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A Whisper of Solace
What makes an Ice Queen?
Neve Blackthorne, head of one of the most successful Studios in Hollywood, is the one to rule them all. Powerful, beautiful, and aloof, she’s ruthless, yet irresistible. Above all, she has an unquenchable survival instinct.
Surely a fleeting entanglement with one Audrey Avens, a bright, young, rising star in her company, won’t bring down the Wicked Queen of Tinseltown. Or will it?
Neve’s public persona has no chink in the untouchable armor, but when the lights go out and the cameras stop rolling, what becomes of an Ice Queen whose heart is ruled by love and fear?
Neve Blackthorne, head of one of the most successful Studios in Hollywood, is the one to rule them all. Powerful, beautiful, and aloof, she’s ruthless, yet irresistible. Above all, she has an unquenchable survival instinct.
Surely a fleeting entanglement with one Audrey Avens, a bright, young, rising star in her company, won’t bring down the Wicked Queen of Tinseltown. Or will it?
Neve’s public persona has no chink in the untouchable armor, but when the lights go out and the cameras stop rolling, what becomes of an Ice Queen whose heart is ruled by love and fear?
398 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 12, 2022
About the author
Milena McKay
15 books1,140 followersMilena McKay is a Lambda Literary and Golden Crown Literary Society award-winning author.
Milena is a romance fanatic, currently splitting her time between trying to write a novel and succumbing to the temptation of reading another fanfic story. When not engrossed in either writing or reading, she runs and practices international human rights law.
She is a cat whisperer who wears four-inch heels for work while secretly dreaming of her extensive Converse collection. Would live on blueberries and lattes if she could.
Milena can recite certain episodes of The West Wing by heart and quote Telanu’s “Truth and Measure” in her sleep.
Her love for Cate Blanchett knows no bounds.
Milena is a romance fanatic, currently splitting her time between trying to write a novel and succumbing to the temptation of reading another fanfic story. When not engrossed in either writing or reading, she runs and practices international human rights law.
She is a cat whisperer who wears four-inch heels for work while secretly dreaming of her extensive Converse collection. Would live on blueberries and lattes if she could.
Milena can recite certain episodes of The West Wing by heart and quote Telanu’s “Truth and Measure” in her sleep.
Her love for Cate Blanchett knows no bounds.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 412 reviews
October 10, 2022
Edit: October 10th, 2022, audiobook review.
Damn, this book… Seriously. So. Many. Feelings. I’ve said and written my love for A Whisper of Solace so many times since it was released in April that I don’t think anyone who reads my reviews, even only occasionally, doesn’t already know about it. I don’t see what I can add to my original review, not without saying too much, so I’ll focus on the narration. There’s a reason, many reasons actually, why so many authors of sapphic fiction want Abby Craden to narrate their books. She’s not the only fabulous narrator but she’s obviously in my top 5. I do find certain books better suited to her style, however, and Milena McKay’s are definitely in this category.
Her narration of A Whisper of Solace is exactly what I hope for in an audiobook: it takes a brilliant story and elevates it even higher. Everything is more but never excessive. With Neve Blackthorne, McKay wrote one of the most complex characters and Craden’s talent shines in the voice she lends her, giving life to all the layers the author bestowed on her. I was especially looking forward to hearing Craden voice her. The others too but Neve first and foremost. Then there’s Audrey, her youth, her naiveté, her pain, her love… The contrast is magnificent and poignant.
This story includes quite a few fantastic secondary characters, and to them as well Craden’s narration adds even more substance. Juno Buchanan is one, and I can’t think of a better word than glee as to what her part in the denouement made me feel, a feeling I’m convinced she shares, judging from her tweets (I’m trying so hard not to spoil!). Harlan is another, his young boy voice perfect, tender and strong. Gustavo, Morag, Livia… I love them all, I didn’t want to say goodbye, didn’t want the audiobook to end. And if all this makes me sound like I’m fangirling, so be it. Abby Craden’s narration is a work of art. As much as I loved her in McKay’s other books, The Headmistress and The Delicate Things We Make, she takes this one to another level, full of nuance and texture. Like the book itself, my favourite so far by this author.
------------------------------------------------
If you thought Milena McKay wrote meaningful and clever (and really hot) books, you were off the mark. Not entirely wrong but there’s so much more to her writing than that, which she reveals book after book, slowly, patiently. Just as she went one step further with The Headmistress than with The Delicate Things We Make, she goes one step further again with A Whisper of Solace (another very beautiful title by the way, and not just because it includes one of my favourite words).
The things we do for love… Neve Blackthorne, CEO of Gannon McMillan Pictures, one of the Big Six studios in Hollywood, has been shagging Audrey Avens, one of her employees, for a few months and she wants out. Not because she doesn’t want the younger woman anymore but because she wants her too much. She has too much to lose if the affair is discovered, she believes. Unable to stay away, she’ll try by all possible means to push Audrey away.
There’s a lot more to this story than I’ve just written, I barely touched on the surface there. Not one to back away from a challenge, McKay elected to tell this story from the ice queen’s point of view, which means giving readers insight into all the ugly before we’re allowed to see the beautiful. Usually, we get to know the ice queen character through the eyes of the one who falls for her, the qualities that make her worthy of love at the forefront. In A Whisper of Solace, what’s most visible for the longest time is Neve’s tortured mind, her justifications for her actions and choices. It is quite a feat to get the reader to love her, to root for her despite seeing into her darkest recesses, beyond the lies of outlandish proportions she tells herself not to crumble.
Her saving grace – the one we first encounter, as she has a lot more than one once she opens up – is her will to change, if not herself, at least the way she handles the situation that frightens her most of all. Each chapter opens with Neve and her therapist, with Neve resisting therapy but still going, then Neve accepting that maybe it’s not so bad.
As in her previous books, McKay never gives her characters any break. They have to earn any potential positive thing happening to them. Life is rarely kind, why should it be any different in a story like this one? In Neve’s case, it’s even more flagrant because really, would she deserve a break? When she’s caused so much pain, whatever her reasons and excuses may be? This whole book is about her atoning, growing, healing.
A Whisper of Solace will probably not be to everyone’s taste. It’s layer upon layer of pain on top of fear on top of more angst. There aren’t a lot of authors I’d accept that much from, because it hurts so much. It hurts so good. Anna Burke comes to mind, but that’s about it. Not everyone can write pain so well. It’s not gratuitous, it’s not there for shock value, it has purpose, it has meaning, it makes sense, albeit in a very twisted way.
In that regard, there’s a scene I dreaded reading in this book because it hurts for real. It hurts Neve, it hurts Audrey, it hurts me. I understand its purpose, both for Neve and for the story, and it’s rather brilliant, honestly. But damn, it hurts, it pushes me out of my comfort zone in a way that is much more disconcerting than any physical violence I’ve read, because it feels so real. It’s another reminder that McKay doesn’t write fluffy, that, much as Anna Burke, she doesn’t shy away from the misery inflicted on her characters, and will break my heart many times before making it whole again.
Very often, the Ice Queen trope is all about melting the ice queen. While there is some definitive melting here, what Neve Blackthorne goes through is more of a meltdown over the course of several years. It’s fascinating to watch this extremely powerful, extremely self-contained woman in her professional life be so very clueless when it comes to her heart and what makes her happy. It’s equally fascinating that while she believes she’s in control of her life, that she holds the power, she’s completely powerless both with Audrey and over her own life. And when she does regain control, somewhat on her terms, it’s glorious.
Audrey, on the other side, is like a hardened version of Jameson (The Delicate Things We Make) and Sam (The Headmistress). She’s all soft and starry-eyed at first – though already very much an equal to Neve – until Neve breaks her and Audrey glues herself back together with pain and fury. The image that came to mind at that moment is that of a woman who’s been hurt so badly that when a supernatural force brings her back to life, she now is a supervillain or at the very least a being with superpowers fueled by a desire for revenge that she needs to learn to harness. Audrey has too big a heart to become a villain and obsess about revenge, however. She fights her love for Neve, tries to save herself only to get pulled back because she understands Neve a lot better than Neve thinks, a lot better than Neve understands herself. It’s this understanding of who Neve is deep inside that makes Audrey unable to shirk this all-encompassing love, to free herself. Whereas Neve needs to earn her happy ever after, Audrey deserves it from the start, simply for being who she is, bright, beautiful (inside and out), brave.
Having read the fanfiction this story started as before getting my impatient eyes on this book, I’m impressed at how much work went into making it stand on its own feet, so to say. Neve’s arc is the same but almost everything else has been thought anew, blossoming into a book twice as long as the original story. And the cover, Em Schreiber’s work once again, is perfection.
Even as she drops the reader right in the middle of the action, McKay takes her time. There’s no rushing this story. Just like it will take years for Neve to earn her happy ending, getting to know her, to know the real person behind the public persona and, more than that, the person behind who Neve believes she is, must be earned too. The journey, thankfully, is not as painful for the reader as it is for Neve yet neither is it smooth sailing. But hey, that’s the price to pay for genuine character growth.
The pace is very interesting. It starts rather slowly, setting the scene, the atmosphere, a bit like the overture of an opera or a ballet, giving glimpses of what’s to come without revealing anything yet. Then as the story unfolds, the pace picks up, gathering momentum until the end which left me with a rush of adrenaline by the time I turned the last page.
As I’ve come to expect from Milena McKay, the writing is gorgeous and powerful, each word precisely chosen, so many details that don’t necessarily register on the surface but make this book the gorgeous read it is. The sacrosanct rule of showing and not telling can be respected in more ways than simply adding dialogues but it takes skills to write long inner thoughts without losing pace. That tongue-in-cheekiness I mentioned in my review for the audiobook of The Delicate Things We Make is there too. It’s not obvious, not in your face (McKay isn’t the in-your-face kind anyway), but it’s there, alleviating the tension here and there, in small, necessary touches.
I read this book twice before posting my review, there are so many layers. It’s raw and painful and funny and exhilarating, all at once. McKay’s definitively won her place on my favourite authors list, authors I can count on to give me food for thought while entertaining me at the same time.
Update, May 23rd: If you want more Audrey, in a much lighter mood, check out this free story, 20 Questions with Hurricane Audrey. And if you like the 20-questions idea, find your favourite authors' answers on McKay's blog.
I received a copy from the author and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
Read all my reviews on my blog (and please buy from the affiliation links!): Jude in the Stars
Damn, this book… Seriously. So. Many. Feelings. I’ve said and written my love for A Whisper of Solace so many times since it was released in April that I don’t think anyone who reads my reviews, even only occasionally, doesn’t already know about it. I don’t see what I can add to my original review, not without saying too much, so I’ll focus on the narration. There’s a reason, many reasons actually, why so many authors of sapphic fiction want Abby Craden to narrate their books. She’s not the only fabulous narrator but she’s obviously in my top 5. I do find certain books better suited to her style, however, and Milena McKay’s are definitely in this category.
Her narration of A Whisper of Solace is exactly what I hope for in an audiobook: it takes a brilliant story and elevates it even higher. Everything is more but never excessive. With Neve Blackthorne, McKay wrote one of the most complex characters and Craden’s talent shines in the voice she lends her, giving life to all the layers the author bestowed on her. I was especially looking forward to hearing Craden voice her. The others too but Neve first and foremost. Then there’s Audrey, her youth, her naiveté, her pain, her love… The contrast is magnificent and poignant.
This story includes quite a few fantastic secondary characters, and to them as well Craden’s narration adds even more substance. Juno Buchanan is one, and I can’t think of a better word than glee as to what her part in the denouement made me feel, a feeling I’m convinced she shares, judging from her tweets (I’m trying so hard not to spoil!). Harlan is another, his young boy voice perfect, tender and strong. Gustavo, Morag, Livia… I love them all, I didn’t want to say goodbye, didn’t want the audiobook to end. And if all this makes me sound like I’m fangirling, so be it. Abby Craden’s narration is a work of art. As much as I loved her in McKay’s other books, The Headmistress and The Delicate Things We Make, she takes this one to another level, full of nuance and texture. Like the book itself, my favourite so far by this author.
------------------------------------------------
If you thought Milena McKay wrote meaningful and clever (and really hot) books, you were off the mark. Not entirely wrong but there’s so much more to her writing than that, which she reveals book after book, slowly, patiently. Just as she went one step further with The Headmistress than with The Delicate Things We Make, she goes one step further again with A Whisper of Solace (another very beautiful title by the way, and not just because it includes one of my favourite words).
The things we do for love… Neve Blackthorne, CEO of Gannon McMillan Pictures, one of the Big Six studios in Hollywood, has been shagging Audrey Avens, one of her employees, for a few months and she wants out. Not because she doesn’t want the younger woman anymore but because she wants her too much. She has too much to lose if the affair is discovered, she believes. Unable to stay away, she’ll try by all possible means to push Audrey away.
There’s a lot more to this story than I’ve just written, I barely touched on the surface there. Not one to back away from a challenge, McKay elected to tell this story from the ice queen’s point of view, which means giving readers insight into all the ugly before we’re allowed to see the beautiful. Usually, we get to know the ice queen character through the eyes of the one who falls for her, the qualities that make her worthy of love at the forefront. In A Whisper of Solace, what’s most visible for the longest time is Neve’s tortured mind, her justifications for her actions and choices. It is quite a feat to get the reader to love her, to root for her despite seeing into her darkest recesses, beyond the lies of outlandish proportions she tells herself not to crumble.
Her saving grace – the one we first encounter, as she has a lot more than one once she opens up – is her will to change, if not herself, at least the way she handles the situation that frightens her most of all. Each chapter opens with Neve and her therapist, with Neve resisting therapy but still going, then Neve accepting that maybe it’s not so bad.
As in her previous books, McKay never gives her characters any break. They have to earn any potential positive thing happening to them. Life is rarely kind, why should it be any different in a story like this one? In Neve’s case, it’s even more flagrant because really, would she deserve a break? When she’s caused so much pain, whatever her reasons and excuses may be? This whole book is about her atoning, growing, healing.
A Whisper of Solace will probably not be to everyone’s taste. It’s layer upon layer of pain on top of fear on top of more angst. There aren’t a lot of authors I’d accept that much from, because it hurts so much. It hurts so good. Anna Burke comes to mind, but that’s about it. Not everyone can write pain so well. It’s not gratuitous, it’s not there for shock value, it has purpose, it has meaning, it makes sense, albeit in a very twisted way.
In that regard, there’s a scene I dreaded reading in this book because it hurts for real. It hurts Neve, it hurts Audrey, it hurts me. I understand its purpose, both for Neve and for the story, and it’s rather brilliant, honestly. But damn, it hurts, it pushes me out of my comfort zone in a way that is much more disconcerting than any physical violence I’ve read, because it feels so real. It’s another reminder that McKay doesn’t write fluffy, that, much as Anna Burke, she doesn’t shy away from the misery inflicted on her characters, and will break my heart many times before making it whole again.
Very often, the Ice Queen trope is all about melting the ice queen. While there is some definitive melting here, what Neve Blackthorne goes through is more of a meltdown over the course of several years. It’s fascinating to watch this extremely powerful, extremely self-contained woman in her professional life be so very clueless when it comes to her heart and what makes her happy. It’s equally fascinating that while she believes she’s in control of her life, that she holds the power, she’s completely powerless both with Audrey and over her own life. And when she does regain control, somewhat on her terms, it’s glorious.
Audrey, on the other side, is like a hardened version of Jameson (The Delicate Things We Make) and Sam (The Headmistress). She’s all soft and starry-eyed at first – though already very much an equal to Neve – until Neve breaks her and Audrey glues herself back together with pain and fury. The image that came to mind at that moment is that of a woman who’s been hurt so badly that when a supernatural force brings her back to life, she now is a supervillain or at the very least a being with superpowers fueled by a desire for revenge that she needs to learn to harness. Audrey has too big a heart to become a villain and obsess about revenge, however. She fights her love for Neve, tries to save herself only to get pulled back because she understands Neve a lot better than Neve thinks, a lot better than Neve understands herself. It’s this understanding of who Neve is deep inside that makes Audrey unable to shirk this all-encompassing love, to free herself. Whereas Neve needs to earn her happy ever after, Audrey deserves it from the start, simply for being who she is, bright, beautiful (inside and out), brave.
Having read the fanfiction this story started as before getting my impatient eyes on this book, I’m impressed at how much work went into making it stand on its own feet, so to say. Neve’s arc is the same but almost everything else has been thought anew, blossoming into a book twice as long as the original story. And the cover, Em Schreiber’s work once again, is perfection.
Even as she drops the reader right in the middle of the action, McKay takes her time. There’s no rushing this story. Just like it will take years for Neve to earn her happy ending, getting to know her, to know the real person behind the public persona and, more than that, the person behind who Neve believes she is, must be earned too. The journey, thankfully, is not as painful for the reader as it is for Neve yet neither is it smooth sailing. But hey, that’s the price to pay for genuine character growth.
The pace is very interesting. It starts rather slowly, setting the scene, the atmosphere, a bit like the overture of an opera or a ballet, giving glimpses of what’s to come without revealing anything yet. Then as the story unfolds, the pace picks up, gathering momentum until the end which left me with a rush of adrenaline by the time I turned the last page.
As I’ve come to expect from Milena McKay, the writing is gorgeous and powerful, each word precisely chosen, so many details that don’t necessarily register on the surface but make this book the gorgeous read it is. The sacrosanct rule of showing and not telling can be respected in more ways than simply adding dialogues but it takes skills to write long inner thoughts without losing pace. That tongue-in-cheekiness I mentioned in my review for the audiobook of The Delicate Things We Make is there too. It’s not obvious, not in your face (McKay isn’t the in-your-face kind anyway), but it’s there, alleviating the tension here and there, in small, necessary touches.
I read this book twice before posting my review, there are so many layers. It’s raw and painful and funny and exhilarating, all at once. McKay’s definitively won her place on my favourite authors list, authors I can count on to give me food for thought while entertaining me at the same time.
Update, May 23rd: If you want more Audrey, in a much lighter mood, check out this free story, 20 Questions with Hurricane Audrey. And if you like the 20-questions idea, find your favourite authors' answers on McKay's blog.
I received a copy from the author and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
Read all my reviews on my blog (and please buy from the affiliation links!): Jude in the Stars
April 12, 2022
Ice queen.
Milena McKay has once again blown me away with the ice queen and age gap tropes, tropes I'm utterly crazy about, and her stories get better each time. This is my favourite-est book of hers and it's ironic that I'm gushing over this when I've said before that I can't deal with stories with prolonged angst anymore. But this, oh this, is ridiculously good, painfully good. I was drawn in from the beginning, excited by the fact that our characters were already entangled in a passionate boss/subordinate affair when the story starts and I couldn't stop reading until the end.
McKay writes so brilliantly that I couldn't care less about the single POV. We don't get Audrey's side of the story but that's okay because Audrey is a pretty straightforward character who blossoms gradually and I never once doubted her love for Neve. Our protagonist, Neve, though, is complex as hell and I needed time to figure her out even though her POV is the only one I got. She has all these layers that needed peeling back and she intrigued me. She's a fearsome CEO, a formidable character, a smart woman for sure, but she also frustrates me. She's so fixated on hiding her weaknesses and feelings that she ends up pushing Audrey away and hurting her repeatedly. And yet at the same time, it's also hard to hate Neve when you know she's capable of loving fiercely albeit her own way.
This story is painful, yes. I felt every heartache that's inflicted. But at the same time it's so good because of the strong passion between the characters.
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Milena McKay has once again blown me away with the ice queen and age gap tropes, tropes I'm utterly crazy about, and her stories get better each time. This is my favourite-est book of hers and it's ironic that I'm gushing over this when I've said before that I can't deal with stories with prolonged angst anymore. But this, oh this, is ridiculously good, painfully good. I was drawn in from the beginning, excited by the fact that our characters were already entangled in a passionate boss/subordinate affair when the story starts and I couldn't stop reading until the end.
McKay writes so brilliantly that I couldn't care less about the single POV. We don't get Audrey's side of the story but that's okay because Audrey is a pretty straightforward character who blossoms gradually and I never once doubted her love for Neve. Our protagonist, Neve, though, is complex as hell and I needed time to figure her out even though her POV is the only one I got. She has all these layers that needed peeling back and she intrigued me. She's a fearsome CEO, a formidable character, a smart woman for sure, but she also frustrates me. She's so fixated on hiding her weaknesses and feelings that she ends up pushing Audrey away and hurting her repeatedly. And yet at the same time, it's also hard to hate Neve when you know she's capable of loving fiercely albeit her own way.
This story is painful, yes. I felt every heartache that's inflicted. But at the same time it's so good because of the strong passion between the characters.
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
April 7, 2022
It is difficult to adequately convey how much I love Milena McKay's writing. I'm not eloquent enough to do her work justice but I will do my best to express how her writing in A Whisper of Solace made me feel. When I first read The Delicate Things We Make, I was enthralled and then The Headmistress blew my mind. I thought there was no way she could eclipse the brilliance of The Headmistress but then I met Neve Blackthorne. This character and story will stay with me for a very long time.
Neve Blackthorne is the CEO of one of the biggest studios in Hollywood. She has been having an affair with one of subordinates, Audrey Avens for four months and she goes to therapist to help her quit because she knows she can't do it on her own. She lives in constant fear that she will be found out, she will lose the power she has, she will lose her son. So, she pushes Audrey away even though Audrey is the first person to really love Neve just as she is.
What makes this story unique is that it is told from the ice queen's point of view. We get to see the many facets of Neve and not through the rose-colored glasses of the woman who loves her. No, we see all of the moments where Neve is cruel and cold mixed in with the moments where she can be kind and vulnerable. There are more cruel and cold moments but in the kind and vulnerable ones, we see who Neve has the capacity to become as she gains more insight into why she behaves the way she does.
Each chapter begins with Neve talking to her therapist and over the course of several years, we see Neve's growth. Dr. Moore never pushes, she listens and over time a trust develops as happens with the best doctor/patient relationships. Audrey is a fascinating character. She isn't intimated by Neve, although she's nearly twenty years younger. I really like Audrey's growth throughout the story as well. She hardens as the story progresses but still retains her goodness. She is Neve's perfect match if Neve can only get out of her own way.
This is a fascinating character study of a woman who lets fear consume her and the struggles she must endure to get to a place where she can overcome those fears. It may not be wise to call A Whisper of Solace perfect, but it's a close to perfect as I have read in a very long time. It will be a few days before I can read anything else. I need to sit with this book and with Neve Blackthorne for a while. Milena McKay continues to show that she is one of the most talented writers in our community. Her writing is layered, beautiful, at times painful but always mesmerizing. Spend a day with Neve Blackthorne. It won't always be easy but it will be an experience you won't soon forget.
An ARC was received from the author for an honest review.
Neve Blackthorne is the CEO of one of the biggest studios in Hollywood. She has been having an affair with one of subordinates, Audrey Avens for four months and she goes to therapist to help her quit because she knows she can't do it on her own. She lives in constant fear that she will be found out, she will lose the power she has, she will lose her son. So, she pushes Audrey away even though Audrey is the first person to really love Neve just as she is.
What makes this story unique is that it is told from the ice queen's point of view. We get to see the many facets of Neve and not through the rose-colored glasses of the woman who loves her. No, we see all of the moments where Neve is cruel and cold mixed in with the moments where she can be kind and vulnerable. There are more cruel and cold moments but in the kind and vulnerable ones, we see who Neve has the capacity to become as she gains more insight into why she behaves the way she does.
Each chapter begins with Neve talking to her therapist and over the course of several years, we see Neve's growth. Dr. Moore never pushes, she listens and over time a trust develops as happens with the best doctor/patient relationships. Audrey is a fascinating character. She isn't intimated by Neve, although she's nearly twenty years younger. I really like Audrey's growth throughout the story as well. She hardens as the story progresses but still retains her goodness. She is Neve's perfect match if Neve can only get out of her own way.
This is a fascinating character study of a woman who lets fear consume her and the struggles she must endure to get to a place where she can overcome those fears. It may not be wise to call A Whisper of Solace perfect, but it's a close to perfect as I have read in a very long time. It will be a few days before I can read anything else. I need to sit with this book and with Neve Blackthorne for a while. Milena McKay continues to show that she is one of the most talented writers in our community. Her writing is layered, beautiful, at times painful but always mesmerizing. Spend a day with Neve Blackthorne. It won't always be easy but it will be an experience you won't soon forget.
An ARC was received from the author for an honest review.
October 1, 2022
Update after finishing the audiobook:
Five stars just ain't enough.
While I thought I knew how deeply I felt about this novel, I realize now that it was mere infatuation. In the brilliantly voiced performance of Abby Craden, I'm full blown in love - like marry me and have my children in love. I truly cannot say enough how perfectly Abby captured and conveyed these unforgettable characters. There were moments so beautifully done that I actually got the chills. This audio has moved into my all-time top 5. I would happily listen to it again now after just finishing it, but I think I'll save it for a special treat.
Original review:
A Whisper of Solace had me after the first three sentences. So intriguing and completely original, I knew something new and different was coming and couldn’t wait to see where it would take me.
Hollywood studio executive Neve Blackthorne is ruthless. Driven. An ice queen to give Natalya Tsvetnenko from Requiem for Immortals a run for her money.
She doesn’t show weakness. Ever. Women with her level of power would be eaten alive if they did. But she has it - in spades - for the talented and beautiful Audrey Avens, the junior communications executive for her studio, with whom she’s been having an affair for the last four months. It’s not just a weakness - Neve is completely consumed by her. And that just will not do. To sustain her entertainment empire she needs to stay focused, and her near obsession with Avens cannot be allowed to interfere with that. Those familiar with her ambition know she is no one to be trifled with, and she will crush anyone that stands in her way.
McKay tells Neve's story from her point of view, which makes it all the more intriguing, fascinating, frustrating and heartbreaking. She does much of it through a series of therapy sessions where Neve hopes to learn how to gain some self control where Audrey is concerned. Through these interactions, which begin each chapter, we learn that there is much more to Neve's fears than she's initially willing to admit and as each layer is revealed, we get to know the woman behind the facade.
Those who have read the author’s first two novels know how beautifully McKay can write. I found myself highlighting passage after passage of insights or phrases that struck me throughout this book, which is something I never do.
Solace is high in angst and at times actually painful to read - but it’s a masterful character study that will get inside of you and not let go. Neve exhibits such cruelty and self sabotage at times that you just want to throttle her to within an inch of her life. But the writing and the storytelling is so superb that you just have to hang on and go along for the ride.
And lord have mercy, the passion between Neve and Audrey? The sex? Rarely has chemistry been written this spectacularly.
On a bit of a lighter note, there’s a bit of cheek here and there that I found to be an interesting choice, and fans of McKay’s work will find wonderful Easter eggs spread throughout.
While Neve and Audrey’s long road to happiness is not an easy one, it's most certainly a journey worth taking in the end.
I've already read this twice because I didn't want to miss a thing.
I was provided an ARC by the author in exchange for an honest review
Five stars just ain't enough.
While I thought I knew how deeply I felt about this novel, I realize now that it was mere infatuation. In the brilliantly voiced performance of Abby Craden, I'm full blown in love - like marry me and have my children in love. I truly cannot say enough how perfectly Abby captured and conveyed these unforgettable characters. There were moments so beautifully done that I actually got the chills. This audio has moved into my all-time top 5. I would happily listen to it again now after just finishing it, but I think I'll save it for a special treat.
Original review:
A Whisper of Solace had me after the first three sentences. So intriguing and completely original, I knew something new and different was coming and couldn’t wait to see where it would take me.
Hollywood studio executive Neve Blackthorne is ruthless. Driven. An ice queen to give Natalya Tsvetnenko from Requiem for Immortals a run for her money.
She doesn’t show weakness. Ever. Women with her level of power would be eaten alive if they did. But she has it - in spades - for the talented and beautiful Audrey Avens, the junior communications executive for her studio, with whom she’s been having an affair for the last four months. It’s not just a weakness - Neve is completely consumed by her. And that just will not do. To sustain her entertainment empire she needs to stay focused, and her near obsession with Avens cannot be allowed to interfere with that. Those familiar with her ambition know she is no one to be trifled with, and she will crush anyone that stands in her way.
McKay tells Neve's story from her point of view, which makes it all the more intriguing, fascinating, frustrating and heartbreaking. She does much of it through a series of therapy sessions where Neve hopes to learn how to gain some self control where Audrey is concerned. Through these interactions, which begin each chapter, we learn that there is much more to Neve's fears than she's initially willing to admit and as each layer is revealed, we get to know the woman behind the facade.
Those who have read the author’s first two novels know how beautifully McKay can write. I found myself highlighting passage after passage of insights or phrases that struck me throughout this book, which is something I never do.
Solace is high in angst and at times actually painful to read - but it’s a masterful character study that will get inside of you and not let go. Neve exhibits such cruelty and self sabotage at times that you just want to throttle her to within an inch of her life. But the writing and the storytelling is so superb that you just have to hang on and go along for the ride.
And lord have mercy, the passion between Neve and Audrey? The sex? Rarely has chemistry been written this spectacularly.
On a bit of a lighter note, there’s a bit of cheek here and there that I found to be an interesting choice, and fans of McKay’s work will find wonderful Easter eggs spread throughout.
While Neve and Audrey’s long road to happiness is not an easy one, it's most certainly a journey worth taking in the end.
I've already read this twice because I didn't want to miss a thing.
I was provided an ARC by the author in exchange for an honest review
January 17, 2023
Looks as though I’m in the minority once again with McKay. While I did like this better than the Headmistress, it still had some big pet peeves for me to enjoy this.
Almost all of this is inner monologue. There’s barely any dialogue. It makes sense a little as this is first person pov but this was a little extreme. There’s also a lot of repetition with all the inner monologuing.
Neve mentions that she and Audrey don’t speak during their interactions, theirs is just a physical relationship. But then mentions how Audrey is so in love with her and I just never understood it. While they had tons of physical chemistry I never felt any emotional chemistry or connection, which is a big must for me.
I know I’m in the minority as just about everyone else seems to love this so I still recommend it for others, especially if you enjoy tropes such as ice queen, age gap and celebrities.
Almost all of this is inner monologue. There’s barely any dialogue. It makes sense a little as this is first person pov but this was a little extreme. There’s also a lot of repetition with all the inner monologuing.
Neve mentions that she and Audrey don’t speak during their interactions, theirs is just a physical relationship. But then mentions how Audrey is so in love with her and I just never understood it. While they had tons of physical chemistry I never felt any emotional chemistry or connection, which is a big must for me.
I know I’m in the minority as just about everyone else seems to love this so I still recommend it for others, especially if you enjoy tropes such as ice queen, age gap and celebrities.
April 18, 2022
This book - oh my! Layers upon layers. So much emotion! And angst! And the iciest of ice queens. This is not a light or fluffy read, but if you're looking for a romance that'll take you on a bit of a wild ride, definitely don't miss this one.
April 17, 2022
There’s a word. Metacognition. It basically means to think about your thinking. In A Whisper of Solace, Milena McKay brings to us Neve Blackthorne, an ice queen who rules Hollywood in her role as CEO of Gannon McMillan Pictures and who is infatuated with and carrying on with her Junior Communication Executive, Audrey Avens. The metacognition is not in the relationship. It is in the fact that Neve behaves exactly like an ice queen, yet dismisses the idea until her therapist presents the notion to her, then through a number of sessions, they deconstruct what it is that forms an ice queen. Metacognition. It’s very clever. To write a story about an ice queen, yet dismiss the very idea until the two intersect. Clever.
The use of therapy sessions makes for an interesting tool with which we discover the frost that coats Neve’s exterior. Two stories are told and as they touch and twine and twist and tear apart, the analysis of an ice queen demonstrates that they are more than simply icicles and glaciers; they are the gasp when the first crack in a sheet of ice is loud enough for all around to hear.
McKay gives us A Whisper of Solace. A whisper. A breath. But when the cracks in ice reverberate, a whisper is much too quiet to hear. And we find that Neve Blackthorne doesn’t like noise; both the physical and the metaphorical. But her life is noisy. Noisy with business machinations. Noisy with the pretence of Tinseltown. Noisy with her infatuation with Audrey Avens. Noisy with the voices from her past. All of it much too noisy for a whisper to thrive. And Neve is listening for that whisper with everything she has. There’s that metacognitive ice queen.
Metaphors abound in this story, which is hardly surprising as it’s a Milena McKay novel. However, the metaphors are clever and sparse and sensible and assist in guiding a story that is dense and delicious. Metaphors are necessary. Greek mythology, mirror, reflections, Wizard of Oz (Wicked Witch of the West), one-liners from films, and chess.
And chess.
Neve’s therapist utilises chess pieces to represent the way Neve defends and attacks aspects of her life. McKay takes us on a masterful journey across each of the squares that dig into Neve’s heart, through each of the moves that excoriate her soul, so that we are gasping for air, and wondering how we got to that particular location. Then we look behind and see the breadcrumbs and strings from Neve’s therapist which guide us to where we sit, trembling, sequestered in Neve’s rook, then sending forth her pawn, and taking up arms ahead of her knight, to surrender her bishop. All the while, playing the game with Gannon McMillan Pictures, actors, actresses, boards, Audrey, relationships, international politics, protect, deflect, and a refusal to acknowledge that her therapist is actually treating her in each session.
I won’t elaborate on what each piece represents as to do so would create a spoiler that would result in an abrupt end-game. Suffice to say, one of the many opening moves in chess is the Queen’s Gambit. This move usually brings about a strategic game rather than an all-out tactical battle, and it is, without a doubt, McKay using this strategy to guide us through the threads of this story. Until it can’t. Until all strategies have lost their structure. Until the chess pieces are scattered, cleared from the board by a tumultuous acceleration of the plot and McKay brilliantly pushes the whirlwind so that no game can keep up. Because the ice queen and all that analysis? It’s no longer a game. Neve and Audrey build themselves a palpable cyclone of chaos which is both logical, yet heart-stopping, and breathtaking in the audacity of both. This story is a tribute to the queen, both the ice and the metaphorical. It is a story inside a story until the two circles become one.
There really isn’t such a thing as an unstoppable force or an immovable object but Audrey and Neve and the cast of characters, both past and present, were created to represent the explosion that would occur if such a paradox were true. This story is about power. Power that is given and held and taken and lost. It is about love and the power it carries. It is about the power of the queen. She can move in all directions and any number of squares. Neve says that she works “her best when backed into a corner with seemingly no way out. It’s when she saw clearest of all.” In A Whisper of Solace, we see Neve, with her power, finally seeing the clearest of all and it is magnificent.
In this story, the pieces are swept from the board but the ice queen, battered and nearly broken, remains standing, and all that is important is within reach. The silence at the end of a battle is loud. A whisper can be heard in all that loud.
The use of therapy sessions makes for an interesting tool with which we discover the frost that coats Neve’s exterior. Two stories are told and as they touch and twine and twist and tear apart, the analysis of an ice queen demonstrates that they are more than simply icicles and glaciers; they are the gasp when the first crack in a sheet of ice is loud enough for all around to hear.
McKay gives us A Whisper of Solace. A whisper. A breath. But when the cracks in ice reverberate, a whisper is much too quiet to hear. And we find that Neve Blackthorne doesn’t like noise; both the physical and the metaphorical. But her life is noisy. Noisy with business machinations. Noisy with the pretence of Tinseltown. Noisy with her infatuation with Audrey Avens. Noisy with the voices from her past. All of it much too noisy for a whisper to thrive. And Neve is listening for that whisper with everything she has. There’s that metacognitive ice queen.
Metaphors abound in this story, which is hardly surprising as it’s a Milena McKay novel. However, the metaphors are clever and sparse and sensible and assist in guiding a story that is dense and delicious. Metaphors are necessary. Greek mythology, mirror, reflections, Wizard of Oz (Wicked Witch of the West), one-liners from films, and chess.
And chess.
Neve’s therapist utilises chess pieces to represent the way Neve defends and attacks aspects of her life. McKay takes us on a masterful journey across each of the squares that dig into Neve’s heart, through each of the moves that excoriate her soul, so that we are gasping for air, and wondering how we got to that particular location. Then we look behind and see the breadcrumbs and strings from Neve’s therapist which guide us to where we sit, trembling, sequestered in Neve’s rook, then sending forth her pawn, and taking up arms ahead of her knight, to surrender her bishop. All the while, playing the game with Gannon McMillan Pictures, actors, actresses, boards, Audrey, relationships, international politics, protect, deflect, and a refusal to acknowledge that her therapist is actually treating her in each session.
I won’t elaborate on what each piece represents as to do so would create a spoiler that would result in an abrupt end-game. Suffice to say, one of the many opening moves in chess is the Queen’s Gambit. This move usually brings about a strategic game rather than an all-out tactical battle, and it is, without a doubt, McKay using this strategy to guide us through the threads of this story. Until it can’t. Until all strategies have lost their structure. Until the chess pieces are scattered, cleared from the board by a tumultuous acceleration of the plot and McKay brilliantly pushes the whirlwind so that no game can keep up. Because the ice queen and all that analysis? It’s no longer a game. Neve and Audrey build themselves a palpable cyclone of chaos which is both logical, yet heart-stopping, and breathtaking in the audacity of both. This story is a tribute to the queen, both the ice and the metaphorical. It is a story inside a story until the two circles become one.
There really isn’t such a thing as an unstoppable force or an immovable object but Audrey and Neve and the cast of characters, both past and present, were created to represent the explosion that would occur if such a paradox were true. This story is about power. Power that is given and held and taken and lost. It is about love and the power it carries. It is about the power of the queen. She can move in all directions and any number of squares. Neve says that she works “her best when backed into a corner with seemingly no way out. It’s when she saw clearest of all.” In A Whisper of Solace, we see Neve, with her power, finally seeing the clearest of all and it is magnificent.
In this story, the pieces are swept from the board but the ice queen, battered and nearly broken, remains standing, and all that is important is within reach. The silence at the end of a battle is loud. A whisper can be heard in all that loud.
April 17, 2022
I was excited just like everyone else to read the new book by this author. Chapter one completed and I was the proverbial deer frozen in headlights. Chapter one.
Neve is the all powerful head of a studio. She rules magnificently in Hollywood and everyone shakes and shudders in her presence. Her one weak link is the fact that she has been carrying on a scorching affair with a young woman, Audrey, who works for her. Surprise! The ice queen trope is almost an afterthought. The characters themselves even boldly declare this to be a Miranda Priestly tale. At this point, I wondered where the book was going since we were basically handed a label at the onset.
But here’s the shocker, the story is inverted, told inside out. What transpires next is Neve’s journey of self discovery. It’s not pretty and as each layer is agonizingly peeled back, the aftermath transforms Neve, of course, but also affects the way she interacts with her mother, her son, and her love, Audrey. Each piece of her truth brings her closer to salvation or to oblivion. It’s not clear until the end what might become of her or of Audrey, the woman who loves Neve, mind, body, and soul. Palpable fear and introspection are the key words here. Sex and her chaotic relationship with Audrey, Neve’s deafeningly quiet moments alone, and her retaliatory actions against enemies are high level royal madness.
Whisper is an ambitious work and not for everyone. But for those willing to take a chance, it’s incredibly rewarding to read.
Received an arc courtesy of author in exchange for an honest review.
Neve is the all powerful head of a studio. She rules magnificently in Hollywood and everyone shakes and shudders in her presence. Her one weak link is the fact that she has been carrying on a scorching affair with a young woman, Audrey, who works for her. Surprise! The ice queen trope is almost an afterthought. The characters themselves even boldly declare this to be a Miranda Priestly tale. At this point, I wondered where the book was going since we were basically handed a label at the onset.
But here’s the shocker, the story is inverted, told inside out. What transpires next is Neve’s journey of self discovery. It’s not pretty and as each layer is agonizingly peeled back, the aftermath transforms Neve, of course, but also affects the way she interacts with her mother, her son, and her love, Audrey. Each piece of her truth brings her closer to salvation or to oblivion. It’s not clear until the end what might become of her or of Audrey, the woman who loves Neve, mind, body, and soul. Palpable fear and introspection are the key words here. Sex and her chaotic relationship with Audrey, Neve’s deafeningly quiet moments alone, and her retaliatory actions against enemies are high level royal madness.
Whisper is an ambitious work and not for everyone. But for those willing to take a chance, it’s incredibly rewarding to read.
Received an arc courtesy of author in exchange for an honest review.
April 12, 2022
This book is deep and dark and delicious.
McKay takes risks with her writing and I will follow her words anywhere.
McKay takes risks with her writing and I will follow her words anywhere.
January 29, 2023
Edit for Audiobook: DAMN. Damn damn damn. I liked this even better by audio, and Abby Craden was the perfect narrator (once again). Even though I read this what, 7 months ago, I had forgotten a few parts, and was hanging on to every word. I felt I got even more into Neve's character with her inner monologue, a deeper understanding, and that pain I experienced in round 1 was just as intense. I am so impressed. Can I give it six stars?
-------------------
Jesus christ crocheted on a napkin, I did not want this book to end. And satisfyingly, when I was able to pick it up, it DID appear to go slow for once. A lot happens, then I'd see I was only at 30% or so, hooray! How often can we say that?
I loved this book. I loved everything about it, and maybe just maybe, it has tied for the best lesfic I have read this year. Ms. McKay where did you come from with your words and things? That being said, the book at times is painful to read. It just plain hurts.
The main character, Neve, is a force. We readers see her navigate identity: who she is vs. who she was through past memories and experiences; see her expertly lead a film company and employees and pure viciousness from others (and herself); see her maintain her composure and power in the most stressful of circumstances, yet see the internal fractures that slowly torture her. Ms. McKay took a different route on this one, barging in on the fact Neve is having an affair with her company's spokesperson, Audrey, right on page 1 as she announces this "addiction" to a new therapist. We are thrust into the said affair rather than seeing the slow build between characters, and I loved this unique angle. We are introduced to this important relationship of Dr. Moore, the therapist and client, and see how Neve learns how to communicate and open up, while still maintaining her "ice queen" armour that is as familiar to herself as breathing.
Neve is not well liked. She is mean and awful and cold. But not once did I hate her for her actions. Even though we don't know exactly what her past experiences were until later in the book, we know something awful happened that caused her to react how she did, why she protects herself and her heart at all costs. Audrey on the other hand is all warmth, energy, kind, intelligent and friendly. Everyone loves her. We see her both thrive, and shrivel due to Neve. The balance between these two is positively scorching.
Having a mental health background gave me much respect for this book. and how the author went deep into a character's psyche. I am floored that this was Ms. McKay's first short book based on fanfic, which she then made into a full-length. The writing shows maturity and depth that hit all my sweet spots. It was deliciously long. It is complex and goddamned sexy as hell, the sex being off the charts. It's the first time in awhile that I wanted to start the book again as soon as I finished it.
-------------------
Jesus christ crocheted on a napkin, I did not want this book to end. And satisfyingly, when I was able to pick it up, it DID appear to go slow for once. A lot happens, then I'd see I was only at 30% or so, hooray! How often can we say that?
I loved this book. I loved everything about it, and maybe just maybe, it has tied for the best lesfic I have read this year. Ms. McKay where did you come from with your words and things? That being said, the book at times is painful to read. It just plain hurts.
The main character, Neve, is a force. We readers see her navigate identity: who she is vs. who she was through past memories and experiences; see her expertly lead a film company and employees and pure viciousness from others (and herself); see her maintain her composure and power in the most stressful of circumstances, yet see the internal fractures that slowly torture her. Ms. McKay took a different route on this one, barging in on the fact Neve is having an affair with her company's spokesperson, Audrey, right on page 1 as she announces this "addiction" to a new therapist. We are thrust into the said affair rather than seeing the slow build between characters, and I loved this unique angle. We are introduced to this important relationship of Dr. Moore, the therapist and client, and see how Neve learns how to communicate and open up, while still maintaining her "ice queen" armour that is as familiar to herself as breathing.
Neve is not well liked. She is mean and awful and cold. But not once did I hate her for her actions. Even though we don't know exactly what her past experiences were until later in the book, we know something awful happened that caused her to react how she did, why she protects herself and her heart at all costs. Audrey on the other hand is all warmth, energy, kind, intelligent and friendly. Everyone loves her. We see her both thrive, and shrivel due to Neve. The balance between these two is positively scorching.
Having a mental health background gave me much respect for this book. and how the author went deep into a character's psyche. I am floored that this was Ms. McKay's first short book based on fanfic, which she then made into a full-length. The writing shows maturity and depth that hit all my sweet spots. It was deliciously long. It is complex and goddamned sexy as hell, the sex being off the charts. It's the first time in awhile that I wanted to start the book again as soon as I finished it.
December 6, 2022
This book was almost a DNF for me, I didn’t like the start at all. I didn’t like Neve who was not only and ice queen, she was so cold she could be a corpse. I also didn’t like the many sex scenes the book started with, impersonal and meaningless and plain boring.
But all the raving reviews kept me reading and look at that rating. A big deserved 5 stars if you can turn a book from an almost DNF into a glorious story. All the points I complained about in the first part of the book morphed into the total opposite, I was hooked until the end!
But all the raving reviews kept me reading and look at that rating. A big deserved 5 stars if you can turn a book from an almost DNF into a glorious story. All the points I complained about in the first part of the book morphed into the total opposite, I was hooked until the end!
April 16, 2022
What a great read! I highly recommend. This author is quickly becoming one of my favorites
Ignore the rating this book was just spam down-rated by Charles and his other accounts probably.
Ignore the rating this book was just spam down-rated by Charles and his other accounts probably.
April 14, 2023
After a day to deliberate, I find myself still conflicted. Here’s my take:
HOLY SPICY ANGST, BATMAN!! Milena McKay writes two feels into this book: ANGSTY MISERY and INDOMINABLE HORNINESS
The Good:
* SPICY, SPICY, SPICY – this book was a bit weird in that the sex happens early and often (but less so in the second half of the book)
* The iciest ice queen you could ask for (who has good, if misguided, intentions at the heart of most of her cruelty)
* Insurmountable love and loyalty between the two MCs that spans years – even when they’re not together or even speaking
* Wait, did I mention the SPICE?! None-too-vanilla sex scenes in here!
* Angsty and plausible relationship obstacles.
* HEA
The Not So Good:
* SO MUCH ANGST! This book made my tummy hurt about 90% of the time. What an utterly miserable woman!
* The constant mention of plot, tropes, and storytelling devices in relation to their lives. I get the relevance, considering Neve’s profession, but it pulled me out of the story every time.
* A bittersweet ending after sooooo much wasted time (this always leaves me feeling a bit unfulfilled and sad!)
Overall, I’m left feeling like this was amazingly written and so, so deep…but it was also probably the angstiest story I’ve ever read/listened to. Personally, it could’ve been toned down just a tad, or at least throw in some moments of real reprieve from all that misery. Having Audrey’s POV here would have helped with that, I think, and I really would’ve enjoyed seeing some parts of the story through her eyes, as well.
The verdict: AMAZING READ (and an even better listen with Abby Craden), but EMOTIONALLY TAXING!
HOLY SPICY ANGST, BATMAN!! Milena McKay writes two feels into this book: ANGSTY MISERY and INDOMINABLE HORNINESS
The Good:
* SPICY, SPICY, SPICY – this book was a bit weird in that the sex happens early and often (but less so in the second half of the book)
* The iciest ice queen you could ask for (who has good, if misguided, intentions at the heart of most of her cruelty)
* Insurmountable love and loyalty between the two MCs that spans years – even when they’re not together or even speaking
* Wait, did I mention the SPICE?! None-too-vanilla sex scenes in here!
* Angsty and plausible relationship obstacles.
* HEA
The Not So Good:
* SO MUCH ANGST! This book made my tummy hurt about 90% of the time. What an utterly miserable woman!
* The constant mention of plot, tropes, and storytelling devices in relation to their lives. I get the relevance, considering Neve’s profession, but it pulled me out of the story every time.
* A bittersweet ending after sooooo much wasted time (this always leaves me feeling a bit unfulfilled and sad!)
Overall, I’m left feeling like this was amazingly written and so, so deep…but it was also probably the angstiest story I’ve ever read/listened to. Personally, it could’ve been toned down just a tad, or at least throw in some moments of real reprieve from all that misery. Having Audrey’s POV here would have helped with that, I think, and I really would’ve enjoyed seeing some parts of the story through her eyes, as well.
The verdict: AMAZING READ (and an even better listen with Abby Craden), but EMOTIONALLY TAXING!
October 21, 2022
10/20/2022 update on audiobook
It was summer when it was announced that A Whisper of Solace would be released in audio version and narrated by Abby Craden. It’s no mystery how much this book haunted me and left me without sleep and will to read another book for many days. But I knew that me and audiobooks didn’t really get along.
When I read written words, my mind creates a movie of its own. I hear all the different voices of the characters. I inhale all the different smells and perfumes described. I see scenes with my own eyes, rolling as vivid as a dream in front of me. I feel all of it. I certainly didn’t want a voice coming from my noise cancelling headphones to interfere with the memory I had of A Whisper of Solace. It was my experience. I didn’t want to share it with Abby Craden, and yet… I wanted to hear. I wanted to hear those whispers, the agony, the battle within one of my favorite characters ever written: Neve Blackthorne. It was like I had to.
And so. Hopeful in my first journey through the audiobook world, I made an account on Audible and pre-ordered the book.
I too, was excited and a bit nervous of what I was about to discover. I asked for help on which were the best ways to listen to audiobooks. Should I lie down on a couch? I’m terrible at listening to someone when they are speaking. Many members of the group told me I could take a walk, do some light housework, maybe drive, even do some puzzles.
27th September came so fast, I didn’t believe the audiobook was already in my library, and then the journey started.
The days before I thought I would train myself to listen to audiobooks, and the effects were as infuriating as you could imagine. Me and audiobook were no match at all.
Still, I had to tap on “Play” and start the first chapter of AWS. I made it to chapter two and declared a total defeat.
Friends told me that it was okay if audiobooks were not made for me. But somehow, in the back of my mind, I thought of listening to this book as a challenge with myself. Because of the way I loved it and the way I wanted to experience it in every possible way.
Almost a month passed. Last Monday I hit the play button again when I was at work and all of suddenly the chapters started changing and changing, till I reached Chapter 6… I knew what was about to happen and I knew that I couldn’t possibly listen to that at my office, I would have turned crimson and squirm at my own desk.
The solution? Wait till work was done and listen to it on my 1-hour drive back home. Yes, I listened to Chapter 6 while driving on a 6-lane busy highway… I barely made it through. Never, ever try that.
I was feeling so proud of myself that I told all my friends, and they started cheering. Ever had that? Someone cheering you so that you can enjoy a great experience? Something that bonds you? Something that so many readers had been waiting for?
I didn’t want to disappoint them and disappoint me… and so… today… I listened to the remaining chapters. I literally finished it 5 minutes ago and I wanted to share all of this.
My relationship with audiobooks is still a troubled one and I know that A Whisper of Solace is “the exception”, because the love I have for this book has no limits.
But the audio… the performance given by Abby Craden… the second part of the book… the “Hurricane”… I saw my own film all over again.
The husky tone of Neve’s voice. The infuriated tone of Audrey. It was awesome.
Everything I said while reading the e-book version is still valid for the audiobook. Now I’ll be waiting for the motion picture version. A girl can dream.
Read or listen to this book, because it is one of a kind.
I heard your whisper. I heard you and I’ve seen you, and I’ve seen myself and what I was seeing, I did not like and yet it didn’t stop me from reading your words.
I’m sitting in my garden, cigarette burning on the ashtray next to me. The smoke rising above my eyes, making them burn.
I’m listening to my “Reading & Relax” playlist and “The Secret Garden’s Air from the Expo Suite” is now playing in my ears. A melancholic, distant, and soothing melody. I’m sitting under the clouds forming a veil around the sun, and you make me want to spill my guts. Yes, you. You who wrote all of this, you who said something to me that no one has ever said: “I wrote a paragraph just for you, because of you, because you like to know things and you research”.
Am I such a cliché, am I so foolish to think for even a moment that I feel seen, that Whisper of Solace, launched on April 12th, two days, merely two days after the infamous 10th April of 2019 that changed my life forever, would make me relieve something that I was trying again to run away from? Didn’t 12-04 or 1204 mark the Sack of Constantinople and the end of the IV Crusade?
Oh yes, I’m a nerd, call me Google, call me Wikipedia. It’s like a game to me, wanting to know things, wanting to go beyond that the common eyes don’t see or doesn’t want to see. I crave answers and I look for them, but some questions are better left unanswered.
It’s a paradox to me that I hate this book as much as I love every word of it. Every damn word. “Damn you!” No offence, of course. “Damn you, because you are good”, I said.
Because from the first moment I laid my eyes on the cover of Whisper of Solace and met Neve with her eyes closed, my mind started spinning. Why are her eyes closed? It says PART I on the screen. I wanted to analyze everything, so I focused on the details. Were those bubbles of air I saw in front of her? Was she like under water? How apt that the “Whisper” font had a touch of opacity to it, dissolving in its intensity. Isn’t it what a whisper is? It’s gone before you let it out.
But you told me, just keep reading, you will understand: “It’s the rain”.
How presumptuous of me to think I had it all figured out. A game is a game, after all, but in all of this, I always thought you were always one step ahead of me.
My brain was on fire. Sensory overload. I even dreamt about it. Names scattered in front of me, like in a whirlpool and me trying to decipher them.
Because I know that when you write nothing is left to chance. If you use a word, that word has been selected for a precise task, and I, being a translator, someone in love with words, someone in love with the written word, I wanted to know the truth behind it all. I always craved to grasp the meaning of something, the “Why”.
Why was I reading about Neve Blackthorne, CEO of Gannon McMillan Pictures, and about her affair with her spokesperson of her studio? All set in the glamorous and shiny fake-dom of Tinseltown? Everybody seems so happy, isn’t it always like that from a distant eye?
When I was younger, every year when the Oscars were to be announced, I had a ritual. Skip school. Stay up till early morning (because of the time difference with Los Angeles and Italy), and watch at that shiny world of stars greeting and congratulating each other on their accomplishments.
You see, movies as such, might not move everybody’s heart, but to me they were special. They were a chance to dream, a chance to escape.
Escape from what, you might ask?
From myself.
You seem to love the dichotomy between light and darkness, and this is a theme that is very dear to me.
I know that we are all made of light and shadows.
You know why my university dissertation was entitled: “The Seduction in the Shadow”? A parallel between Dracula by Bram Stoker, the book, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula by Francis Ford Coppola, the movie.
Because, while in the book Dracula is the Unknown, the Darkness itself, and even he never really appears in the book, being only but a shadow, Francis Ford Coppola brought that shadow on the stage. When the light shone on Dracula, he wasn’t as bad as everybody thought he would be. Everybody loved him because they were finally seeing him. All he ever wanted was bring back Mina from the Dead. Just like Orpheus and Eurydice. Dracula went to Hell, sold his soul to the Devil for Love.
You see, all my life I’ve been scared of everything. The mask won’t tell you that, because when you stay in the darkness there is no shadow. That shadow becomes darkness itself and so you are afraid of it, afraid that one day it will catch up with you. It will catch up with all that is left unsaid.
Where does this leave me? Oh yes, to Neve. Neve Blackthorne.
You said it yourself. Ha! You wrote that for me, because you knew that I was going to check that up. I didn’t need your help! I was mad that you were helping me in understanding. Because all my life, I never needed anyone to help me. Remember, it’s a game for me. I like the thrill of the chase.
So, Blackthorne or Blackthorn is the “prunus spinosa”, belonging to the family of the rosacea. A plant that developed a defense mechanism against predators. Its thorns, while not poisonous, can be quite nasty. How apt that Neve’s eyes were both violet and blue, the same color of the plant. The same color of violence. But Blackthorn has also always been associated with everything that was sinister in the past. I also found an interesting thread, which I’ll quote:
“Blackthorn represents transformation, but through the hardening of strife. “Its association with death, battles, and transformation can be seen in the three colours that are found in it, red (blood), white (spirit), and black (death). These correspond with the red sap, the white of the flowers, and the black bark.”
https://blackthornandstone.com/2020/0...
Transformation, it says. Thus, “Change”. Something that I will never be accustomed with.
I guess I was preparing myself to see a battle. Against who?
At the beginning I thought it was a battle against the whole world, but don’t they say that “The biggest enemy is yourself”? Yes, the world as such can play tricks on you. What your past has done to you, could make you hate even the sight of yourself. Will redemption, absolution ever come?
Who will help you “open your eyes”, who will help you “love yourself”, love every part of you, light and darkness? Because we are never all light or darkness, we are both of them at the same time.
But you cannot let the whole world see that. That is your truth. It’s your curse, your mystery, your most guarded secret: the sum of all your weaknesses.
You escape any possible “failure” and you believe you are perfect. If you are perfect everybody will follow you, adore you and most of all, love you.
Is unconditional love so difficult to find? Why can’t they just love me the way I am?
But the question here is, do they actually already love me and it’s all in my head? Is my head creating my own prison? Am I really alone in all of this? Why I feel so lonely? Why I always felt so lonely in my life?
Silence.
There’s a lot of silence in A Whisper of Solace by Milena McKay. I was almost going to count the times it was mentioned.
Darkness, silence, storms, water….
“Water, water everywhere, Nor any drop to drink”
When will it rain? When will this almost renaissance-like intrigue of bad romance will be over? When will the rain come to absolve everybody from their sins? All this jealousy, all this possessiveness...
Why does not the whispering stop?
I startled the moment I read those voices. Voices in your head, screaming. But it wasn’t what I thought it was. I don’t think I could have sustained that.
You do love mythology. A kindred spirit.
I grew up in love with the myths of Cupid and Psyche, Orpheus and Eurydice and many, many more.
Tragic love affairs. Lovers who went to hell and came or never came back. You name them… later they became all the Tristan’s and Iseult’s, Paolo’s and Francesca’s…
All driven mad by the power of love.
Love. Hate. Silence. Whispers. Light. Darkness. Lust. Punishment.
A whole “Search for the Holy Grail”.
A Chess Battle between your heart and your mind. A missing piece.
A missing piece that would make all of this having any sense at all.
Finding that missing piece of the puzzle to make your life a whole.
What is Neve missing? What does Neve want? What is her biggest fear?
They say Darkness is attracted to Light.
You already taught me that nothing is as it seems. What you think is Light can be also Darkness and vice versa.
So who is Icarus and who is the Sun in this story?
Who is God and who is The Devil? And what if they were women?
PART II
Eyes opened.
Still the ocean, still water, still a distant light.
Audrey Avens. Avens whose name is also coming from a plant. A gentle (do you know how many times you used that word “Gentle”?) and innocent soul. Audrey is the fallen angel sent to Hell, who has risen from her own ashes and lost all her purity. Is she really pure? Is anyone ever 100% pure?
Only children are pure and innocent. William Blake wrote so many poems about them.
No child should be submitted to any kind of violence, but you, being a lawyer, you must know that reality is something else. And you raise your voice against that. Against any form of abuse, bullying, violence that could take that innocence away, because one it’s done, you are left your life to lick your wounds and try to hide your scars.
Message received. How honorable of you. I bow to you. This is all that you wanted to tell me.
That no matter what your past has been, you are worthy, you can be loved, you can love, and no one will ever abandon you anymore.
I’m rambling now. I told you I haven’t slept well the past two days. You hit the nail on the head. You went straight to my heart. You made me revisit centuries of literature and myths and your mentioning of the “Ocean” of “Water” has not been in vain.
I’m a water sign after all. I die and come back to life in it. That flat line or wavy surface is my secret garden, is my solitary and always present friend.
Wash away your sins.
The symbolism of the rain falling and cleansing the soul. The washing of the feet… now that it’s almost Easter. All all those Easter eggs? DeVoured me.
For the anxiety you put me through. For the beauty you made me see. For the love story you told me. For the nightmares you gave me. For the life lesson you taught me. For showing me once again the importance of communicating and sharing your darkness with someone. For learning to ask for help. For not running away from love. For not fearing who I am. For being one of the biggest nerd I think I know in my life now.
I thank you for the time you spent writing one of the best stories I have ever read.
The characters, the setting, the analogies, the paradoxes, the psychology, the fight for human rights.
Everything is perfect.
And if this novel doesn’t win as many damned awards as they are mentioned in it, I’ll be damned.
Because you deserve it.
You, kind spirit.
I like you too (you never heard me saying this). Ridiculous. I only ever seen your eyes and I have now a name. You got a friend here.
There’s too much I highlighted in Whisper of Solace, and it might as well be one of the few books I will read again and again. Who knows? I might even want to “listen to it”.
I might want to hear that “Whisper”. I will survive it.
And this. This is not a review. This is a letter to you.
All this rumbling stops now.
I'm listening to Svanire by Einaudi
La neve si scioglie riscaldata dal cuore.
#toomuch #toobeautiful #ithurtstoomuch #youseeme #survivors
It was summer when it was announced that A Whisper of Solace would be released in audio version and narrated by Abby Craden. It’s no mystery how much this book haunted me and left me without sleep and will to read another book for many days. But I knew that me and audiobooks didn’t really get along.
When I read written words, my mind creates a movie of its own. I hear all the different voices of the characters. I inhale all the different smells and perfumes described. I see scenes with my own eyes, rolling as vivid as a dream in front of me. I feel all of it. I certainly didn’t want a voice coming from my noise cancelling headphones to interfere with the memory I had of A Whisper of Solace. It was my experience. I didn’t want to share it with Abby Craden, and yet… I wanted to hear. I wanted to hear those whispers, the agony, the battle within one of my favorite characters ever written: Neve Blackthorne. It was like I had to.
And so. Hopeful in my first journey through the audiobook world, I made an account on Audible and pre-ordered the book.
I too, was excited and a bit nervous of what I was about to discover. I asked for help on which were the best ways to listen to audiobooks. Should I lie down on a couch? I’m terrible at listening to someone when they are speaking. Many members of the group told me I could take a walk, do some light housework, maybe drive, even do some puzzles.
27th September came so fast, I didn’t believe the audiobook was already in my library, and then the journey started.
The days before I thought I would train myself to listen to audiobooks, and the effects were as infuriating as you could imagine. Me and audiobook were no match at all.
Still, I had to tap on “Play” and start the first chapter of AWS. I made it to chapter two and declared a total defeat.
Friends told me that it was okay if audiobooks were not made for me. But somehow, in the back of my mind, I thought of listening to this book as a challenge with myself. Because of the way I loved it and the way I wanted to experience it in every possible way.
Almost a month passed. Last Monday I hit the play button again when I was at work and all of suddenly the chapters started changing and changing, till I reached Chapter 6… I knew what was about to happen and I knew that I couldn’t possibly listen to that at my office, I would have turned crimson and squirm at my own desk.
The solution? Wait till work was done and listen to it on my 1-hour drive back home. Yes, I listened to Chapter 6 while driving on a 6-lane busy highway… I barely made it through. Never, ever try that.
I was feeling so proud of myself that I told all my friends, and they started cheering. Ever had that? Someone cheering you so that you can enjoy a great experience? Something that bonds you? Something that so many readers had been waiting for?
I didn’t want to disappoint them and disappoint me… and so… today… I listened to the remaining chapters. I literally finished it 5 minutes ago and I wanted to share all of this.
My relationship with audiobooks is still a troubled one and I know that A Whisper of Solace is “the exception”, because the love I have for this book has no limits.
But the audio… the performance given by Abby Craden… the second part of the book… the “Hurricane”… I saw my own film all over again.
The husky tone of Neve’s voice. The infuriated tone of Audrey. It was awesome.
Everything I said while reading the e-book version is still valid for the audiobook. Now I’ll be waiting for the motion picture version. A girl can dream.
Read or listen to this book, because it is one of a kind.
I heard your whisper. I heard you and I’ve seen you, and I’ve seen myself and what I was seeing, I did not like and yet it didn’t stop me from reading your words.
I’m sitting in my garden, cigarette burning on the ashtray next to me. The smoke rising above my eyes, making them burn.
I’m listening to my “Reading & Relax” playlist and “The Secret Garden’s Air from the Expo Suite” is now playing in my ears. A melancholic, distant, and soothing melody. I’m sitting under the clouds forming a veil around the sun, and you make me want to spill my guts. Yes, you. You who wrote all of this, you who said something to me that no one has ever said: “I wrote a paragraph just for you, because of you, because you like to know things and you research”.
Am I such a cliché, am I so foolish to think for even a moment that I feel seen, that Whisper of Solace, launched on April 12th, two days, merely two days after the infamous 10th April of 2019 that changed my life forever, would make me relieve something that I was trying again to run away from? Didn’t 12-04 or 1204 mark the Sack of Constantinople and the end of the IV Crusade?
Oh yes, I’m a nerd, call me Google, call me Wikipedia. It’s like a game to me, wanting to know things, wanting to go beyond that the common eyes don’t see or doesn’t want to see. I crave answers and I look for them, but some questions are better left unanswered.
It’s a paradox to me that I hate this book as much as I love every word of it. Every damn word. “Damn you!” No offence, of course. “Damn you, because you are good”, I said.
Because from the first moment I laid my eyes on the cover of Whisper of Solace and met Neve with her eyes closed, my mind started spinning. Why are her eyes closed? It says PART I on the screen. I wanted to analyze everything, so I focused on the details. Were those bubbles of air I saw in front of her? Was she like under water? How apt that the “Whisper” font had a touch of opacity to it, dissolving in its intensity. Isn’t it what a whisper is? It’s gone before you let it out.
But you told me, just keep reading, you will understand: “It’s the rain”.
How presumptuous of me to think I had it all figured out. A game is a game, after all, but in all of this, I always thought you were always one step ahead of me.
My brain was on fire. Sensory overload. I even dreamt about it. Names scattered in front of me, like in a whirlpool and me trying to decipher them.
Because I know that when you write nothing is left to chance. If you use a word, that word has been selected for a precise task, and I, being a translator, someone in love with words, someone in love with the written word, I wanted to know the truth behind it all. I always craved to grasp the meaning of something, the “Why”.
Why was I reading about Neve Blackthorne, CEO of Gannon McMillan Pictures, and about her affair with her spokesperson of her studio? All set in the glamorous and shiny fake-dom of Tinseltown? Everybody seems so happy, isn’t it always like that from a distant eye?
When I was younger, every year when the Oscars were to be announced, I had a ritual. Skip school. Stay up till early morning (because of the time difference with Los Angeles and Italy), and watch at that shiny world of stars greeting and congratulating each other on their accomplishments.
You see, movies as such, might not move everybody’s heart, but to me they were special. They were a chance to dream, a chance to escape.
Escape from what, you might ask?
From myself.
You seem to love the dichotomy between light and darkness, and this is a theme that is very dear to me.
I know that we are all made of light and shadows.
You know why my university dissertation was entitled: “The Seduction in the Shadow”? A parallel between Dracula by Bram Stoker, the book, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula by Francis Ford Coppola, the movie.
Because, while in the book Dracula is the Unknown, the Darkness itself, and even he never really appears in the book, being only but a shadow, Francis Ford Coppola brought that shadow on the stage. When the light shone on Dracula, he wasn’t as bad as everybody thought he would be. Everybody loved him because they were finally seeing him. All he ever wanted was bring back Mina from the Dead. Just like Orpheus and Eurydice. Dracula went to Hell, sold his soul to the Devil for Love.
You see, all my life I’ve been scared of everything. The mask won’t tell you that, because when you stay in the darkness there is no shadow. That shadow becomes darkness itself and so you are afraid of it, afraid that one day it will catch up with you. It will catch up with all that is left unsaid.
Where does this leave me? Oh yes, to Neve. Neve Blackthorne.
You said it yourself. Ha! You wrote that for me, because you knew that I was going to check that up. I didn’t need your help! I was mad that you were helping me in understanding. Because all my life, I never needed anyone to help me. Remember, it’s a game for me. I like the thrill of the chase.
So, Blackthorne or Blackthorn is the “prunus spinosa”, belonging to the family of the rosacea. A plant that developed a defense mechanism against predators. Its thorns, while not poisonous, can be quite nasty. How apt that Neve’s eyes were both violet and blue, the same color of the plant. The same color of violence. But Blackthorn has also always been associated with everything that was sinister in the past. I also found an interesting thread, which I’ll quote:
“Blackthorn represents transformation, but through the hardening of strife. “Its association with death, battles, and transformation can be seen in the three colours that are found in it, red (blood), white (spirit), and black (death). These correspond with the red sap, the white of the flowers, and the black bark.”
https://blackthornandstone.com/2020/0...
Transformation, it says. Thus, “Change”. Something that I will never be accustomed with.
I guess I was preparing myself to see a battle. Against who?
At the beginning I thought it was a battle against the whole world, but don’t they say that “The biggest enemy is yourself”? Yes, the world as such can play tricks on you. What your past has done to you, could make you hate even the sight of yourself. Will redemption, absolution ever come?
Who will help you “open your eyes”, who will help you “love yourself”, love every part of you, light and darkness? Because we are never all light or darkness, we are both of them at the same time.
But you cannot let the whole world see that. That is your truth. It’s your curse, your mystery, your most guarded secret: the sum of all your weaknesses.
You escape any possible “failure” and you believe you are perfect. If you are perfect everybody will follow you, adore you and most of all, love you.
Is unconditional love so difficult to find? Why can’t they just love me the way I am?
But the question here is, do they actually already love me and it’s all in my head? Is my head creating my own prison? Am I really alone in all of this? Why I feel so lonely? Why I always felt so lonely in my life?
Silence.
There’s a lot of silence in A Whisper of Solace by Milena McKay. I was almost going to count the times it was mentioned.
Darkness, silence, storms, water….
“Water, water everywhere, Nor any drop to drink”
When will it rain? When will this almost renaissance-like intrigue of bad romance will be over? When will the rain come to absolve everybody from their sins? All this jealousy, all this possessiveness...
Why does not the whispering stop?
I startled the moment I read those voices. Voices in your head, screaming. But it wasn’t what I thought it was. I don’t think I could have sustained that.
You do love mythology. A kindred spirit.
I grew up in love with the myths of Cupid and Psyche, Orpheus and Eurydice and many, many more.
Tragic love affairs. Lovers who went to hell and came or never came back. You name them… later they became all the Tristan’s and Iseult’s, Paolo’s and Francesca’s…
All driven mad by the power of love.
Love. Hate. Silence. Whispers. Light. Darkness. Lust. Punishment.
A whole “Search for the Holy Grail”.
A Chess Battle between your heart and your mind. A missing piece.
A missing piece that would make all of this having any sense at all.
Finding that missing piece of the puzzle to make your life a whole.
What is Neve missing? What does Neve want? What is her biggest fear?
They say Darkness is attracted to Light.
You already taught me that nothing is as it seems. What you think is Light can be also Darkness and vice versa.
So who is Icarus and who is the Sun in this story?
Who is God and who is The Devil? And what if they were women?
PART II
Eyes opened.
Still the ocean, still water, still a distant light.
Audrey Avens. Avens whose name is also coming from a plant. A gentle (do you know how many times you used that word “Gentle”?) and innocent soul. Audrey is the fallen angel sent to Hell, who has risen from her own ashes and lost all her purity. Is she really pure? Is anyone ever 100% pure?
Only children are pure and innocent. William Blake wrote so many poems about them.
No child should be submitted to any kind of violence, but you, being a lawyer, you must know that reality is something else. And you raise your voice against that. Against any form of abuse, bullying, violence that could take that innocence away, because one it’s done, you are left your life to lick your wounds and try to hide your scars.
Message received. How honorable of you. I bow to you. This is all that you wanted to tell me.
That no matter what your past has been, you are worthy, you can be loved, you can love, and no one will ever abandon you anymore.
I’m rambling now. I told you I haven’t slept well the past two days. You hit the nail on the head. You went straight to my heart. You made me revisit centuries of literature and myths and your mentioning of the “Ocean” of “Water” has not been in vain.
I’m a water sign after all. I die and come back to life in it. That flat line or wavy surface is my secret garden, is my solitary and always present friend.
Wash away your sins.
The symbolism of the rain falling and cleansing the soul. The washing of the feet… now that it’s almost Easter. All all those Easter eggs? DeVoured me.
For the anxiety you put me through. For the beauty you made me see. For the love story you told me. For the nightmares you gave me. For the life lesson you taught me. For showing me once again the importance of communicating and sharing your darkness with someone. For learning to ask for help. For not running away from love. For not fearing who I am. For being one of the biggest nerd I think I know in my life now.
I thank you for the time you spent writing one of the best stories I have ever read.
The characters, the setting, the analogies, the paradoxes, the psychology, the fight for human rights.
Everything is perfect.
And if this novel doesn’t win as many damned awards as they are mentioned in it, I’ll be damned.
Because you deserve it.
You, kind spirit.
I like you too (you never heard me saying this). Ridiculous. I only ever seen your eyes and I have now a name. You got a friend here.
There’s too much I highlighted in Whisper of Solace, and it might as well be one of the few books I will read again and again. Who knows? I might even want to “listen to it”.
I might want to hear that “Whisper”. I will survive it.
And this. This is not a review. This is a letter to you.
All this rumbling stops now.
I'm listening to Svanire by Einaudi
La neve si scioglie riscaldata dal cuore.
#toomuch #toobeautiful #ithurtstoomuch #youseeme #survivors
April 13, 2022
Just wow!! I don’t even know what to say. I can’t express how amazing this book is, because there are simply no words that will make this work of art justice. Milena McKay just delivered yet again! She legit never disappoints! I’ve loved all of her books so far.
Funny thing, when I started reading this, I kept thinking - I've read this before - and I couldn't stop thinking about that, so I did some digging and saw that the author who wrote a Mirandy fic called "the other woman" that I've read a few months ago was actually Milena McKay hehe And that just made me love this story and this book even more! I legit love Mckay’s work and I really enjoyed the fic this book is based on. It was interesting to read something from the ice queen’s aka Miranda’s perspective and point of view. Well, in this case, Neve. To read and experience this other side and explore this type of character was just wow. It’s not something that is done a lot, and what’s out there, it’s not done this well. This story was so sexy and dark and deep and bittersweet and, at times, very frustrating, but, in the end, it’s all worth it. All the angst and everything that Neve did and put Audrey through and made me feel throughout the story, it’s worth it. So, BRAVA!!! Another work of art delivered 🙌🏻
I’m really in awe of McKay. She’s so talented and brilliant, the way she writes sends shivers all over. It’s all so beautiful and deep and it makes me feel all sort of feelings. 100% recommend this book! Can’t wait to read the next one 🥰
Funny thing, when I started reading this, I kept thinking - I've read this before - and I couldn't stop thinking about that, so I did some digging and saw that the author who wrote a Mirandy fic called "the other woman" that I've read a few months ago was actually Milena McKay hehe And that just made me love this story and this book even more! I legit love Mckay’s work and I really enjoyed the fic this book is based on. It was interesting to read something from the ice queen’s aka Miranda’s perspective and point of view. Well, in this case, Neve. To read and experience this other side and explore this type of character was just wow. It’s not something that is done a lot, and what’s out there, it’s not done this well. This story was so sexy and dark and deep and bittersweet and, at times, very frustrating, but, in the end, it’s all worth it. All the angst and everything that Neve did and put Audrey through and made me feel throughout the story, it’s worth it. So, BRAVA!!! Another work of art delivered 🙌🏻
I’m really in awe of McKay. She’s so talented and brilliant, the way she writes sends shivers all over. It’s all so beautiful and deep and it makes me feel all sort of feelings. 100% recommend this book! Can’t wait to read the next one 🥰
April 21, 2022
Thawing the Ice Queen is one of my favourite tropes. We readers sit back and watch the (often) younger love interest chip away at the Queen’s frosty exterior revealing the heat and passion trapped within. We revel in the love interests' success and enjoy seeing the softer side of her imperial conquest. This is not that kind of book.
A Whisper of Solace is written from the Ice Queen’s point of view. Neve is one brilliant and formidable woman. She is also filled with fear and self loathing. She knows she should not risk her reputation but her attraction to Audrey is too powerful, her need to touch and be touched, to feel something is too hard to resist. Resist she must or risk losing everything and everyone she holds dear.
This is an amazing and at times uncomfortable read. This introspective look at what drives an ice queen to act and react the way she does freaked me out a little. Filled with longing one moment, rigidly refusing to acknowledge that longing the next. Lashing out at anyone who dares to question her decisions, using a therapist to unravel the fear that drives her to make those choices. It’s a rollercoaster ride set in the unforgiving movie industry world. I watched the players make their moves much like the chess pieces used by Neve’s therapist. This book pulled me in and I hung on hoping Audrey and Neve would somehow find their HEA. What a ride. Quite the brilliant book.
A copy of this book was provided by the author for review.
A Whisper of Solace is written from the Ice Queen’s point of view. Neve is one brilliant and formidable woman. She is also filled with fear and self loathing. She knows she should not risk her reputation but her attraction to Audrey is too powerful, her need to touch and be touched, to feel something is too hard to resist. Resist she must or risk losing everything and everyone she holds dear.
This is an amazing and at times uncomfortable read. This introspective look at what drives an ice queen to act and react the way she does freaked me out a little. Filled with longing one moment, rigidly refusing to acknowledge that longing the next. Lashing out at anyone who dares to question her decisions, using a therapist to unravel the fear that drives her to make those choices. It’s a rollercoaster ride set in the unforgiving movie industry world. I watched the players make their moves much like the chess pieces used by Neve’s therapist. This book pulled me in and I hung on hoping Audrey and Neve would somehow find their HEA. What a ride. Quite the brilliant book.
A copy of this book was provided by the author for review.
April 20, 2022
5 ⭐️
Awesome!
Milena McKay, I am totally in awe of your ability to write such a great, powerful, compelling and emotional story.
A story of a successful and ruthless woman at the head of a studio who rules all of Hollywood, whose subjects and antagonists alike tremble before her, and her only weakness (in her eyes) Audrey, an employee with whom she had a torching hot affair, and wants to keep it secret, or even better, forget it at all costs. But also an Ice Queen has to learn, that love isn’t something you can switch off as you like.
Neve and Audrey's story captivated me from the first sentence and never let go. I had to force myself to put the book down to get enough sleep to do my job properly. It also didn't help that I'm working for a queer film festival where we're about to open and there's still so much to do. That was bad timing on my part to read this book.
The fact that the POV is of Neve, a picture-perfect Ice Queen, was extremely pleasing to me. Most of the time we get to know them from the point of view of the other main character. Also, the talks with her therapist at the beginning of every Chapter were a clever idea by the author. Through these conversations, we learn layer by layer all the nuances of this troubled woman.
Neve's personality fascinated me. She made me feel, not always good feelings, but even when she acted like a complete idiot and big shot, I couldn't hate her. I tried, but the way Milena tells us Neve's story, it just didn't work. I could feel her fears and in the end, I understood where they were coming from. But if I could have, I would have given her shit about her actions, would have shaken her - if I would be brave enough to do so.
Soon we are able to see much more than a strong, unyielding, sometimes ruthless woman who plays out her power. And we understand, that her motto "offense is the best defense" is sometimes nothing more than suppressing her own fears and insecurities.
Love is such a powerful emotion, it lets us do the most amazing things, but sometimes also the absolute worst things for fear of love. And even in the most painful moments, the chemistry between Neve and Audrey is scorching hot.
This is not an easy-to-read story, it is heartbreaking and painful, but also wonderful and surprising. I was never sure how this story will end.
This will definitely be one of my favorite books in 2022. Thank you, Milena McKay.
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review
Awesome!
Milena McKay, I am totally in awe of your ability to write such a great, powerful, compelling and emotional story.
A story of a successful and ruthless woman at the head of a studio who rules all of Hollywood, whose subjects and antagonists alike tremble before her, and her only weakness (in her eyes) Audrey, an employee with whom she had a torching hot affair, and wants to keep it secret, or even better, forget it at all costs. But also an Ice Queen has to learn, that love isn’t something you can switch off as you like.
Neve and Audrey's story captivated me from the first sentence and never let go. I had to force myself to put the book down to get enough sleep to do my job properly. It also didn't help that I'm working for a queer film festival where we're about to open and there's still so much to do. That was bad timing on my part to read this book.
The fact that the POV is of Neve, a picture-perfect Ice Queen, was extremely pleasing to me. Most of the time we get to know them from the point of view of the other main character. Also, the talks with her therapist at the beginning of every Chapter were a clever idea by the author. Through these conversations, we learn layer by layer all the nuances of this troubled woman.
Neve's personality fascinated me. She made me feel, not always good feelings, but even when she acted like a complete idiot and big shot, I couldn't hate her. I tried, but the way Milena tells us Neve's story, it just didn't work. I could feel her fears and in the end, I understood where they were coming from. But if I could have, I would have given her shit about her actions, would have shaken her - if I would be brave enough to do so.
Soon we are able to see much more than a strong, unyielding, sometimes ruthless woman who plays out her power. And we understand, that her motto "offense is the best defense" is sometimes nothing more than suppressing her own fears and insecurities.
Love is such a powerful emotion, it lets us do the most amazing things, but sometimes also the absolute worst things for fear of love. And even in the most painful moments, the chemistry between Neve and Audrey is scorching hot.
This is not an easy-to-read story, it is heartbreaking and painful, but also wonderful and surprising. I was never sure how this story will end.
This will definitely be one of my favorite books in 2022. Thank you, Milena McKay.
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review
April 5, 2022
• A Whisper Of Solace: A Tainted Tinseltown Book
• Author Milena McKay
• MC Neve Blackthorne & Audrey Avens
• Ice Queen
• Age-Gap
The Author wrote a completely different kind of book.
I love Ice Queen stories. This book follows Neve a woman with money and power. She was always in her head, thinking. Always on edge. Worried about someone coming along to destroy her. She knew she had a checkered past.
The author uses this book to bring back some old characters from previous books.
I felt Neve wanted love but was afraid and she couldn’t stop the voices in her head. She was trying to out run the past, if she kept running she would hurt herself. The story Is told from Neve’s POV.
The book speaks to the pain of your past. No matter how
far we go in life, some trauma we experience, we can never forget. I feel one has to realize that they deserve to be loved no matter what. True love is when a person can looked passed your short comings and still love you. Still wants to stand by your side and help you through the pain.
There are some new elements in this book. I loved this book, I don’t want to give anything away. Just know it’s beyond wonderful, and you should read it!
I highly recommend this book!! I would like to thank the author for the ARC this is masterpiece!! 5 stars ⭐️⭐️���️⭐️⭐️
• Author Milena McKay
• MC Neve Blackthorne & Audrey Avens
• Ice Queen
• Age-Gap
The Author wrote a completely different kind of book.
I love Ice Queen stories. This book follows Neve a woman with money and power. She was always in her head, thinking. Always on edge. Worried about someone coming along to destroy her. She knew she had a checkered past.
The author uses this book to bring back some old characters from previous books.
I felt Neve wanted love but was afraid and she couldn’t stop the voices in her head. She was trying to out run the past, if she kept running she would hurt herself. The story Is told from Neve’s POV.
The book speaks to the pain of your past. No matter how
far we go in life, some trauma we experience, we can never forget. I feel one has to realize that they deserve to be loved no matter what. True love is when a person can looked passed your short comings and still love you. Still wants to stand by your side and help you through the pain.
There are some new elements in this book. I loved this book, I don’t want to give anything away. Just know it’s beyond wonderful, and you should read it!
I highly recommend this book!! I would like to thank the author for the ARC this is masterpiece!! 5 stars ⭐️⭐️���️⭐️⭐️
April 19, 2022
I've read the original fanfic and was thrilled when I knew it would publish. What I didn't expect was this amount of emotion and feeling when reading it. Milena Mckay crafted everything masterfully, and it’s like she’s digging into your most hidden self layer by layer that you'd beg for mercy; it's raw and painful, and it shatters me somehow. But then there’s the rebuilding process, and in the end, it’s pure happiness and full of love.
It's such a beautiful book and undoubtedly my favorite of the year. Milena delivers a different perspective of Ice Queen, and I believe she brings this trope of romance to another level.
I'd held this book very close to my heart.
It's such a beautiful book and undoubtedly my favorite of the year. Milena delivers a different perspective of Ice Queen, and I believe she brings this trope of romance to another level.
I'd held this book very close to my heart.
December 24, 2022
I’m blown away ! That simple!
August 24, 2022
As much as I loved Milena McKay’s s Headmistress (my top read of last year), I could not muster the same enthusiasm for A Whisper of Solace. I really struggled with it to the point of putting it away for months and almost not finishing it. I didn’t feel a connection with the story, thought it tedious and overtly angsty and I disliked both main characters. Shocking, when you look at all the 5-star praise this book gets, I know. But that’s how it is. Sometimes you just don’t click with a book. It happens.
f/f explicit
3 Stars
f/f explicit
3 Stars
February 24, 2023
I should love this entirely. It's everything that I ask for in a brilliant read. It hooks you immediately, it's brilliantly character driven, and it deals with some real world issues, in terms of mental health and character make-up. Plus it's very clever. And meta.
It's the last element that makes me love this a little less. While I love cleverness and "meta-ness," shall we say, a Whisper of Solace tries to be a little bit too meta and too clever towards the end. Which brings me to my second problem: the climax plays out well enough, but what is it these days with romance stories featuring characters overcoming their obstacles and declaring their love for each for each other in a public setting? Over a Tannoy in a shopping centre, over a microphone in a club, on a live TV broadcast, or a live stream. I won't say which of these, if any of these, occur in this book, but I will say that the device used to play out the climax felt forced to me. And I mention that because it didn't have to be done precisely in this way.
My gripes are likely personal preferences, and I get that. But I just can't get over the two devices that I didn't enjoy ultimately.
Yet, don't let that dissuade you from picking up this book, and it certainly hasn't dissuaded me from reading the next book in this loose series and more by the author because striking the right note is a hard thing to achieve, not to mention you can't please everybody in all things.
This is by no means an easy read, not one for the beach. It delves deeply into the character and flaws of the ice queen and there is pain and pain, and did I mention pain? And yet that is the book's appeal; Milen McKay is asking us to join her on the journey, to get down deep, and thus more fully bond with the main character.
Ultimately, this book is very rewarding and makes you think about your own flaws and the way you choose to live your life. A solid 4 that might have been more, but well, my gripes on my gripes and I stand by them obstinately! I'm still very much looking forward to Milena McKay"s next book though 😊.
It's the last element that makes me love this a little less. While I love cleverness and "meta-ness," shall we say, a Whisper of Solace tries to be a little bit too meta and too clever towards the end. Which brings me to my second problem: the climax plays out well enough, but what is it these days with romance stories featuring characters overcoming their obstacles and declaring their love for each for each other in a public setting? Over a Tannoy in a shopping centre, over a microphone in a club, on a live TV broadcast, or a live stream. I won't say which of these, if any of these, occur in this book, but I will say that the device used to play out the climax felt forced to me. And I mention that because it didn't have to be done precisely in this way.
My gripes are likely personal preferences, and I get that. But I just can't get over the two devices that I didn't enjoy ultimately.
Yet, don't let that dissuade you from picking up this book, and it certainly hasn't dissuaded me from reading the next book in this loose series and more by the author because striking the right note is a hard thing to achieve, not to mention you can't please everybody in all things.
This is by no means an easy read, not one for the beach. It delves deeply into the character and flaws of the ice queen and there is pain and pain, and did I mention pain? And yet that is the book's appeal; Milen McKay is asking us to join her on the journey, to get down deep, and thus more fully bond with the main character.
Ultimately, this book is very rewarding and makes you think about your own flaws and the way you choose to live your life. A solid 4 that might have been more, but well, my gripes on my gripes and I stand by them obstinately! I'm still very much looking forward to Milena McKay"s next book though 😊.
May 30, 2022
This might just be the best way to get your heart broken over and over again. And slowly, very slowly it’ll be mended, maybe broken again, just so you can pick up all the magnificent pieces and be whole again. But forever changed.
McKay’s writing is wonderful, as you’d come to expect after the fabulous The Delicate Things We Make and The Headmistress. A Whisper of Solace tells us the story of the magnificently flawed Neve, an ice queen so cold she could freeze over hell if she put her mind to it. The chapters open with Neve seeing a therapist, at first that’s all that is because Neve doesn’t share and open up. Later it evolves into this wonderful look into her soul and all her flaws. Neve has decided she needs therapy because she needs to rid herself from her drug of choice, Audrey, the “girl”, a spokesperson working for Neve’s company. She pushes and pulls and it’s all heartbreakingly beautiful and horrible and above all wonderfully written.
I’m not the biggest fan of the age gap trope, unless it’s Milena McKay writing it, she just makes it work. And most of all makes me realise that the age really doesn’t matter (as long as both are consenting adults). All the things that make age gap hard to read for me at times McKay writes them in a way that it makes it work in her favour, in favour of the story. Ugh, all the talent displayed in her words… Can one buy that somewhere?
Writing any type of review won’t do this book any justice, it needs to be read, experienced in full, by everyone. I think there is so much to learn from this book, I won’t easily forget it. Not one for rereading much but this one already has me wanting to read it over and over. I must be a masochist for wanting to feel all that hurt again… wonderful discovery about myself ;)
Just stop whatever it is you are doing now, pick up this book and immerse yourself in this breathtaking Tinseltown tale.
McKay’s writing is wonderful, as you’d come to expect after the fabulous The Delicate Things We Make and The Headmistress. A Whisper of Solace tells us the story of the magnificently flawed Neve, an ice queen so cold she could freeze over hell if she put her mind to it. The chapters open with Neve seeing a therapist, at first that’s all that is because Neve doesn’t share and open up. Later it evolves into this wonderful look into her soul and all her flaws. Neve has decided she needs therapy because she needs to rid herself from her drug of choice, Audrey, the “girl”, a spokesperson working for Neve’s company. She pushes and pulls and it’s all heartbreakingly beautiful and horrible and above all wonderfully written.
I’m not the biggest fan of the age gap trope, unless it’s Milena McKay writing it, she just makes it work. And most of all makes me realise that the age really doesn’t matter (as long as both are consenting adults). All the things that make age gap hard to read for me at times McKay writes them in a way that it makes it work in her favour, in favour of the story. Ugh, all the talent displayed in her words… Can one buy that somewhere?
Writing any type of review won’t do this book any justice, it needs to be read, experienced in full, by everyone. I think there is so much to learn from this book, I won’t easily forget it. Not one for rereading much but this one already has me wanting to read it over and over. I must be a masochist for wanting to feel all that hurt again… wonderful discovery about myself ;)
Just stop whatever it is you are doing now, pick up this book and immerse yourself in this breathtaking Tinseltown tale.
April 12, 2022
You recognize Milena McKays writing style from the first to the last letters of this book. Her unique and beautiful way with words shines through every page.
Pro:
Complex and beautifully flawed MCs
Character in Therapy - A topic used way to seldom in books. The therapy provides the reader with important insights to the character which enhance the plot.
Written from the “Ice queens” point of view
Cute kid
Storyline over a long time
Con:
-
Angstlevel: High. Whilst I normally prefer a lower level, McKays writing fully ties the angst to the characters personalities and their character development. The angst fit the plot.
PSA: Do not start reading this in the middle of the night, as you won’t be able to put it down once you’ve started.
I was given an ARC by the author in exchange for a honest, unbiased opinion.
Pro:
Complex and beautifully flawed MCs
Character in Therapy - A topic used way to seldom in books. The therapy provides the reader with important insights to the character which enhance the plot.
Written from the “Ice queens” point of view
Cute kid
Storyline over a long time
Con:
-
Angstlevel: High. Whilst I normally prefer a lower level, McKays writing fully ties the angst to the characters personalities and their character development. The angst fit the plot.
PSA: Do not start reading this in the middle of the night, as you won’t be able to put it down once you’ve started.
I was given an ARC by the author in exchange for a honest, unbiased opinion.
April 16, 2022
I took two whole days to read this. It was a conscious decision because when I read The Headmistress and finished it in the early morning hours of its debut day, I was so disappointed that it was over too soon. I was like a kid who went to Disney and got sick at 10am after too many trips on Space Mountain. This time I vowed that I would not finish it so fast I was left with a book hangover. I didn’t finish too fast but I still have that hangover. Milena McKay’s words flow in a way that not many can match, she leaves you hanging on every word. Her characters are complex and relatable, at times you hate them and want to shake them and at others they make you feel so bad you’ll excuse any poor behavior. Her plots are always complicated in a way that leaves me wondering how the end can possibly be the one I’m hoping to see. A Whisper of Solace follows her other novels with their age gap, ice queen tropes but this is the first told exclusively from the ice queen’s pov and I loved it. I can’t think of any others told like this and it was so exciting to read Neve’s thoughts and feelings. This one also differs in that it starts out with the relationship between Neve and Audrey ending at Neve’s plotting and goes on from there. Milena’s ice queens are some of the best in lesfic, rivaling those from Lee Winter, she has a knack for creating them and I certainly hope she continues.
July 30, 2022
Oh goodness me. A Whisper of Solace is by far the angstiest book that I have read. Never have I ever read something remotely that angsty. And of course, the angst lover in me absolutely, without a doubt, adore reading it. I mean, come on....it has all my (and many others I believed) favorite trope - age gap romance, an ice queen who simply refuses to thaw that easily, a high-powered femme who is willing to move mountain and yet remained in the background for the sake of love.
Not gonna give you a run-down/synopsis of the book...you can read it from the book cover or the many reviews from other readers. But what I can and will tell you is this... The angst didn't start midpoint or at the 75% mark of the book. It started really early...at 15% into the book! And it's one angst after another and at some point, I thought my dear heart just couldn't take any more of the angst but I did and kept going well into the wee hours...
If you love angst, go for it. A word of advise - A Whisper of Solace is not a fluffy, not a light-hearted read and it doesn’t give you a warm fuzzy feeling read. Only towards the tail end of the book, do we get to feel the all-consuming happiness for Neve and Audrey.
A solid 5 ⭐️ read for yours truly and $$$ well-spent; no doubt about it 😊
Not gonna give you a run-down/synopsis of the book...you can read it from the book cover or the many reviews from other readers. But what I can and will tell you is this... The angst didn't start midpoint or at the 75% mark of the book. It started really early...at 15% into the book! And it's one angst after another and at some point, I thought my dear heart just couldn't take any more of the angst but I did and kept going well into the wee hours...
If you love angst, go for it. A word of advise - A Whisper of Solace is not a fluffy, not a light-hearted read and it doesn’t give you a warm fuzzy feeling read. Only towards the tail end of the book, do we get to feel the all-consuming happiness for Neve and Audrey.
A solid 5 ⭐️ read for yours truly and $$$ well-spent; no doubt about it 😊
April 7, 2022
I was expecting a good read from McKay but this certainly blew the lid off. The many links to previous books were there for all to see and enjoy. The angst, the sex, the drama and the inevitable HEA. I’m trying hard not to give spoilers here but from the first sentence I knew I was in for a roll a coaster ride, the highs above Everest and the lows below the Mariana Trench. The hurt, the pain and the oh so deep love. The trauma that drove one of the main character to reach the highest rung on the ladder of ambition and the hurt that drove the other to a war zone. All of these elements written with such intelligence and obvious love for her characters. McKay has done it again. Will there be another soon? I hope so.
I received an ARC for an honest review.
I received an ARC for an honest review.
September 30, 2022
AUDIOBOOK R/R: 5 ⭐️
Once again, Abby Craden has executed a magnificent performance for McKay's latest masterpiece. Her narration unlocked a whole new level of angst and heartbreak—and exasperation 🤧
On top of that, Craden never fails to floor me with the range of accents she can do, and god did she do a number of accents here. She really is so amazing! A goddess 🥹
So overall, I thoroughly did enjoy revisiting this novel—of course I knew that I would be hurt once again, but in the best possible ways. After all, McKay really did a phenomenal, borderline vicious, job writing this delicious, torturous age-gap drama romance. And Craden's second-to-none narration has once again impeccably complemented her excellent writing! With 'A Whisper of Solace,' they made me cry a thousand times and left me beyond satisfied in the end. I am blown away. Their tandem is truly a gem to look forward to!
4.5 ⭐️ Excellent read! Yet again!
Milena McKay has, yet again, done a terrific job at weaving a compelling narrative adorned, yet again, with beautiful words.
In '𝘈 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦,' the author's third full-length novel, there is a fine balance between sentiment & pleasure, and between angst & delight.
AWOF presents a complex story centering on a complex character—that is Neve Blackthorne. Written in Neve's POV in 3rd person, it is such an insightful and fascinating journey for me as a reader to witness the character development of this flawed, scarred character. It consequently highlights the importance of psychotherapy, which I'm not going to dare expound on to avoid spoilers.
Anyway, with a complex protagonist comes a delicious amount of angst. And my most favourite part of the angst here is the inclusion of the jealousy-coupled-with-regrets trope(?). And with Milena's effective writing, such trope(?) succeeded in tugging at my heart and bringing my emotions really high—more than once!
There's a lot of things going on in this book—as I said, it is a complex story, there's so many layers in it. In line with that are the secondary characters who also have undergone remarkable character developments in the story. Some of them effectively served the purpose of providing some comic relief. There were instances in the story when I felt like a scene (a drama or some interior monologue) was starting to drag, the author would efficiently throw in some welcome humour, plot twists, and/or super steamy scenes—thus bringing back my attention to the story immediately. To me, that is such an impressive writing style to have.
All in all, I had a terrific time reading this book. It was such a wonderful, roller-coaster ride. It was absolutely worth the wait, THE ANXIETY, some tears, and the time!
I cannot recommend this highly enough!
And if like me, you are also a fan of the author's debut novel, '𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘞𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦,' you'll be pleased to find a few easter eggs here from the said book—and some cameo appearance from one of its characters 😉
***𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄***
Once again, Abby Craden has executed a magnificent performance for McKay's latest masterpiece. Her narration unlocked a whole new level of angst and heartbreak—and exasperation 🤧
On top of that, Craden never fails to floor me with the range of accents she can do, and god did she do a number of accents here. She really is so amazing! A goddess 🥹
So overall, I thoroughly did enjoy revisiting this novel—of course I knew that I would be hurt once again, but in the best possible ways. After all, McKay really did a phenomenal, borderline vicious, job writing this delicious, torturous age-gap drama romance. And Craden's second-to-none narration has once again impeccably complemented her excellent writing! With 'A Whisper of Solace,' they made me cry a thousand times and left me beyond satisfied in the end. I am blown away. Their tandem is truly a gem to look forward to!
4.5 ⭐️ Excellent read! Yet again!
Milena McKay has, yet again, done a terrific job at weaving a compelling narrative adorned, yet again, with beautiful words.
In '𝘈 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦,' the author's third full-length novel, there is a fine balance between sentiment & pleasure, and between angst & delight.
AWOF presents a complex story centering on a complex character—that is Neve Blackthorne. Written in Neve's POV in 3rd person, it is such an insightful and fascinating journey for me as a reader to witness the character development of this flawed, scarred character. It consequently highlights the importance of psychotherapy, which I'm not going to dare expound on to avoid spoilers.
Anyway, with a complex protagonist comes a delicious amount of angst. And my most favourite part of the angst here is the inclusion of the jealousy-coupled-with-regrets trope(?). And with Milena's effective writing, such trope(?) succeeded in tugging at my heart and bringing my emotions really high—more than once!
There's a lot of things going on in this book—as I said, it is a complex story, there's so many layers in it. In line with that are the secondary characters who also have undergone remarkable character developments in the story. Some of them effectively served the purpose of providing some comic relief. There were instances in the story when I felt like a scene (a drama or some interior monologue) was starting to drag, the author would efficiently throw in some welcome humour, plot twists, and/or super steamy scenes—thus bringing back my attention to the story immediately. To me, that is such an impressive writing style to have.
All in all, I had a terrific time reading this book. It was such a wonderful, roller-coaster ride. It was absolutely worth the wait, THE ANXIETY, some tears, and the time!
I cannot recommend this highly enough!
And if like me, you are also a fan of the author's debut novel, '𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘞𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦,' you'll be pleased to find a few easter eggs here from the said book—and some cameo appearance from one of its characters 😉
***𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄***
October 14, 2022
There’s so much self-destruction on both sides of the MCs that you as a reader get hurt.
Neve’s childhood shaped the perfect ice-queen she is. What mesmerizes me is that in many other books a character as Neve, when reaching her peak, it starts to melt (because she meets her person) because she falls in love, in this book is the contrary, meeting her person only reinforces all her walls and iciness and there is where the pure and magnificent queen of ice emerges and embraces the epitome of her character.
In her lack of almost every healthy human emotion, she destroys everything in front of her, considering that she doesn’t deserve anything good. I also find some of Impostor Syndrome which one would consider is the contrary to a perfect ice-queen but is so much reflected in her train of thought.
What impressed me the most was that the author not only explain but gets you to feel that the love that Neve and Audrey have is fiercy, I’d like to believe that it exists but not all souls are intended to have it.
At the end of the book there are some clichés very well nuanced and didn’t feel bad.
This book was something else, it was different, you basically spend most of the time in the mind of Neve and her point of view, it could drain you but it’s so good that attracts you as much -at the same time- that you just can’t keep away from it.
Regarding Audrey, I would like to say that she needed to love herself more, but it felt so good to see her fight for Neve that I just can’t, I value all her effort, patience but most of all her decision to fight for what she wanted.
Neve’s childhood shaped the perfect ice-queen she is. What mesmerizes me is that in many other books a character as Neve, when reaching her peak, it starts to melt (because she meets her person) because she falls in love, in this book is the contrary, meeting her person only reinforces all her walls and iciness and there is where the pure and magnificent queen of ice emerges and embraces the epitome of her character.
In her lack of almost every healthy human emotion, she destroys everything in front of her, considering that she doesn’t deserve anything good. I also find some of Impostor Syndrome which one would consider is the contrary to a perfect ice-queen but is so much reflected in her train of thought.
What impressed me the most was that the author not only explain but gets you to feel that the love that Neve and Audrey have is fiercy, I’d like to believe that it exists but not all souls are intended to have it.
At the end of the book there are some clichés very well nuanced and didn’t feel bad.
This book was something else, it was different, you basically spend most of the time in the mind of Neve and her point of view, it could drain you but it’s so good that attracts you as much -at the same time- that you just can’t keep away from it.
Regarding Audrey, I would like to say that she needed to love herself more, but it felt so good to see her fight for Neve that I just can’t, I value all her effort, patience but most of all her decision to fight for what she wanted.
April 16, 2022
Such a calamity of emotions! As always the story is beautifully written, but painfully heartbreaking. There is so much push, I wish there were a little more pull. It felt really hopeless for a lot of the book, and I hate that feeling. But, of course, the ending was pure redemption. McKay’s intelligence really shines thru in her writing. It’s a bit intimating for us mortals! She really sits on a pedestal amongst her peers.
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