dictatorship and the thousands of people tortured, murdered and disappeared is a lot to take in. When you check some of these facts on the internet, they are there. They happened. And it makes you sick to realise it’s part of a terrible history that still has its effect on people today. People like Jude and his family.

All I need to say is READ THIS SERIES. It’s not for everyone, since they’re all hurtful and heartbreaking, but if you can handle that, I just know you are going to agree with me that they don’t come better than this.
Profile Image for Michele.
351 reviews65 followers
November 11, 2019
The irony of writing this review is that it’s hard to put into words how much Suanne’s words mean to me. From her first novel to her last, they have all imprinted on me – mind, heart and in my reader’s soul.

Reading A Scarcity of Condors was an experience in extremes. From the absolute worst of humanity with imprisonment and torture during Pinochet's military coup in Chile, to the purest form of unconditional love. From loss that is literally and figuratively bone crushing, to joy that feeds your soul. From disappointment that tears you apart, to enlightenment that illuminates you inside and out.

Condors, as with the other Venery Series novels, challenges you as a reader. I had to stop, breathe, think and feel throughout this book: What would / could I do? How would / could I have moved on? How do I define family? Where do I find my value? I felt like a needed a session with Phil afterwards…

Net-net, this book is an incredible read. It’s complicated and layered and beautiful. It’s what I love about reading, the escape, the learning, the journey, the feeling, the connection, the passion and the experience.

I will write more when I get this beauty in paperback form, so that I can re-read and post-it-up to highlight all my favorite pages and passages.

This book will be #1 in my Top 10 of the year. 5+ stars. A must read.

PSA: Do yourself a favor and read An Exaltation of Larks (#1) and A Charm of Finches (#2) first. To experience these books as a series is everything.
Profile Image for Karen.
1,453 reviews109 followers
December 16, 2019
Sometimes you have to read a book twice because it’s so perfect that you want to read it again and savour every single word.

Sometimes the measure of a good book is the tears you shed.

Sometimes the measure of a good book is the tears shed unashamedly on a bus full of people.

Sometimes the measure of a good book is walking home in the pouring whilst tears disguised as the rain run down your face.

But these aren’t sad tears.

Do you ever have that feeling when you read a book that you gain a friend? A book character friend and you love that friend so much. Your friend has this thing that they’ve wanted for such a long time and you ache with them, feel their longing and want to help.

A Scarcity Of Condors made my cry those tears for my friend. Friends plural actually because I gained new friends Jude, Tej, Cleon, Penny.

This book is a masterpiece.

Everything about it is perfect. The way Suanne Laqueur writes dialogue is perfection. The way she stirs every emotion; perfection. The sadness, the joy, the pain, the love. The fucking Beatles! The Jude The Obscure references. The telling of a horrid event in history. The poor man’s Reuben! That woman is seriously a writing genius. Lucy in the sky with diamonds. She is a fucking diamond.

I highlighted. I sighed. I laughed. Searched Pinterest. Listened to The Beatles. Listened to Sting. Listened to Simon and Garfunkel. Went back to The Beatles. Cried big messy, sloppy tears at Hey Jude.

Suanne Laqueur earned every single one of those tears.
Profile Image for Grace.
2,112 reviews108 followers
November 25, 2019
Beautifully crafted, this is a poignant story about family heritage, discovering new truths and honoring the past.

There's something truly special about this series, which highlights the author's distinct voice, creating fictional stories around real world events. This third installment in the series reveals the atrocities the people of Chile faced during Augusto Pinochet's reign. The horror citizens faced during this time are detailed intermittently, as the main narrator, Juleón "Jude" Tholet searches for answers following a DNA test.

The revelation that Jude is not actually the son of Cleon and Penelope "Penny", is a shock to everyone, including them, thus beginning a journey to the past in a series of flashbacks. Even with my spotty memory about history, I don't recall ever learning about what happened to the Chilean citizens, so this was a bit of a history lesson for me. And as horrific as it was to read, it drew me closer to Jude's parents and what they overcame. With that said, I was torn by the DNA discovery, how much more heartbreak could this family take?

If you broke a bone, it became an experience. If your bone was broken, it became your identity.

While there is a great deal of heartbreak in this story, there was a lot that I truly relished.
1) Jude's amazing parents - aside from the admirable strength it took these two to survive the torture they faced, their acceptance of Jude as a gay man, won me over completely. I loved how they supported him and just wanted him to find new love, after suffering years of personal torture from a homophobic attack.
2) Jude's new love story - Timothee Jalil "Tej" Khoury comes into Jude's life at the best and worst possible time. As his world as he knows it becomes to crumble down, Tej is there to pick up the pieces, to be the voice of reason, and give him hope that things will ultimately work out.

"I don't just want to be your lover. I want to be your home."

3) The Beatles - as you can guess from some of the characters names, this band had a prominent part is this story, and I loved how the author incorporated their songs and lyrics within.

"Take a sad song and make it better." - John Lennon and Paul McCarthy

4) The connection to the Larks - I don't want to spoil this section of the story, so all I'll say was this was one of the more lighthearted parts and I adored how the author connected this story to book one in the series (if you haven't read it, that's ok, you'll still be able to follow along).

This was a powerful installment to the series that ran the gamut of emotions. The author took this reader and her characters for one hell of a rough ride, but in the end, brought everyone through to the other side, better off for the experience. Fans of this author won't be disappointed!

*An ARC was received for an honest review.

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Profile Image for Paula (lovebookscl).
865 reviews164 followers
March 19, 2020
Best fucking book of my life

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this AMAZING BOOK! OMG (La reseña en español más abajo)

Reading this was amazing. A Scarcity of Condors tells the life of Jude as the children of chilean exiles. His father was tortured and her mother moved heaven and earth to save her husband, flee from hell and take refuge in Canada.

And like many children of exiles, Jude guards a wounded soul, full of terror, uncertainty and always looking back. And what must have been a safe place turns into another place of horror when Jude is the victim of a hate crime for being gay. This family migrates again and they go to the United States. And that's how their life begins again and Jude tries to move forward, with the strength that only someone who has seen the worst of humanity can have.

Jude relates what it means to grow with the past always in the present and at the same time be the heir to hope. But everything collapses again when the family finds out that Jude is not their biological child, no one knew and the question is: how did this happen? Something happened at the birth of Jude in Chile, in those months of chaos and horror, before fleeing to Canada ... something really bad happened.

And in the midst of the biggest storm in Jude's life, he meets Tej: Wide smile, eyes full of sparks and the guy with the worst pick-up lines. And here he is... Jude - in the middle of an existential crisis the size of a planet- smiling to a very charming and cute stranger.

It's a beautiful story, each dialogue is perfectly built. The book is moving, heartbreaking, funny, and mesmerizing. It's that type of book where you mark each paragraph. It's a book that addresses the unimaginable horrors of the Chilean dictatorship, toxic masculinity and what that means for a gay man, but it's also a book of hope, love and family. Second chances and resilience. Jude is an amazing, beautiful and unique character that will make you reflect on life itself.

What a beautiful reading, I recommend it 100%. This book was a serendipity and it goes to my top readings of the year. I don't have the words to express my love for this story. Que el Cóndor vuele alto.

*******ESPAÑOL*****

Leer esto fue asombroso. A Scarcity of Condors cuenta la vida de Jude, hijo de una madre y un padre que huyeron de la dictadura de Chile. Su padre fue torturado y su madre movió cielo y tierra para salvar a su marido, huir del infierno y refugiarse en Canadá.

Y como muchos hijos/as de exiliados, Jude guarda un alma herida, llena de terror, de incertidumbre y con la mirada siempre hacia atrás. Y lo que debió ser un lugar seguro se vuelve en otro espacio de horror cuando Jude es víctima de un crimen de odio por ser gay. Esta familia vuelve a migrar y se van a Estados Unidos. Y es así como comienzan nuevamente otra vida y Jude trata de seguir hacia adelante, con la fuerza que solo puede tener alguien que ha visto lo peor de la humanidad.

Jude relata lo que significa crecer con el pasado siempre en el presente y a la vez ser heredero de la esperanza. Pero, todo se vuelve a derrumbar cuando la familia se entera de que Jude no es un hijo biológico, nadie sabia y la pregunta es ¿Cómo ocurrió esto? Algo pasó en el nacimiento de Jude en Chile, en esos meses de caos y horror, antes de huir a Canadá… algo pasó.

Y en medio de la tormenta más grande de la vida de Jude, él conoce a Tej: Sonrisa amplia, ojos llenos de chispas y las peores pick-up lines de la vida. Quien diría que Jude – en plena crisis existencial en un bar ahogando sus penas- conocería a la persona más extraña y encantadora.

Es una historia bellísima, cada dialogo está perfectamente pensando y construido. El libro es conmovedor, desgarrador, gracioso e hipnotizante. Es de esas historias donde marcas cada párrafo. Es un libro que aborda los horrores inimaginables de la dictadura, de la masculinidad tóxica y lo que significa eso para un hombre gay, pero también es un libro de esperanza, amor y de la familia. De segundas oportunidades y de resiliencia. Jude es un personaje asombroso, bello y único que te hará reflexionar sobre la vida misma.

Que lectura más hermosa, la recomiendo eternamente. Un libro que se va a mis favoritos del años y de la vida.

Profile Image for Lisa Aiello.
980 reviews22 followers
November 4, 2019
5 "And who are you going to be?" stars

After finishing this book, I want to put on my Hulk hands and go stomping through all of the whole entire Readerverse bellowing "Lisa love book. Everyone read words!!"

As I flipped the last page and read every entire scrap I could, including the Acknowledgements and recipes (squeeeee - there are RECIPES!!!!), I suddenly felt bereft . Now what the hell do I do? Because I sure as hell wasn't ready to let these people go!!

Ahhh, Suanne. You own me. Your words crawl deep inside and nourish my soul. With every book of yours I finish, I think "This is it. This is what writing should be. This is what reading should be." You just get it! You cut through all the BS and get to the heart of each and every one of your characters. But that's just it - they aren't just characters. They are friends and family. They are your parents, your children, your neighbors, your best friends, your most loathsome enemies, your community...and they are you. Suanne writes with so much depth and honesty, exposing truth, examining motivation, and bravely uncovering frailties. Every time I crack open a new story, I simply hang on tight because I'm going to be taken places and shown things that are often hard to see, but that make me reflect and consider and learn and weep with raw emotion. Ohhhh, and the crying I did here. Every kind of tear - joy, grief, sadness, frustration with so much intolerance and hate, laughter, despair, overwhelming love.

This story has so many underlying themes, but the greatest I took away is that we are not defined by our past or our mistakes. Life can be a complete sh*t show. We all deal with things no one else can even imagine. What defines us is who we surround ourselves with and how we choose to react. Whether we choose to rise or lie in a heap, cursing our fate. Ultimately, it's the answer to "Okay, so that happened. Who are you going to be now?".
Profile Image for Jx PinkLady Reviews ♡.
736 reviews1,061 followers
January 3, 2020

It's clear that Suanne Lacqueur researched the subject of this novel with meticulous care. I have read many books penned by her and, once again, she immersed me in a narrative with a rich and sophisticated tapestry of words, detail, thought, and feeling. The layered story arc and carefully crafted characters ensured that I was completely invested in all areas of the story and enamoured with the protagonists who take centre stage.

#recommendedread


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