Noteworthy Book Releases

#BookReview The Hidden Girl by Lucinda Riley @lucindariley @panmacmillan @PGCBooks #TheHiddenGirl #LucindaRiley #PGCBooks

#BookReview The Hidden Girl by Lucinda Riley @lucindariley @panmacmillan @PGCBooks #TheHiddenGirl #LucindaRiley #PGCBooks Title: The Hidden Girl

Author: Lucinda Riley

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Sep. 17, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 576

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

A breathtaking novel from the international bestselling author of the Seven Sisters series, Lucinda Riley.

You can’t alter destiny…

Born and raised in a small village on the Yorkshire moors, Leah Thompson grows more beautiful with each passing day. When she catches the attention of the influential, troubled Delancey family, she knows her life will never be the same again.

Years later, Leah has taken the modelling world by storm, travelling from Milan to London and New York and living life in the lap of luxury. But her past follows her like a dark shadow, mysteriously intertwined with the tragic tale of two young siblings in Poland during World War II.

As two generations of secrets threaten to explode, Leah is haunted by a fatal, forgotten prophecy from her past, and must fight to challenge the destiny that has been mapped out for her in the stars.

Sweeping and evocative, The Hidden Girl is a lost treasure from global bestseller Lucinda Riley, reworked and given new life by Harry Whittaker, Lucinda’s son and co-author of the record-breaking, international phenomenon Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt.


Review:

Absorbing, moving, and mysterious!

The Hidden Girl transports you from Yorkshire to New York to Poland between 1942 and 1992 and immerses you into the ongoing, complex, multi-generational relationships between two families, complete with all the powerful emotions, haunting tales, long-buried secrets, and unimaginable tragedy that has plagued them for over fifty years.

The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are vulnerable, conflicted, and hardworking. And the plot is an enthralling, emotional saga filled with life, loss, familial drama, survival, betrayal, brutality, tragedy, manipulation, horrors, obsession, heartbreak, and love.

Overall, The Hidden Girl is a heart-tugging, clever, captivating tale by Riley that reminds us that the choices we make often have far-reaching consequences, and skeletons always seem to find their way to the surface no matter how well they’re buried.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Lucinda Riley

Lucinda Riley was born in Ireland and, after an early career as an actress in film, theatre and television, wrote her first book aged twenty-four.

Her books have been translated into thirty-seven languages and sold thirty million copies worldwide. She is a New York Times and Sunday Times number one bestseller.Lucinda's Seven Sisters series, which tells the story of adopted sisters and is inspired by the mythology of the famous star cluster, has become a global phenomenon. The series is a number one bestseller across the world and is currently in development with a major TV production company.

Though she brought up her four children mostly in Norfolk in England, in 2015 Lucinda fulfilled her dream of buying a remote farmhouse in West Cork, Ireland, which she always felt was her spiritual home, and indeed this was where her last five books were written. Lucinda was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 and died in June 2021

#CoverReveal I Blame the Rival by Jade Everhart @authorjade_everhart #IBlameTheRival #TaberTigersSeries #JadeEverhart

Today I am excited and honoured to share with you the Cover for the

latest novel by indie author Jade Everhart!

 

I Blame the Rival

Releasing on September 23, 2024!

 

 

Lacey
All I wanted was a friend. 
That’s why I responded to the note another therapy patient left behind. To find someone who knows what it’s like to have scars no one else can see. To have secrets no one wants to hear. 
I was looking for a friend. I didn’t know he was the rival.
 
Skylar
I fell in love with someone I’ve never met.
A faceless pen pal, I wouldn’t be able to pick this girl out of a crowd and yet she owns every piece of my battered heart. She’s the colour to my darkness and I didn’t know what would happen if we ever met in person. 
I didn’t know how my life would change once we did.

 

 

PRE-ORDER NOW

 

 

About Jade Everhart

 

Jade Everhart writes heart-warming romances with flawed characters and laugh-out-loud banter. When she’s not using her own terrible meet-cutes as inspiration for her next novel, Jade spends her time listening to loud music and tearing up dance floors from the prairies of Southern Alberta to the glistening beaches of Miami.

 Goodreads | Instagram

#BookReview The Lost Lover by Karen Swan @KarenSwan1 @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheLostLover #TheWildIsleSeries #KarenSwan #PGCBooks

#BookReview The Lost Lover by Karen Swan @KarenSwan1 @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheLostLover #TheWildIsleSeries #KarenSwan #PGCBooks Title: The Lost Lover

Author: Karen Swan

Series: The Wild Isle #3

Published by: Pan Macmillan on May 1, 2024

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 400

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

The third epic and spellbinding historical romance in The Wild Isle series from Globe and Mail and Toronto Star bestseller Karen Swan.

Young Flora MacQueen has always dreamed of more than a hard life on the small Scottish island of St Kilda. And when she catches the eye of visiting adventurer and wealthy businessman James Callaghan her future seems brighter.

Only, as the islanders prepare to leave their homes for the final time, Flora finds her dreams shattered. With her beauty her only currency she must step forward in ways that would have been unthinkable back home in order to support her family. Soon Flora is the toast of glamorous Paris. Fame and fortune are hers for the taking but she knows only too well by now that rich men make empty promises.

But then a secret comes to light that will change everything…

Following The Last Summer and The Stolen Hours, The Lost Lover is the third book in Karen Swan’s bestselling Wild Isle series, loosely based upon the dramatic evacuation of Scottish island St Kilda in the summer of 1930.


Review:

Beguiling, atmospheric, and consuming!

The Lost Lover is a dramatic, passionate tale that takes you back to 1929 and into the life of Flora MacQueen, a St. Kilda beauty who, after falling for a visiting explorer and agreeing to marriage, discovers upon the island’s evacuation that things have not unfolded as initially planned and she will have to make some of the hardest decisions of her life in order to secure a future for her family and herself in a world where money talks and fame and fortune can be alluring yet fleeting.

The writing is vivid and sentimental. The characters are determined, dependable, and selfless. And the plot is a captivating tale of life, loss, friendship, family, intrigue, temptation, responsibilities, attraction, community, sacrifice, romance, and enduring love.

Overall, The Lost Lover is an enchanting, heart-tugging, beautiful tale by Swan that I absolutely adored and which has left me counting down the days until the fourth and final novel in this series becomes available so I can discover how this compelling, must-read, historical saga will finally come to an end.

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Karen Swan

Karen Swan began her career in fashion journalism before giving it all up to raise her three children and a puppy, and to pursue her ambition of becoming a writer. She lives in the forest outside Sussex, England, writing her books in a treehouse overlooking the Downs.

An internationally bestselling author, her numerous books include The Rome Affair, The Paris Secret, Christmas Under the Stars, and The Christmas Secret. 

Photograph by Alexander James

#BookReview The Wartime Book Club by Kate Thompson @katethompson380 @HBGCanada @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2024 #KateThompson #TheWartimeBookClub #HBGCanada

#BookReview The Wartime Book Club by Kate Thompson @katethompson380 @HBGCanada @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2024 #KateThompson #TheWartimeBookClub #HBGCanada Title: The Wartime Book Club

Author: Kate Thompson

Published by: Forever on Apr. 9, 2024

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 512

Format: Paperback

Source: HBG Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

Inspired by true events, The Wartime Book Club is an unforgettable story of everyday bravery and resistance, full of romance, drama, and camaraderie and a tribute to the joy of reading and the power of books in our darkest hour.

The Isle of Jersey was once a warm and neighborly community, but in 1943, German soldiers patrol the cobbled streets, imposing a harsh rule.
 
Nazis have ordered Grace La Mottée, the island’s only librarian, to destroy books that threaten the new regime. Instead, she hides the stories away in secret. Along with her headstrong best friend, she wants to fight back. So she forms the Wartime Book Club: a lifeline, offering fearful islanders the joy and escapism of reading.
 
But as the occupation drags on, the women’s quiet acts of bravery become more perilous – and more important – than ever before. And when tensions turn to violence, they are forced to face the true, terrible cost of resistance . . .
 
Based on astonishing real events, The Wartime Book Club is a love letter to the power of books in the darkest of times – as well as a moving page-turner that brings to life the remarkable, untold story of an island at war.


Review:

Rich, absorbing, and sincere!

The Wartime Book Club is a poignant, immersive tale set on the Isle of Jersey during 1943 that takes you into the lives of Grace La Mottée, a resilient, kindhearted librarian and her best friend and local postal worker Beatrice Gold as they do whatever they can to entertain, protect, and fight back against the Nazi Germans who invade and occupy their homeland during WWII.

The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are brave, tormented, and determined. And the plot is an exceptionally touching tale about life, loss, family, secrets, separation, desperation, tragedy, survival, love, the horrors of war, and the power of literature.

Overall, The Wartime Book Club is a moving, emotional, beautifully written tale by Thompson inspired by real-life events that reminds us that survival of any kind often involves heartbreaking choices, moral dilemmas, action, spirit, extreme loss, and beyond all else, unimaginable courage and sacrifice.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

       

 

 

Thank you to HBG Canada & Forever for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Kate Thompson

Kate Thompson was born in London and worked as a journalist for women's magazines and national newspapers before becoming a novelist. Over the past ten years, Kate has written twelve fiction and nonfiction titles, three of which have made the Sunday Times top ten bestseller list. She now lives in Sunbury with her husband, two sons, and two rescued Lurcher dogs, Ted and Saphhie.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

#BookReview The Secret Keeper by Genevieve Graham @GenGrahamAuthor @SimonSchusterCA #TheSecretKeeper #GenevieveGraham #CanadianHistory

#BookReview The Secret Keeper by Genevieve Graham @GenGrahamAuthor @SimonSchusterCA #TheSecretKeeper #GenevieveGraham #CanadianHistory Title: The Secret Keeper

Author: Genevieve Graham

Published by: Simon & Schuster Canada on Apr. 2, 2024

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 448

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

From USA TODAY and internationally bestselling author Genevieve Graham comes a gripping World War II novel about two sisters who join the war effort—one as a codebreaker and the other as a pilot—and the secrets that threaten to tear them apart. Perfect for fans of The Rose Code and The Nightingale .

Twin sisters Dot and Dash Wilson share many things, and while they are practically inseparable, they are nothing alike. Dot is fascinated by books, puzzles, and Morse code, a language taught to both girls by their father, a WWI veteran. Dash’s days are filled with fixing engines, dancing with friends, and dreaming of flying airplanes. Almost always at their side is their best friend Gus—until war breaks out and he enlists in the army, deploying to an unknown front.

Determined to do their duty, both girls join the WRENS, Dash as a mechanic and Dot as a typist. Before long, Dot’s fixation on patterns and numbers takes her from HMCS Coverdale , a covert listening and codebreaking station working with Bletchley Park in England, to Camp X, a top-secret spy school. But when personal tragedy strikes the family, Dot’s oath of secrecy causes a rift between the sisters.

Eager to leave her pain behind, Dash jumps at the opportunity to train as a pilot with the Air Transport Auxiliary, where she risks her life to ferry aircraft and troops across the battlefields of Europe. Meanwhile Dot is drawn into the Allies’ preparations for D-Day. But Dot’s loyalties are put to the test once more when someone close to her goes missing in Nazi-occupied territory. With everyone’s eyes on Operation Overlord, Dot must use every skill at her disposal to save those she loves before it’s too late.

Inspired by the real-life stories of women in World War II, The Secret Keeper is an extraordinary novel about the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood and the light of courage during the darkest of nights.


Review:

Immersive, evocative, and affecting!

The Secret Keeper is a rich, alluring tale predominantly set in Canada during WWII that follows two sisters, Dash, a thrill seeker who enlists as a WREN working as a mechanic before she receives her dream posting as a pilot for the ATA in England, and Dot, a whiz with puzzles and codes that once enlisted is recruited to hold an invaluable position at Camp X, a top-secret spy school.

The prose is vivid and smooth. The characters are dependable, courageous, and resilient. And the plot is a moving tale of life, loss, secrets, self-discovery, determination, hope, loyalty, survival, friendship, sisterhood, war, love, and Canadian history.

Overall, The Secret Keeper is an emotive, rich, absorbing tale by Graham inspired by real-life stories that transports you to another time and place and immerses you so thoroughly into the feelings, lives, and personalities of the characters you can’t help but be enthralled and fully invested from start to finish.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

             

 

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Genevieve Graham

Genevieve Graham is the #1 bestselling author of The Forgotten Home Child, Tides of Honour, Promises to Keep, Come from Away, and At the Mountain’s Edge. She is passionate about breathing life back into Canadian history through tales of love and adventure. She lives near Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Photo by Bryghton Towns.

 

#BookReview Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez @HBGCanada @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2024 #AbbyJimenez #JustForTheSummer #HBGCanada

#BookReview Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez @HBGCanada @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2024 #AbbyJimenez #JustForTheSummer #HBGCanada Title: Just for the Summer

Author: Abby Jimenez

Published by: Forever on Apr. 2, 2024

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 432

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: HBG Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it’s now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They’ll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other’s out, and they’ll both go on to find the love of their lives. It’s a bonkers idea… and it just might work.

Emma hadn’t planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.

It’s supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma’s toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they’re suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected–including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?


Review:

Enchanting, heartwarming, and brilliantly crafted!

Just for the Summer is a tender, witty, romantic tale that takes you into the lives of Emma and Justin, two twenty-somethings who, after connecting through a funny Reddit post, agree to temporarily date in order to try and break the curse they both seem to be living under.

The prose is well-turned and fluid. The characters are sweet, flawed, genuine, and lovable. And the story is an exceptionally absorbing tale about life, love, healing, forgiveness, hope, self-reflection, familial drama, weighty issues, friendship, courage, taking chances, happiness, and new beginnings.  

For the past few years Abby Jimenez’s books have been some of my all-time favourites, and even though I didn’t think it was possible to love another one of her books more than the ones I’ve already read, she proved me wrong. Just for the Summer is an unbelievable story that captured my heart from the very first page, and not only did I devour it, I absolutely loved it!

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to HBG Canada & Forever for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Abby Jimenez

Abby Jimenez is a Food Network champion, motivational speaker, and contemporary romance novelist living in Minnesota. Abby founded Nadia Cakes out of her home kitchen in 2007. The bakery has since gone on to open multiple locations in two states, won numerous Food Network competitions and amassed an international cult following. Abby has since turned her talents to penning novels. She loves a good book, coffee, doglets, and not leaving the house.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

#CoverReveal I Blame the Club by Jade Everhart @authorjade_everhart #IBlameTheClub #TaberTigersSeries #JadeEverhart

Today I am excited and honoured to share with you the Cover for the

latest novel by indie author Jade Everhart!

 

I Blame the Club

Releasing on June 10, 2024!

 

 

Nico

Did I offer to service our new assistant coach at a the lacrosse banquet last year? You bet your ass I did. Maurice O’Brien is arrogant, disciplined, sinfully handsome, and I would happily sell my soul for one night of fun. The fact that he hates my guts is a minor inconvenience compared to the other obstacle I’m up against. He’s as hetero as they come.

 

Mo

If the team goalie hits on me one more time, somebody is going to get hurt. Nico Montez is cocky, infuriating, unprofessional, and I would gladly kick him off the team if he wasn’t our best goalie. Nico has a knack for getting under my skin and if he keeps this up, it won’t just be the team he destroys.

It’ll be my self-control.

 

 

PRE-ORDER NOW

 

 

About Jade Everhart

 

Jade Everhart writes heart-warming romances with flawed characters and laugh-out-loud banter. When she’s not using her own terrible meet-cutes as inspiration for her next novel, Jade spends her time listening to loud music and tearing up dance floors from the prairies of Southern Alberta to the glistening beaches of Miami.

 Goodreads | Instagram

#BookReview Lilith by Eric Rickstad @ericrickstad @BlackstoneAudio #EricRickstad #Lilith #BlackstonePublishing

#BookReview Lilith by Eric Rickstad @ericrickstad @BlackstoneAudio #EricRickstad #Lilith #BlackstonePublishing Title: Lilith

Author: Eric Rickstad

Published by: Blackstone Publishing on Mar. 19, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 245

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Blackstone Publishing

Book Rating: 10/10

From the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of I Am Not Who You Think I Am—a New York Times Thriller of the Year—comes Lilith, an incendiary powerhouse of a novel that strikes straight at the wounded heart of America.

After her son Lydan suffers traumatic injuries in a school shooting, single mom Elisabeth Ross grows enraged at men in power. If they won’t do anything to help end this epidemic of violence, she will. Believing it’s her destiny, she sets out to awaken the world to the cowards these men are and commits her own shocking act of violence.

Going by the name Lilith—the first wife of Adam who fled Eden rather than serve a man—she posts a video of her crime that reverberates throughout society.

Praised by some, demonized by others, and sought by the FBI and vigilantes alike, Elisabeth must keep her identity a secret as she tries to care for her son.

As events take startling twists, Elisabeth begins to question her act of violence and the very roots and mythology of violence itself. Was her act justified or has she become the monster that the original Lilith was accused of being?

When the FBI draws closer, and Lydan starts to display odd, terrifying behavior, Elisabeth plots to avoid capture and keep her son safe, fearing she’ll never escape what she’s done without losing her son forever.

Written with Rickstad’s singular command of language, human insight, and unnerving suspense, Lilith is a tale of our times. Tragic and profound, it echoes in the mind and lingers in the blood.


Review:

Powerful, haunting, memorable, and timely!

Lilith is a gritty, moving, frightening tale that takes you into the life of elementary school teacher and single mother Elisabeth Ross who, after a school shooting leaves her son Lydan physically and emotionally changed, damaged and scarred forever, takes it upon herself to retaliate and enact her own style of vengeance on those who turn a blind eye to gun violence and prosper by the sale of these deadly weapons that steal too many innocent lives.

The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are vulnerable, troubled, and strong. And the plot is a raw, absorbing tale about life, loss, love, grief, strength, parenthood, hope, survival, violence, injustice, community, unconscionable politics, and fear.

Overall, Lilith makes you think, it makes you feel, and it ultimately resonates long after the final page. It’s a beautifully written, sobering, impactful tale by Rickstad that uses extraordinary character development to weave a combination of an impressive, sad mystery with a heartrending, realistic tale, all steeped in an abundance of preventable tragedies and unimaginable pain that highlights just how blurry the line between right and wrong can truly often be.

This novel is available March 19, 2024.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

        

 

 

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Eric Rickstad

Eric Rickstad is the New York Times bestselling author of I Am Not Who You Think I Am, Reap, What Remains of Her, and the Canaan Crime Trilogy, which has sold more than a half million copies worldwide. He lives in Vermont with his wife, daughter, and son.

#BookReview The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger @WmKentKrueger @AtriaBooks @SimonSchusterCA #WilliamKentKrueger #TheRiverWeRemember #SimonSchusterCA

#BookReview The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger @WmKentKrueger @AtriaBooks @SimonSchusterCA #WilliamKentKrueger #TheRiverWeRemember #SimonSchusterCA Title: The River We Remember

Author: William Kent Krueger

Published by: Atria Books on Sep. 5, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 421

Format: Hardcover

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

In 1958, a small Minnesota town is rocked by the murder of its most powerful citizen, pouring fresh fuel on old grievances in this dazzling standalone novel from the New York Times bestselling author of This Tender Land.

On Memorial Day, as the people of Jewel, Minnesota gather to remember and honor the sacrifice of so many sons in the wars of the past, the half-clothed body of wealthy landowner Jimmy Quinn is found floating in the Alabaster River, dead from a shotgun blast. Investigation of the murder falls to Sheriff Brody Dern, a highly decorated war hero who still carries the physical and emotional scars from his military service. Even before Dern has the results of the autopsy, vicious rumors begin to circulate that the killer must be Noah Bluestone, a Native American WWII veteran who has recently returned to Jewel with a Japanese wife. As suspicions and accusations mount and the town teeters on the edge of more violence, Dern struggles not only to find the truth of Quinn’s murder but also put to rest the demons from his own past.

Caught up in the torrent of anger that sweeps through Jewel are a war widow and her adolescent son, the intrepid publisher of the local newspaper, an aging deputy, and a crusading female lawyer, all of whom struggle with their own tragic histories and harbor secrets that Quinn’s death threatens to expose.

Both a complex, spellbinding mystery and a masterful portrait of midcentury American life, The River We Remember is an unflinching look at the wounds left by the wars we fight abroad and at home, a moving exploration of the ways in which we seek to heal, and a testament to the enduring power of the stories we tell about the places we call home.


Review:

Haunting, intimate, and impactful!

The River We Remember is a gritty, moving, character-driven tale that sweeps you away to Jewel, Minnesota, during 1958 and into the lives of a handful of people, including a sheriff with a tormented past, a wealthy murder victim who seems to have had sadistic tendencies, and a suspect who the people are more than happy to convict purely due to his Dakota Sioux blood and choice of a bride.

The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are vulnerable, scarred, and strong. And the plot is a raw, absorbing tale about life, loss, love, grief, strength, bravery, hope, survival, violence, injustice, racism, abuse, gossip, suicide, community, and fear.

Overall, The River We Remember makes you think, makes you feel, and ultimately resonates long after the final page. It’s a beautifully written, sobering, memorable story by Krueger that uses extraordinary character development to weave a combination of an impressive, intricate mystery with a heartbreaking, nostalgic tale, all steeped in an abundance of tragedy, discrimination, and pain.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

        

 

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About William Kent Krueger

William Kent Krueger is the New York Times bestselling author of The River We Remember, This Tender LandOrdinary Grace (winner of the Edgar Award for best novel), and the original audio novella The Levee, as well as nineteen acclaimed books in the Cork O’Connor mystery series, including Lightning Strike and Fox Creek. He lives in the Twin Cities with his family.

Photo by Diane Krueger.

#BookReview Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward @jesmimi @ScribnerBooks @SimonSchusterCA #JesmynWard #LetUsDescend #SimonSchusterCA

#BookReview Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward @jesmimi @ScribnerBooks @SimonSchusterCA #JesmynWard #LetUsDescend #SimonSchusterCA Title: Let Us Descend

Author: Jesmyn Ward

Published by: Scribner on Oct. 3, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 320

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

Let Us Descend is a reimagining of American slavery, as beautifully rendered as it is heart-wrenching. Searching, harrowing, replete with transcendent love, the novel is a journey from the rice fields of the Carolinas to the slave markets of New Orleans and into the fearsome heart of a Louisiana sugar plantation.

Annis, sold south by the white enslaver who fathered her, is the reader’s guide through this hellscape. As she struggles through the miles-long march, Annis turns inward, seeking comfort from memories of her mother and stories of her African warrior grandmother. Throughout, she opens herself to a world beyond this world, one teeming with of earth and water, of myth and history; spirits who nurture and give, and those who manipulate and take. While Ward leads readers through the descent, this, her fourth novel, is ultimately a story of rebirth and reclamation.

From one of the most singularly brilliant and beloved writers of her generation, this miracle of a novel inscribes Black American grief and joy into the very land—the rich but unforgiving forests, swamps, and rivers of the American South. Let Us Descend is Jesmyn Ward’s most magnificent novel yet, a masterwork for the ages.


Review:

Haunting, poignant, and impactful!

Let Us Descend is an atmospheric, moving tale that sweeps you away to North Carolina during the mid-1800s and into the life of Annis, a young woman of mixed race trained by her mother in more than just servitude who, after being sold one year after her beloved Mama, is forced in chains on a gruelling march from the rice fields she’s only ever known to the sugar plantations of New Orleans where with a little help from the spirit world beyond she endures extreme hardships and brutal savagery until she can find an opportunity to finally slip free.

The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are vulnerable, scarred, and strong. And the plot is an exceptionally enthralling tale about life, loss, strength, bravery, hope, survival, violence, injustice, racism, slavery, and death, all interwoven with a thread of the supernatural.

Overall, Let Us Descend is an enchanting blend of historical facts, powerful fiction, and heart-wrenching emotion that does a wonderful job of reminding us that even under the most cruel and barbaric conditions, humanity can be incredibly resilient, compassionate, and kind.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

        

 

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Jesmyn Ward

Jesmyn Ward received her MFA from the University of Michigan and has received the MacArthur Genius Grant, a Stegner Fellowship, a John and Renee Grisham Writers Residency, the Strauss Living Prize, and the 2022 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. She is the historic winner—first woman and first Black American—of two National Book Awards for Fiction for Sing, Unburied, Sing (2017) and Salvage the Bones (2011). She is also the author of the novel Where the Line Bleeds and the memoir Men We Reaped, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and won the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize and the Media for a Just Society Award. She is currently a professor of creative writing at Tulane University and lives in Mississippi.

Photograph by Beowulf Sheehan.