so-soI didn‘t love it…which honestly, comes as a surprise because everything else I‘ve read by Russell I really enjoyed. It has the right ingredients—interesting setting (Dust Bowl), a witch, a sentient scarecrow, a mystery, but…BUT, it‘s ponderous & slow moving, told in multiple POVs which aren‘t all that distinctive, & somehow (impossibly) devoid of emotional depth. I really should have cared about these characters & I just didn‘t. Just a so-so read.
“Sometimes, all it takes is a leap of faith to find the magic that's been missing from our lives.”
#CoverStories #Lake
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
pickThe beauty of the Alaskan wilderness is on full display here in this modern take on the Beauty and the Beast fairytale. Although Birdie has community support raising her daughter she feels stifled by their always watching eyes. When Arthur offers her an opportunity to live in solitude, nature and maybe even love, it seems like the answer she‘s needed to make a positive change for her and Emaleen. 3.5🌟
Thank you #NetGalley!
pickHistorical fiction steeped in magical realism unfolds here in a pre-technicolor Oz of Uz, NE. Beautifully written with multiple perspectives, the story comes from the titular Antidote, a Prairie Witch practiced in banking memories away from their experiencer, Asphodel, a fearless orphan obsessed with basketball & new love , her uncle, a farmer who finds sudden fortune after Black Sunday, Cleo, a New Deal photographer, a scarecrow & a cat!
pickOhh, this was so good and atmospheric. Nine times out of ten if I‘m going call a book atmospheric it‘s going to be set in the PNW and you can‘t get more north than Alaska. I loved how this one ended. Werebears anyone 🐻
pickBirdie is a single mother who wants change so she moves with her daughter to a remote cabin owned by Arthur, a quiet man he barely knows. The life they find there is reinvigorating but also filled with challenges as they realize there are things about Arthur they don‘t know. I am drawn to books set in Alaska and love Ivey‘s writing. I still didn‘t fully love this book. Perhaps because the end seemed too small for such a fantastical tale.
And…I now interrupt all in-progress reading to start this one. Russell never disappoints, always entertains. Look forward to a great read.
