The Black Coats audiobook

Inspired by a black coat sitting on the road in Nebraska, grief at the death of a beloved friend and a fascination with vigilante justice, The Black Coats is a story that I've wanted to tell for a long time. It's a story about revenge, about women saying "enough" with their fists and their words, and a secretive matriarchal society that loves both mason jars and brass knuckles.It’s about the moral grey that exists in the lines between vengeance and revenge, justice and torture, love and grief. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading.

Book Reviewed on www.whisperingstories.comOne afternoon whilst in pottery class Thea Soloman notices a black envelope address to her. Inside is instructions that lead her to another envelope and then another and eventually to a house called Mademoiselle Corday in the middle of the woods. Upon entering there are more messages and a big bloke to get past if she wants to learn why she has been invited.The place is the home of The Black Coats, a secret organisation that passes out balancings (judgements) on men who have gotten away with crimes. There are two different types of balancings, non-violent and violent, but they must never kill.The Black Coats is an all-women team and they recruit girls to join who have had a trauma in the past and who want retribution. But everything within the organisation might not be as cool as it first seems, secrets from within can’t stay hidden forever and it is up to Thea how she handles the information and the consequences that might follow.I really enjoyed The Black Coats. The writing flowed so easily and the plot was certainly enjoyable. There was lots of excitement within the pages as well as some amazing characters, especially the girls in Thea’s team called Team Banner; Louise, Bea, Casey, and Mirabelle who all had their unique personalities and personal traumas.Thea is the leader of Team Banner and she is stronger than she will ever realise. Her cousin Natalie was murdered less than a year ago and her grief had her not wanting to be part of society or take part in the sports she use to enjoy but with every day working with the girl’s and training, Thea got stronger and more confident and the grief hurt a little less.The book was told in the third person and split into two sections. The first section focuses on the girls training and becoming fully-fledged Black Coats as well as Thea’s relationship with Drew Porter from her high school. The second part is where most of the action and a big reveal is set. It is also where I made the connection between the cover and the story.The Black Coats is a truly fabulous book that deals with a lot of issues facing teenagers today as well as the wider picture of whether vigilante behaviour is acceptable and is an eye for an eye really how the world should work?I read the book in just a couple of sittings. It is a book I looked forward to reading again the second I put it down and one I couldn’t wait to finish and yet didn’t want it to end.

Originally published on The Nerd Daily | Review by Teralyn MitchellThe line between justice and vengeance is thin and it’s easy to cross it. That is what Colleen Oakes explored in her new novel, The Black Coats. Thea Soloman is dealing with grief after losing her cousin and best friend, Natalie six months prior to the start of the story. Natalie’s killer was never brought to justice so when the Black Coats—a secret society who exact vengeance on men who hurt girls and women—send her an invitation to join, she does without a second thought. This is just what she needs to start living her life again and become excited about something for the first time since losing her cousin.Thea is willing to lie to her parents and the new guy in her life so that she can train with the other members of her team. She feels good and like she’s doing the right thing especially when she and her team are assigned their first Balancing—acts of revenge against men who wronged women. Each member has to participate in Balancings before they can collect an Inheritance, which is a Balancing of their own against the person who hurt them or someone they love.Thea is fine with it at first even if she feels uneasy sometimes. All she has to do is remind herself what these men have done but of course things start to get a little murky when Thea and her team go to carry out an Inheritance for one of their team members which isn’t as it seem. Things go from bad to worse from there and Thea learns that no matter how much justice or vengeance you dole out, it won’t bring back a loved one or change what happened to you. You will still hurt and have to deal with what you went through.I loved Thea from the very beginning. She was stronger than she ever believed, a leader, and so compassionate. She wanted to do the right thing and she wanted to get justice for her cousin. Thea was still deep in grief when the Black Coats approached her about joining and all they had to do was offer the chance to get justice for Natalie for her to agree to join, just to be doing something. But she was a thinker and smart so she learned that there was something sinister about this group and slowly realized that she wasn’t willing to cross that thin line between justice and vengeance. I also loved that Thea was mixed-race. I liked the diversity in The Black Coats; it was done perfectly and felt authentic. I liked the members of Thea’s team and her boyfriend. They added humanity to the story and kept it from being too bleak and dark. Drew, Thea’s boyfriend, was more understanding than I thought he would be and her team became more than just that; they became her friends, her sisters and important to her. Thea was a character I could root for even when she was doing things I didn’t agree with. She was relatable and her actions were all understandable.Colleen Oakes did an amazing job writing this book that touched on so many hard subjects. She made strong but flawed characters who you couldn’t help but root for and admire. She created a cast of characters that played well off one another and that was diverse and relatable. The pacing of the story was also perfect. Nothing happened too fast or too slow. She kept the reader guessing as to what was really going on and did not dive right into the girls doing crimes disguised as justice. She also did not leave the readers hanging in any way. I loved how the story ended and how things escalated but were resolved. I have to say one of the best things I liked about the ending was that Oakes did not let the characters escape from their ordeal perfectly unharmed. There were lingering scars—mental and physical—that they will always have to deal with.The Black Coats was in amazing and top read of 2019. I enjoyed reading this masterful, action-packed YA novel that dealt with heavy topics and were quite bleak and hard to read at times but there was still some lightness in it that made this book great. This was an amazing read that sucked me in from the first page and kept me engrossed until the end.

HOLY SHIT. I finished almost in one sitting*I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for honest review. Review to come*

The Black Coats is a secret society of women who plot and execute revenge on men who have hurt them or other women and girls in their lives to teach them a lesson and get even. Could this sound any more awesome?!? The book is dark, and secretive and chock full of girl power. It's a fast-paced, action-filled examination of revenge and what lengths some will go to attain it.Thea is still reeling from the murder of her cousin Natalie. Her family struggles, her days go by in a haze and she's desperate for closure as the case has since become stagnant and cold, with no leads in site as to who murdered her best friend. She's steadily melting into a dark spiral of depression and sadness and the invitation to join the Black Coats come just in the nick of time for her.A mysterious series of envelopes sends her on a scavenger-type hunt to equally curious destinations that end with a proposition... to join an undercover group of determined women who have been hurt by men - through abuse, pedophilia, and other disgusting acts. She's quickly thrusted into a group of of girls also seeking revenge for something a man has done to scar them, and intense training begins.The Black Coats start performing tasks to scare and humiliate the lesser offenders, but soon they will be able to carry out their 'balancings' on those who have directly hurt them. But Thea soon realizes - are they taking justice too far? Who is she to be judge and jury? And if it won't bring Natalie back - is it all worth it?Give me a group of strong women who kick ass and you have SOLD ME. I loved the premise behind this all as a story - it was creative and fun and at times pretty intense, but I flew through it and was riveted by the suspense and the mystery of this secret society. The characters were all interesting and strong willed and I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish!

Der Klappentext des Buches hat mich direkt in seinen Bann gezogen. Eine Gruppe Frauen, die Rache an Männern (und Frauen) nimmt, die Verbrechen begangen haben und die Frage wo die Grenze zwischen Gerechtigkeit und Rache ist bieten sehr viel Potential. Zunächst hat mich das Buch auch wirklich in seinen Bann gezogen. Der Leser lernt Thea und ihre Gruppe bei den Black Coats kennen und begleitet sie zu ihren ersten Aufträgen – so genannten Balancings. Die erste Hälfte des Buches verflog dadurch total schnell, an vielen Stellen hatte ich aber auch das Gefühl, dass die Geschichte zu schnell voranschreitet. So hatte man zwar nach einer Weile ein Bild von Thea, ihre Teammitglieder blieben dabei aber total blass, sodass ich über manche von ihnen am Ende des Buches immer noch nichts wusste. Meiner Meinung nach hätte die Geschichte auch keine Lovestory gebraucht, da diese wieder von der eigentlichen Frage, ob Selbstjustiz okay ist, ablenkt. Die Organisation der Black Coats an sich war aber wirklich interessant gestaltet und hat mich wirklich an das Buch gefesselt. Für ein Jugendbuch ist die Geschichte aber sehr brutal, bereits im Prolog wird eine Vergewaltigung beschrieben aber ich denke es wird bereits im Klappentext klar, dass die Männer an denen sich die Black Coats rächen schlimmere Verbrechen begangen haben als einem Kind die Süßigkeiten zu klauen und dass diese Taten eben auch ein Bestandteil des Buches sein werden. Der zweite Teil des Buches hat mich leider ein wenig enttäuscht. Ich hatte mir hier einfach etwas Anderes von diesem Buch erwünscht. Das Buch bietet dadurch, dass es so viele Gesellschaftsthemen, wie Verlust, Gewalt, Zusammenhalt, Beeinflussung, Rache und Gerechtigkeit behandelt sehr viel Potential, dass jedoch durch die kurze Seitenzahl einfach nicht ausgeschöpft werden konnte. Hätte das Buch 200 Seiten mehr hätte man so viel aus dieser Geschichte machen können, doch so blieben die Charaktere leider zu blass, die Themen wurden nicht voll ausgeschöpft und die Handlung war oft zu schnell. Ich gebe dem Buch daher 3.5 Sterne, denn zum Nachdenken gebracht hat es mich definitiv.

The question that comes to mind as I read this book is: What if women got tired of perpetually asking themselves, “Is this safe?” or What is we wanted better for our daughters? This is a fun and adventurous read for teens. It asks hard questions about the morally grey of life with lovably imperfect characters, hard ass characters, and characters I would not want to meet up with...ever. The imagery and imagination crafted in each scene of this book made me want to jump on a plane to Austin, as well as stand up and speak out for justice today, instead of wasting a moment more waffling.

Holy hell. Review to come when I can word again. I need to go hold this close for a bit.

Review Originally Posted On The Sassy Book Geek **** Thank you to HarperTeen for providing me with a copy via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review ******** Trigger Warnings: Sexual Assault (Occurs Off-Page), Abuse, Murder, and Violence ****I can’t believe more people haven’t added this book yet, it seems to be flying under the radar and it definitely deserves more attention! I mean it’s about a vigilante group of women who get revenge on men (and sometimes other women) who mistreat women, it’s badass, it’s feminist, and you’re going to want to give it a try! Plot The story starts being told from the POV of Robin, one of the founders of the Black Coats group and from there we follow Thea a high school student in the modern day. Thea, along with several other girls her age, are initiated into the group and all of them have been hurt in some way, shape, or form by men. Each of the girls also have their own special skill sets and they operate as a group to go on missions to exact revenge on wrong-doers. Very Batman-esque. Depending on the severity of the man’s crime, each mission is handled differently: more peacefully (blackmail.) or violently (give him a beat down) for example.There was something really satisfying about these girls giving men their just desserts, as I already briefly mentioned it was badass, empowering, and feminist. I loved it. However, as you can imagine this got to be quite morally gray. Were they really acting any better by harming some of these guys? There are a lot of these dilemmas as the story progresses, I don’t want to delve into too much detail because I don’t want to spoil it. But know that it does get pretty morally gray and our characters have to figure out what’s worth more to them: vengeance or doing what’s right.Overall the pacing was a bit slower than I thought it would be. I didn’t struggle to read it or anything but I felt with the general atmosphere of the book and idea behind it, that it would be a lot faster paced. There’s plenty of action during the missions but the in-between moments are a bit on the dull side.This book is a standalone and while everything is wrapped up nicely by the end of the book I have to say that ending completely blew me away and I would have loved more! I honestly can say that this was one of the best endings I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading, it was SO SATISFYING! I think I could recommend this book for the ending alone, maybe I’ve hyped it up too much now but it was so worth the read. CharactersThea, as mentioned, is our main character and focus of the story. She is half black and half white so she is a POC and she used to be a track star but quit after a certain, devastating family incident. Overall I really enjoyed Thea as a protagonist; she’s feisty, clever, and has a generally good attitude. I liked how she develops over the course of the story and her opinions on the Black Coats changes, but I won’t get into that too much as I want to avoid spoilers.There are a few other side characters, mostly Thea’s group of Black Coats. Bea was probably one of the most interesting ones but she really didn’t get the page time I felt she deserved: she’s a chubby, shy girl but has a very unique gift that she contributes to the group. Then we have Mirabelle who, at the start of the book, is your stereotypical “popular high school mean girl”. I actually think Mirabelle is one of the most full circle characters in the book. There’s so much more to her than what she shows on the surface and her reason for being asked to join the Black Coats (a man who “wronged” her) is very emotional and the outcome was not what I expected but I thought it was done well.Also I really liked how the friendship developed between Thea and Mirabelle because at the start Thea sort of judges Mirabelle because of her “popular” status. However, they grow closer and kind of have a “enemies to friends” relationship. RomanceI don’t have too terribly much to say about the romance in this book except that there is one and it affects the outcome of Thea’s story. It wasn’t full of tropes like insta-love or anything like that and it didn’t ever feel like it was completely overtaking the plot either. I thought Thea and Drew were pretty adorable though! in conclusionWhat I Loved: Unique and enjoyable story Feminist and badass (it’s a plus for me!) Morally gray (I like when things aren’t straight black and white, makes for a more complex story in my opinion) That ending made it ALL worth it! Interesting, developed characters Cute romance, no tropesWhat I Didn’t Love: I thought the pacing could have been better, it was a little on the slow side Pretty tedious during Thea’s “down times” I wish some of the side characters got a little more attention Recommend? I definitely recommend “The Black Coats” especially since it’s such an underrated book! It’s an empowering read about women overcoming the wrongs that are done to them and fighting back together. Also that ending, trust me, that was the best damn part and it felt so GOOD! I hope I’ve done a sufficient job of convincing you to read this book, it really does deserve more love and attention.

Dit heeft me echt achterover geslagen. Zo verrassend goed. Ik had weinig verwachtingen bij dit boek omdat ik nog niemand erover had gehoord. Maar dit boek gaat echt zo in het lijstje bij mijn favoriete contemporary’s. Hoop dat meer mensen dit boek gaan lezen. Ook echt een heerlijk origineel verhaal. Lekker feministisch en hoe niets helemaal zwart of wit is.

This was the most convoluted thing I’ve ever read. I’m sorry, but the whole thing was just SO RIDICULOUS. First off, if anything like this ever existed, they would not be recruiting high schoolers. They would be recruiting young adults instead of minors who have parents to answer to (aka loose ends and undesired questions). There are so many logic holes where these teenagers could have been caught by their parents a million times over; exposing this whole secret organization. I’m sorry but that Victorian house club excuse would not fool all these parents, and especially not for 6 days a week every week. Also, this was filled with cliches; everything from instalove to help dropping in at just the right time when MC is in trouble (even though no one was even informed that help was needed but lookieeeee help happened to show up right on time anyways even though they had no way of knowing). ALSO CAN I JUST SAY YOU CANNOT JUMP FROM A SECOND STORY OF A BUILDING AND JUST LAND THEN JUMP UP AND START RUNNING LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED. Not once, but twice. Yes, the main character did this TWICE. Once leaping from a whole ass roof and second time jumping from a top story window. I can’t I just can’t. Ok this review has been really criticizing because I had to get all that off my chest but despite all this, this was a 4 star, above average read because I REALLY REALLY ENJOYED THIS. Like, a lot. Enough that I can overlook the cliches and nonsensical details. Fuck. This was a really good book.Despite how nonsensical so much of this was, Colleen Oakes is just an extremely talented writer. Everything she writes is consistently good. She could write a book trying to convince us all the sky is purple and still somehow make it fun to read. She won me over with the Wendy Darling series and this book was the most fun I’ve had reading a book in a while. I was never bored reading this. Despite it being overly convenient and nonsensical it was super well written, super action packed, and never boring. Despite it all I enjoyed this a lot I guess lol.

This is a powerful story about getting justice for women for the times they’ve been hurt by men. The times the law didn’t fairly punish and let a criminal walk free with barely a slap on the wrist. A story about the women who’ve been victims and have to suffer alone while their abuser walks free of any punishment. But when does that justice become vengeance?This book covers the morally grey area and explores this topic as our protagonist is initiated into the secret society of the Black Coats due to being angry that her cousin’s killer walks free. The timing for this book’s content is perfect. It was written before the #MeToo movement and was definitely just as relevant an issue then, but this issue has become more prominent in the media and something more people are talking about.As much as it’s satisfying to read about these women getting their justice, the book covers really well where their vigilance goes too far. The romance between Thea and Drew is also woven into the story incredibly well and I actually loved reading about the two developing together. The characters and dynamic between the group of girls, Team Banner, is definitely my favourite aspect of the book. Thea grew as a great leader and each member of the team had their lovable qualities. It made this story really fun to read. I’d definitely recommend reading this book. Be wary of its trigger warnings, such as abuse, rape, assault, and murder, but overall we don’t get as much detail on these things. The most intense moment was probably in the prologue.*ARC provided by the publisher for an honest review*Review can also be found on my blog!

If this book is not yet on your radar or on your TBR, it needs to be! Hands down 5/5 stars for The Black Coats by Colleen Oakes because ZOMG! This book comes out next month and if you appreciate vigilante justice and feminist kickassedness, then you need to preorder immediately. Brutal, rich, angry, necessary. A reminder that no matter who we are, where we come from, what our social status is... as women we are likely to have trauma in common. So joining together and holding each other up INSTEAD of tearing each other down is more important now than ever.

You can view my full review here! The premise of The Black Coats stood out to me immediately. In a world where #MeToo is seeing more and more women speak up against the wrongs that have been carried out against them, I just cant get enough of books featuring strong, independent young women. Beautifully written, I couldn’t put The Black Coats down.

Want to see more bookish things from me? Check out my Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfer...*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review*4.5/5 Stars After the murder of her cousin Natalie, Thea Solomon is grieving, especially when her killer is never brought to justice. She receives a letter asking her to join the Black Coats, a secret organization that have been executing "balancings" over people who hurt woman. Thea becomes the leader of Team Banner, a group of four other girls that will exact these vigilante missions. As they go on more missions, they will earn Inheritances, a mission that will allow them to exact their revenge on those who hurt them or those they love in the past. I had pretty low expectations going into this... but I was pleasantly surprised! You definitely need to put reality to the side, as this would never take place in the real world... but it was so much fun. I could not put this down and read it in one sitting! The story was so easy to get into, although the writing style was quite basic, it still flowed nicely. The pacing was so well done, and it never felt too fast or too slow. Thea was a great character, and I loved getting to know her. You couldn't help but root for her. I liked her battle inside about whether or not a line can be crossed when it comes to justice and vengeance. I loved the girls on Team Banner, they each had unique personalities and interesting backstories we learned more about as the story progressed. I really enjoyed the friendships the girls developed through out the book during their time in the Black Coats. The biggest complaint I had was the relationship between Drew and Thea, I just did not care at all.