Having loved The Darkest Part of the Forest, I was expecting something surreal and creepy from Tithe. While it delivered on those fronts, it also felt confused and half-hearted.

Tithe took a long time to begin. The first part of the novel felt disjointed and slow. It may have been a reflection of just how not-normal Kaye was, but it didn't feel well executed and detracted from my enjoyment. Plus, there's a dream-like quality in the novel that holds the reader at bay from the action (maybe because Kaye feels so removed from the real world). The pacing is choppy,...