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The Marsh Queen
The Marsh Queen | Virginia Hartman
15 posts | 8 read | 8 to read
For fans of Where the Crawdads Sing, this powerful debut novel, set amid the lush landscape of the Florida wetlands, delves into past crimes, old memories, and the eloquent, limitless expanse of parental love. Loni Mae Murrows life as a bird artist at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, is tidy, if a trifle constraineduntil shes abruptly summoned back home to the wetlands of northern Florida, where she grew up. Her mother, critical and difficult, has grown frail and been resentfully consigned to assisted living, and her younger brother, Phil, juggling a job, a wife, and two young children, needs her help. Loni may not be her mothers only child, but there are some things only a daughter can do. Going through her mothers things when she returns, Loni finds a cryptic note from a woman whose name she doesnt recognize: There are some things I have to tell you about Boyds death, it reads. Boyd is her father, a man who drowned in a boating accident out on the marsh when Loni was twelve and Phil just a baby. The circumstances of his death, long presumed a suicide, turn out to be murkier than anyone thought. Against her better judgment, she finds herself drawn into a dangerous quest to discover the truth about how he died, struggling all the while to reconnect with her mother through the remnants of their past and to reconcile with her brother and his pushy, provincial wife. At last moved to avenge the wrongs done to her family, Loni has to decide whether to join the violence or end it.
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review
jdiehr
The Marsh Queen | Virginia Hartman
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Mehso-so

My backyard is beginning to feel like a marsh!

This one was okay.

There was potential, but I found the repetition and lack of forward movement frustrating.

There were characters that seemed important at first who ended up being nothing to the story, and I found myself at the halfway point just wanting to finish already.

The positives - Loni had an interesting career at the Smithsonian, and the love story had potential.

Pretty forgettable.

review
NikkiKey94
The Marsh Queen | Virginia Hartman
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Pickpick

This was my very first pick from @AardvarkBookClub and I hate that it‘s taken me so many months to finally pick it up and read it! This book was so good! I really enjoyed the mystery as Loni tried to figure out what happened to her father. I also really enjoyed the journey that she took to discover who she really is and where she belongs. I have a new must read author!

AardvarkBookClub So so glad you enjoyed this one!!! 😍 13mo
12 likes1 stack add1 comment
review
CaitlinR
The Marsh Queen | Virginia Hartman
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Pickpick

A talented Smithsonian illustrator receives a plea from her brother to return home to a small town near Tallahassee. Loni Murrow‘s cognitively impaired mother has fallen. Phil and his wife plan to sell the family home to pay for care. In going through her mother‘s things, and meeting people from her past, Loni confronts the long ago death of her beloved father; in it‘s cause lies the mystery. A bit muddled, but the local details are fascinating.

CaitlinR Photo of the author by Danielle Price 13mo
31 likes1 comment
review
FelinesAndFelonies
The Marsh Queen | Virginia Hartman
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Pickpick

How is this a debut?! Virginia Hartman is giving me total Barbara Kingsolver vibes. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel about a young woman living her dream in DC before family duties call her home. This novel explores loyalty, the role of a daughter, relationships, & legacies. It was beautifully detailed & I was blown away. I can't wait to read more from this author. ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

LeeRHarry Barbara Kingsolver you say? Stacked! Plus the blurb mentions Where the Crawdads Sing so sounds like a winner! 😊 1y
66 likes1 stack add1 comment
review
Breanne1
The Marsh Queen | Virginia Hartman
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Pickpick

I really loved this October #aardvark pick. A debut novel for this author that left me wanting to read more of what she writes. A great novel about accepting the past; I personally loved how her nature drawings helped her with her acceptance. My husband paints birds (his work is in the background) and I felt a kinship with the MC.

ICantImReading Your husband‘s painting is beautiful! 1y
Breanne1 Thanks so much @ICantImReading ❤️ 1y
21 likes2 stack adds2 comments
review
swishandflick
The Marsh Queen | Virginia Hartman
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Mehso-so

As my first #Aardvark pick, I wanted to like this a lot more than I did unfortunately. There was a solid mystery in there somewhere, but it was hidden under a lot of random information that felt more like unnecessary clutter than red herrings that added to the story. I see potential in this author, but other than the marshy setting and an mc that makes a living drawing wildlife, any comparisons to Where the Crawdads Sing are way too generous⭐️⭐️⭐️

swishandflick Side note: this doesn't lessen my excitement for Aardvark! It isn't like BOTM has missed the mark plenty of times, and they have a lot more pull. 1y
DogMomIrene Ohhh dang! I chose this book too. It delivers tomorrow. Glad they gave us a second book for free. Maybe I‘ll start with Ithaca instead. 1y
swishandflick @DogMomIrene it very well could be a personal preference type thing! I did enjoy the writing, it just felt like a lot of stuff was added that didn't necessarily keep the plot moving. 1y
65 likes1 stack add3 comments
blurb
swishandflick
The Marsh Queen | Virginia Hartman
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Got my first #Aardvark box and I'm very pleased! The quality is good, and I personally like that they only have their logo on the front (not the spine). Also kind of digging the bookmarks and that they left the promo blurbs on the back of the sleeves. I picked 3 of their choices, but ended up being sent all 4 since they threw in a freebie due to some shipping delays while they were getting on their feet ❤️

A+ for quality and customer service!

TheBookHippie Nice!!!! I‘ll have to check it out! 1y
jlhammar Looks really nice! I agree that no logo on the spine is a plus. 1y
Megabooks Agreed!! 1y
84 likes3 comments
blurb
angel1
The Marsh Queen | Virginia Hartman
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Excited to finally add my Aardvark books to my shelf!
😍📚

brittanyreads 🤩🤩me too!!! 2y
25 likes1 comment
blurb
nitalibrarian
The Marsh Queen | Virginia Hartman
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I received the first books of the Aardvark Book Club. I had only picked one, but they were having shipping delays, so they added a free book. The bookmarks are cute and I like that the Aardvark logo is only on the front of the book. #aardvark

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Breanne1
The Marsh Queen | Virginia Hartman
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I kept debating if I wanted to join this monthly book subscription or not and then started to REALLY want to join the Aardvark club. I‘m excited! Now I can enjoy this and #botm

swishandflick Woop! Welcome 🤗 2y
10 likes1 comment
blurb
NikkiKey94
The Marsh Queen | Virginia Hartman
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I subscribed to Aardvark Book Club and I‘m so excited to see what‘s coming! They released the October books and I picked The Marsh Queen. The subscription is $17.99 a month with up to two add ons for $9.99 each. It‘s very similar to Book Of The Month which is one of my favorite subscriptions!

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nitalibrarian
The Marsh Queen | Virginia Hartman
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I'm giving the Aardvark Book Club a shot and now that it's available on iOS, I was able to set up my account and pick October's book. I went with The Marsh Queen. #aardvark

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angel1
The Marsh Queen | Virginia Hartman
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The Aardvark book club app is up and here was my first pick!! I'm so excited to have another book box subscription!😁😁
What did everyone pick??

KristiAhlers I have to wait since I have the iPhone. I‘m super excited though! 2y
angel1 @KristiAhlers I hate the app hasn't happened yet for iPhone users..hopefully soon!🤞🏻 2y
swishandflick This is gonna be my pick once the iPhone app is up and running! 2y
angel1 @swishandflick I hope it's up soon for ya'll!! And I can't wait for this book since it has where the Crawdads Sing feel to it😁 2y
25 likes4 comments
blurb
swishandflick
The Marsh Queen | Virginia Hartman
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Following up on my last #Aardvark post, apparently the Android app has been accessible for some folks so we have confirmed spoilers for their inaugural box! The Marsh Queen speaks to me, personally, so I'll probably sign up and give them a go once the iPhone app is finally live! What do you think?

eanderson I‘ve been following your posts… I‘m intrigued and kind of want to try it out. 2y
swishandflick @eanderson I'm so excited to give them a go! 2y
65 likes2 comments
review
Addison_Reads
The Marsh Queen | Virginia Hartman
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Mehso-so

#NetGalley #ARC

Loni Mae returns to her hometown when her mother is moved into a nursing home to help her brother go through their mother's belongings. While doing this she comes across a note that brings up questions about her father's death.

I wasn't that impressed with this book. I liked the descriptions of the birds and plants, but the story itself was lackluster and the characters bland.

#BookSpin @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Great progress!!! 2y
40 likes1 comment