A Secret History of Witches
6.0
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A sweeping historical saga that traces five generations of fiercely powerful mothers and daughters -...
A Certain Age (A Certain Age #1)
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As the freedom of the Jazz Age transforms New York City, the iridescent Mrs. Theresa Marshall of...
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Unpassing in Books
Dec 22, 2021
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The Unpassing
By Chia-Chia Lin
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments
In Chia-Chia Lin's debut, The Unpassing, we meet a Taiwanese immigrant family of six struggling to make ends meet on the outskirts of Anchorage, Alaska. The father, hardworking but beaten down, is employed as a plumber and repairman, while the mother, a loving, strong-willed, and unpredictably emotional matriarch, holds the house together. When 10-year-old Gavin contracts meningitis at school, he falls into a deep, nearly fatal coma. He wakes up a week later to learn that his little sister Ruby was infected, too. She did not survive.
Routine takes over for the grieving family: The siblings care for each other as they befriend a neighboring family and explore the woods; distance grows between the parents as they deal with their loss separately. But things spiral when the father, increasingly guilt ridden after Ruby's death, is sued for not properly installing a septic tank, which results in grave harm to a little boy. In the ensuing chaos, what really happened to Ruby finally emerges.
With flowing prose that evokes the terrifying beauty of the Alaskan wilderness, Lin explores the fallout after the loss of a child and the way in which a family is forced to grieve in a place that doesn't yet feel like home. Emotionally raw and subtly suspenseful, The Unpassing is a deeply felt family saga that dismisses the American dream for a harsher but ultimately more profound reality.
To start off I’ll say it’s very well written. Sadly I just struggled to connect with the book and it’s characters, yes I’ve still given it 4 stars because it at least deserves that considering it is also the first book from this author. I don’t want to discourage anyone from reading it as someone else may connect I just struggles.
Drylands, a Rural American Saga
Steve Turner and Lionel Delevingne
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Family values, hard-won success, and tough love for tough times: when we talk about America as an...
Airel: The Awakening (The Airel Saga: Book 1, Part 1)
8.0
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All Airel ever wanted was to be normal, to disappear into the crowd. But bloodlines can produce...
Arrow of God
6.0
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Ezeulu, headstrong chief priest of the god Ulu, is worshipped by the six villages of Umuaro. But he...
Merissa (11935 KP) rated Ricochet (The Wolfborne Saga #2) in Books
Jan 2, 2020
This really is a great take on wolves and vampires. I know I've said it before, and no doubt, I'll say it again, but it is! As the book moves on you find out about different types of vampire. And the wolves start to make a pack, something they had been denied.
There is one scene - I'll call it the spaghetti and naming scene - that really stood out to me. So many different parts to it, all fantastically written. And can I just say? Naming something and then it dying is NOT good!! LOL
A brilliant addition to the series and I really can't wait to see where it goes next. I just hope Zev finds someone for himself!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Luna: Wolf Moon
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A Dragon is dead. Corta Helio, one of the five family corporations that rule the Moon, has...
Science fiction
In the Land of the Long White Cloud
6.0
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Helen Davenport, governess for a wealthy London household, longs for a family of her own—but...