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ClareR (5869 KP) rated The Unravelling in Books
Feb 23, 2022
I absolutely adored this thoughtful, beautiful story of a young woman, Tartelin, going to live on the island of Dohhalund as an assistant to Marianne Stourbridge, and elderly lepidopterist.
Marianne is a difficult woman to get to know: she’s short tempered, doesn’t really want to share any of herself with Tartelin - and she has a lot of secrets to share.
Tartelin is mourning the death of her mother. She’s a young woman, alone in the world. She probably chooses the job with Marianne because it’s somewhere so different from her childhood home and her mother’s art studio.
I do think that Dohhalund goes some way to helping Tartelin begin the grieving process. It sounds like a stark, beautiful place. At one end is a military base, and at the other is Marianne’s house and land. Her family had lived on Dohhalund for generations, until the military had ordered them to leave. After her return, it’s evident that many of the buildings have started to fall into the sea. This reflects to some extent, Marianne’s physical and Tartelin’s mental states. Both women are deeply affected by what has happened in their pasts.
This is such an emotive, beautifully descriptive book. It’s a slow burner, a story of friendship and love, where secrets are revealed, people are reunited and new friendships forged.
This gorgeous book had me in tears by the end, with characters I really cared for. As the Pearl Women in the book often said: “The sea is made up of unspeakable sadness”, and whilst this novel was sad, there was also hope.
Highly recommended (as is Polly Crosby’s first book “The Illustrated Child”).
Marianne is a difficult woman to get to know: she’s short tempered, doesn’t really want to share any of herself with Tartelin - and she has a lot of secrets to share.
Tartelin is mourning the death of her mother. She’s a young woman, alone in the world. She probably chooses the job with Marianne because it’s somewhere so different from her childhood home and her mother’s art studio.
I do think that Dohhalund goes some way to helping Tartelin begin the grieving process. It sounds like a stark, beautiful place. At one end is a military base, and at the other is Marianne’s house and land. Her family had lived on Dohhalund for generations, until the military had ordered them to leave. After her return, it’s evident that many of the buildings have started to fall into the sea. This reflects to some extent, Marianne’s physical and Tartelin’s mental states. Both women are deeply affected by what has happened in their pasts.
This is such an emotive, beautifully descriptive book. It’s a slow burner, a story of friendship and love, where secrets are revealed, people are reunited and new friendships forged.
This gorgeous book had me in tears by the end, with characters I really cared for. As the Pearl Women in the book often said: “The sea is made up of unspeakable sadness”, and whilst this novel was sad, there was also hope.
Highly recommended (as is Polly Crosby’s first book “The Illustrated Child”).
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Winterwood in Books
Apr 4, 2024
63 of 220
Book
Winterwood
By Shea Ernshaw
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Be careful of the dark, dark wood…
Especially the woods surrounding the town of Fir Haven. Some say these woods are magical. Haunted, even.
Rumored to be a witch, only Nora Walker knows the truth. She and the Walker women before her have always shared a special connection with the woods. And it’s this special connection that leads Nora to Oliver Huntsman—the same boy who disappeared from the Camp for Wayward Boys weeks ago—and in the middle of the worst snowstorm in years. He should be dead, but here he is alive, and left in the woods with no memory of the time he���d been missing.
But Nora can feel an uneasy shift in the woods at Oliver’s presence. And it’s not too long after that Nora realizes she has no choice but to unearth the truth behind how the boy she has come to care so deeply about survived his time in the forest, and what led him there in the first place. What Nora doesn’t know, though, is that Oliver has secrets of his own—secrets he’ll do anything to keep buried, because as it turns out, he wasn’t the only one to have gone missing on that fateful night all those weeks ago.
This was an interesting little YA read and an easy one to get along with. A young Walker(witch) finds a book in the almost enchanted forest that is her home. She’s waiting to find her power and hoping she does actually have one. It’s a little predictable if honest but still a good little read.
Book
Winterwood
By Shea Ernshaw
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Be careful of the dark, dark wood…
Especially the woods surrounding the town of Fir Haven. Some say these woods are magical. Haunted, even.
Rumored to be a witch, only Nora Walker knows the truth. She and the Walker women before her have always shared a special connection with the woods. And it’s this special connection that leads Nora to Oliver Huntsman—the same boy who disappeared from the Camp for Wayward Boys weeks ago—and in the middle of the worst snowstorm in years. He should be dead, but here he is alive, and left in the woods with no memory of the time he���d been missing.
But Nora can feel an uneasy shift in the woods at Oliver’s presence. And it’s not too long after that Nora realizes she has no choice but to unearth the truth behind how the boy she has come to care so deeply about survived his time in the forest, and what led him there in the first place. What Nora doesn’t know, though, is that Oliver has secrets of his own—secrets he’ll do anything to keep buried, because as it turns out, he wasn’t the only one to have gone missing on that fateful night all those weeks ago.
This was an interesting little YA read and an easy one to get along with. A young Walker(witch) finds a book in the almost enchanted forest that is her home. She’s waiting to find her power and hoping she does actually have one. It’s a little predictable if honest but still a good little read.
BethZ (6 KP) rated The Orphan's Tale in Books
Dec 25, 2017
Absolutely Must Read
I found this story to be very touching. Noa is a 16 year girl who was impregnated by a Nazi Officer and then thrown out by her father and forced to give up her baby. She finds herself living at a train station and working there cleaning when she discovers a railcar filled with Jewish babies. She decides to take one and runs into the woods with him, where she comes across a traveling circus who agrees to take her in as one of their aerialists. She meets Astrid, a rival at first, but bound by the secrets they each keep, forge an unforgettable friendship.
It is a beautiful story of loss, love, friendship, and loyalty set in a time when life was dangerous and difficult.
It is a beautiful story of loss, love, friendship, and loyalty set in a time when life was dangerous and difficult.
Alison Pink (7 KP) rated The Front Porch Prophet in Books
Jan 15, 2018
This book tells the story of two lifelong friends...1 a shift manager at a sawmill, the other a younger, cancer ridden bootlegger. The novel moves seamlessly between flashbacks of when A.J. & Eugene were young & the present day. The story deals with Eugene's slow decline into the late stages of pancreatic cancer & how A.J. comes to terms with his friend's eventual demise. It provides a heartbreaking look into what a caner patient deals with as well as what that person's family & friends deal with. It was sad, but at the same time there was plenty of humor dispersed throughout the tale to keep the reader from getting too depressed with Eugene's illness.
In the end, many long held secrets come to light. The end is bittersweet, but realistic.
In the end, many long held secrets come to light. The end is bittersweet, but realistic.
Mekkin B. (122 KP) rated Wonder Woman (2017) in Movies
Sep 11, 2017
Wonder Woman is visually beautiful, fairly well paced, and delivers great action. If you like superhero movies, it's definitely one to go see. Gal Gadot plays the bright-eyed and slightly alien Diana with aplomb. The plot is definitely weak in places. This movie has one or two moments where things would be solved much more swiftly if the characters weren't keeping secrets for very flimsy reasons, and also fails to give answers to some things, such as Diana's wrist guards. All in all, though, this movie had heart and I appreciated it for refusing to fall into grit and darkness. It's hard to craft a character who is brave and honest and quintessentially good and also make them not incredibly boring. This movie did that very well.
Sam (74 KP) rated The Hostile Hospital (A Series of Unfortunate Events #8 in Books
Mar 27, 2019
They end up volunteering in the library of records in the library which has files on everything, including The Snicket Fire. But of course, as always, Esmé and Olaf aren’t far behind.
The Horrible Hospital is one of the most exciting books in the series. It’s so close to unveiling all of the secrets throughout the book and it’s so full of suspense. It’s actually one of the most unpredictable books in the series, and the twists were shocking.
It’s probably the most terrifying as well, especially with the position Olaf and his troupe have managed to get themselves into.
Olaf is at his most terrifying, and so is Esmé. They have reached a new height where I’m starting to question whether this is actually a children’s series at all.
The Horrible Hospital is one of the most exciting books in the series. It’s so close to unveiling all of the secrets throughout the book and it’s so full of suspense. It’s actually one of the most unpredictable books in the series, and the twists were shocking.
It’s probably the most terrifying as well, especially with the position Olaf and his troupe have managed to get themselves into.
Olaf is at his most terrifying, and so is Esmé. They have reached a new height where I’m starting to question whether this is actually a children’s series at all.
BTPBookclub (18 KP) rated Schoolgirl Missing in Books
May 11, 2019
Brilliant. I enjoyed it.
I have been wanting to read this book for a while and the cover definitely caught my attention. It is a story full of twists, turns and definitely unexpected, shocking outcomes. I would never have guessed at all. Very cruel and devious. Full of secrets, lies and deceit.
An easy to read, fast paced thriller and mystery. Kit and Neve are as bad as each other! I actually loved Jake and Lucies characters. Jake didn’t deserve what happened to him. A real page turner of a read… I found myself getting very angry towards the end and outcome I just don’t understand how someone could do that to Poppy for their own sake… Poor Poppy my heart was with her the whole time.
I would highly recommend.
An easy to read, fast paced thriller and mystery. Kit and Neve are as bad as each other! I actually loved Jake and Lucies characters. Jake didn’t deserve what happened to him. A real page turner of a read… I found myself getting very angry towards the end and outcome I just don’t understand how someone could do that to Poppy for their own sake… Poor Poppy my heart was with her the whole time.
I would highly recommend.
Lindsay (1760 KP) rated Reaching Angelica (Tag #2) in Books
Feb 8, 2018
Reaching Angelica In this sequel book, we meet up with Simon Bank and Crammer once again. Only now Simon Bank is missing his wife. Reaching Angelica is continued from The Path.This story takes place in space, and in the spaceship. Who is Regus? Will Apollo need Simon's help once again to save Earth? Can Simon do it? Ra does one thing and becomes a new person named Aten.Aten waits for Simon to wake up. Once he does things do get even weirder and better. What secrets and what does Giga want. Will Simon and crew make it to Angelica?Peter Riva has you engaged in the story. What will happen and pulling you along for the ride? This story has many surprises and twisted at every turn.
Cyn Armistead (14 KP) rated The Shekinah Legacy (Charlotte Ansari, #1) in Books
Mar 1, 2018
This is another one that I probably wouldn't have ever read if it hasn't been free, followed by an occasion some time later when it seemed the most interesting-sounding thing hanging around on the Kindle when I happened to be bored. The plot reminds me if Dan Brown to some extent, although I know he certainly wasn't the first to write novels along such lines. Religious secrets, conspiracies, secret societies, competing spies, and a great deal of violence are all tossed together. I wanted the answer to a couple of questions just barely enough to keep reading, but I figured out all the big mysteries long before the last chapter. I think the book would have been much better if it had been edited down to be much shorter.
KarenRC (6 KP) rated The Death of Mrs Westaway in Books
Jul 23, 2018
I really enjoyed this book! It is a creepy, atmospheric tale of a dysfunctional family full of secrets. Its a bit of a slow burn, but I think that adds to the tension. The characters are all very well written, but especially Hal. Despite knowing that what she is doing is wrong, you can't help but root for her to just get that little break she is hoping for to help get her out of the mess she has found herself in after her Mothers untimely death. Trepassen is the perfect setting for this story, complete with creepy housekeeper and was a character within itself due to the descriptive writing.
Overall, a really good read with twists and turns to keep you guessing and a few surprises along the way.
Overall, a really good read with twists and turns to keep you guessing and a few surprises along the way.