There's no doubt about it. This debut novel is beautifully written. It's also bleak and sad.
The story begins in 1987 and Cora has given birth to a sonThere's no doubt about it. This debut novel is beautifully written. It's also bleak and sad.
The story begins in 1987 and Cora has given birth to a son. She lives in England and takes her young daughter with her to go and register his name. Her husband expects his son to be named after him - Gordon (which is a family tradition.) Cora herself likes the name Julian and her little daughter suggests the name Bear. This leads to a unique story. The author breaks down the story in 3 alternating scenarios of what she named her son. The first being if she chose, "Bear," the second, "Julian" and the third, "Gordon." Then all 3 scenarios keep telling the story of the son's life (and subsequently the family) every 7 years. This is where it got confusing a little bit for me. I might be in the minority but I would have preferred just one story of Bear, then Julian, and then Gordon. Not back and forth.
To me this story wasn't really about the names and if it shaped the child in any different way. It's a story about domestic abuse and how it effects the whole family from generation to generation. It didn't matter what the name of the child was. Each scenario was heartbreaking in its own way. Cora suffered in all three scenarios.
This is a story about things we can and can't control in life. I'm impressed with the writing and I can understand all the praise for this book but for me it ran a little slow in parts. It's a 3.5 story that I'm rounding up to 4 stars because of the beautiful writing and heartbreaking subject.
This is a Read with Jenna Book Club selection for the month of May 2025
I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for granting me access to this Advance Reader's Copy....more
This one's tough for me to rate. The first 50% I was completely immersed in the story. It was a full 5 stars up to that point. I pretty much went in bThis one's tough for me to rate. The first 50% I was completely immersed in the story. It was a full 5 stars up to that point. I pretty much went in blind and I'd suggest that's the way to go with this one.
I listened to the audio and it was brilliantly narrated by one of my favourite narrators- Thérèse Plummer.
It's essentially about a family and a terrible circumstance. The pacing in the middle of the story started to lag and it ended up with a big chunk of backstory that I felt was too long. However, this is a debut novel and I did enjoy the author's style of writing. She's very promising. This story will stay with me but it did leave me with some unanswered questions. Perhaps intentional but I wanted more closure....more
This is going down as one of my favourites of 2025! My first Mary Alice Monroe novel. Oh why did I wait so long to give this author a try? Exquisite wThis is going down as one of my favourites of 2025! My first Mary Alice Monroe novel. Oh why did I wait so long to give this author a try? Exquisite writing and the audio is hands down magnificent!
It's a dual-time line story about Eliza Rivers. In 1988 she is 88 years old and her son is trying to oust her from the board of her beloved family estate called Mayfield. At the board meeting a surprise guest appears. Eliza will later begin to tell her life story to this guest and her granddaughter. The timeline then shifts to 1908.
The story is set in South Carolina's Lowcountry and there's various snippets of descriptions of the landscape, flowers and birds at the start of the chapters. This is a family saga southern story with some harsh historical themes. Eliza Rivers is a strong female character and the story ends with a cliffhanger. This is Book 1 of a two part series. I can't wait to read Book 2 called, "River's End." Highly recommend this on Audio.
Published May 13, 2025
I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult for granting me access to this Advance Listeners Copy. ...more