Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl with a new prompt each week. This week’s prompt is Ten Things I Loved About [Insert Book Title Here]. For this prompt we each picked a book and listed our favorite things about it.
Content warning: suicide.
Alyssa
The Winter Sea was the first Susanna Kearsley book I came across and have since read all of hers. I probably could have written this post about any of her books, but as the first it will always be a favorite.
- Dual timelines – This is essentially a contemporary and historical romance in one. The two stories are woven together beautifully and add so much interest.
- Historical Context – I’m a sucker for novels covering Scottish history. One storyline takes place during a Jacobite uprising in 1708. The tense political turmoil adds depth to what would otherwise be a fairly standard contemporary romance in the other timeline.
- Characters – As with most of her novels, I find Kearsley’s historical couple more thoroughly developed. Sophia and John’s story is more emotionally wrought and well defined by the time period. But, that doesn’t mean the contemporary couple aren’t worth following on their own. It’s just more subtle and lovely in its own way.
- Highly Emotional – Shew. This one made me sob. Granted most of her books do, but still, this one was heartbreaking at times. Be mentally prepared and maybe follow up with The Firebird. (Although the contemporary storyline is my least favorite of her books, it’s worth it for the continuing historical story.)
- Setting – The Scottish coast in winter definitely lends to the mood in this book. Encountering the same setting across both timelines and the changes the characters encounter is handled so well in this book.
Meagan
I have talked about this book and author before, but Together We Will Go by J. Michael Straczynski has really stuck with me and was my favorite read of 2023.
- Concept – The plot of this book is so dark but like nothing I’ve read (if you have recommendations for similar books, please share them). It’s odd for a book about a suicide pact of sorts to feel like it has a good story. It is so beautifully sad and emotional and really made me reflect.
- Format – This book is a mixed media format and it works so amazingly for the plot. Some of the formats include audio recordings, emails, journal entries, and standard narration. I’ve heard this format also translated wonderfully to audio and I may have to re-read this one for the audio version.
- Characters – The cast of characters is diverse and I felt like I had a true sense of who they all were. I think a lot of this is due to the format since you’re hearing from each character. I even liked the cat (and I’m allergic) and loved what it represented for its owner.
- Mental Health Representation – This book obviously has a strong mental health theme and it is represented and addressed in a way that really works and I felt was accurate.
- All the Feels – I don’t think a book has ever made me cry as much as this one did. If you’ve read how we rate, you’ll know lots of feelings and tears make a book stick with me. The depth of this book is unmatched.
Comments
3 responses to “Top Ten Things I Loved About…”
Dual timelines can be so interesting to read.
Since discovering Outlander, I’ve been interested in Scottish settings. This sounds interesting!
Sometimes, an emotional read is just what the soul requires!
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/reasons-i-love-listening-to-audiobooks/