This is another great read in the series, and I just love all the Will and Sara I can get. Karin Slaughter writes some4 stars - Crime/Mystery/Thriller
This is another great read in the series, and I just love all the Will and Sara I can get. Karin Slaughter writes some very dark books, and this is no exception. It has some seriously disturbing content and characters. I wanted a lot more comeuppance for several of them....more
This is such a unique, thrilling, intriguing, and exciting mix of archaeology, history, pro5 stars - Mystery/Action Thriller/Horror/Paranormal/Romance
This is such a unique, thrilling, intriguing, and exciting mix of archaeology, history, prophecy, religion, mystery, action, suspense, horror, and even romance. I loved it as much as the first book, and I can't wait for the epic conclusion in Blood Infernal!
Note: I went to church as a child, but I'm not a religious person. I consider myself an agnostic, and I believe the Catholic Church has committed heinous acts and atrocities throughout human history in the name of their religion. Nevertheless, this series is utterly captivating, compelling, and fascinating....more
This is such a unique, thrilling, intriguing, and exciting mix of archaeology, history, prophecy, r5 stars - Mystery/Action Thriller/Paranormal/Horror
This is such a unique, thrilling, intriguing, and exciting mix of archaeology, history, prophecy, religion, mystery, action, suspense, horror, and even romance. I loved it!
Note: I went to church as a child, but I'm not a religious person. I consider myself an agnostic, and I believe the Catholic Church has committed heinous acts and atrocities throughout human history in the name of their religion. Nevertheless, this series is utterly captivating, compelling, and fascinating....more
I love this series. Karin Slaughter has created fantastic characters in Will, Sara, Faith, and Amanda, and she never h5 stars - Crime/Mystery/Thriller
I love this series. Karin Slaughter has created fantastic characters in Will, Sara, Faith, and Amanda, and she never holds back from detailing the evil, ugly aspects of our society. This is another dark, complex thriller, but it's also fucking brutal and deeply disturbing. This book needs a serious trigger warning for rape because it's front and center throughout the entire story, and Ms. Slaughter does not hold back from graphic details.
After That Night made me feel the gamut of emotions...sad, disgusted, heartsick, fearful, and fucking infuriated. It especially made me feel intense anger, deep revulsion, and utter despair for the way women have to constantly deal with the savage and terrifying reality of rape. I had so much rage after reading this book that I asked a friend to go with me to a Krav Maga self-defense class so I could beat the shit out of some strike pads.
The ending felt somewhat rushed to me, and I thought all of the villainous, evil pieces of shit got off way too easy. But the depressing, bitter truth of the world we live in is that people get away with abusing others every second of every minute, every single day, especially rich white men. (view spoiler)[Even though one of the biggest villains in this book is a woman, let's be clear about the fact that the majority of abusers and rapists are men. (hide spoiler)]...more
This is a beautiful, emotional story about finding yourself again and the healing power of love in all i5 stars - Women's Fiction/Contemporary Romance
This is a beautiful, emotional story about finding yourself again and the healing power of love in all its forms with a tender, touching romance at the heart of it. The book needed better editing because there wasn't any spacing/separation breaks for paragraphs that started new content or change in time/scene/location. I also wanted more from the ending. I would've loved a couple more chapters and/or an epilogue showing (view spoiler)[Annie, Nick, Izzy, and baby Katie's life together in Mystic and with them spending time with Natalie and Hank all as a family. (hide spoiler)] Still, I was deeply moved by this heartrending and heartwarming story. 5 stars!...more
Wow. I honestly don’t have sufficient words to convey my love for this astounding b5++ stars – Contemporary Fiction/Women’s Fiction/Historical Fiction
Wow. I honestly don’t have sufficient words to convey my love for this astounding book, and I wish there was a way to rate it higher than 5 stars. It’s not only one of my favorite reads of this year, but it’s also one of my favorite books, ever. I ugly cried so hard reading the last chapter that I couldn’t even see the screen and had to stop several times to collect myself. So many feels. And the epilogue is truly soul-stirring.
Winter Garden is more than just a book. It’s an evocative, powerful intergenerational story that takes you on an unforgettable emotional journey. Although this is women’s fiction, for romance readers like me, there are actually multiple love stories in this book, and the one at the heart of the story is epically beautiful and heartrending.
I was intrigued from the very start of the book, but I think some readers might find it slow in the beginning and also feel unsure of the likeability of the characters. But the story reveals itself layer by layer brilliantly, and the evolution of Meredith, Nina, and Anya is part of what makes it such a wonderful read. Hannah captures the complicated dynamics of relationships (mothers and daughters, sisters, husband and wife, and lovers) with authenticity and poignancy. I especially found the depiction of Meredith’s marital struggles after 20 years together relatable and realistic. Women so often put their children, partners, family, home, and work above themselves, and marital relationships can be easily neglected from just the monotony of everyday life.
Winter Garden is an insightful and intimate portrayal of the enduring strength of women, a spellbinding family saga, and an epic love story that is compelling from start to finish. It’s a story of family, country, tragedy, sacrifice, love and loss, human suffering, survival, grief, forgiveness, and hope. It’s moving, lyrically written, expertly paced, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting.
I’ve always been fascinated by Russian language, culture, folklore, food, and history, and I want to learn more after reading this book. I hope I get to see its beauty someday, including the Belye Nochi, White Nights, of St. Petersburg, formerly Leningrad, that means so much to Anya in the story. I love that Hannah included some Russian recipes at the end of the book because food, both the overabundance and lack of it, is an integral part of the story as well.
I’ve read about the Soviet Union during WWII, and I knew about the Siege of Leningrad in a generic, factual way. But Hannah provides candid insight into the lives of those, mostly women, children, and elderly, in Leningrad during the siege who were left to struggle to survive the unforgiving, brutally cold winters without heat or food while being constantly bombed by the Germans. The 900-Day Siege resulted in the deaths of roughly one million of the city’s civilians, including more than 700,000 that froze or starved to death. Hannah researched firsthand accounts of survivors as inspiration to create a personalized story to strongly affect the reader by allowing them to experience it.
Winter Garden is a truly remarkable, deeply affecting, and haunting read that will stay with me forever. It gave me all the feels and all the tears but also left me inspired. Winter Garden joins Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale as one of my top favorite reads of the year and most favorite books of all-time. 5++ and all the stars!
“And maybe that was how it was supposed to be, how life unfolded when you lived it long enough. Joy and sadness were part of the package; the trick, perhaps, was to let yourself feel all of it, but to hold on to the joy just a little more tightly because you never knew when a strong heart could just give out.”
“I’d be proud to have your strength. What you’ve been through—and we don’t know the worst of it, I think—it would have killed any ordinary woman. Only someone extraordinary could have survived. So, yeah, I do want to end up like you.”
“If there was one thing she’d learned in all of this, it was that life—and love—can be gone any second. When you had it, you needed to hang on with all your strength and savor every second.”
“We women make choices for others, not for ourselves, and when we are mothers, we...bear what we must for our children.”
(view spoiler)[The engraving from Sasha to Vera on the tombstone made me bawl my eyes out. “Remember our lime tree in the Summer Garden. I will meet you there, my love.”(hide spoiler)]
From the author’s In Her Own Words section at the back of the book: “It is Anya who haunts me. She is a fictional character, obviously, but she is drawn from research. The women who survived the Siege of Leningrad were lionesses, warriors. It’s deeply inspiring to me. And even though it happened a long time ago, I find the story of their courage relevant in today’s world.”
From the Behind the Novel section at the back of the book: “I wanted to give you all this story of survival and loss, horror and heartache in a way that would allow you to experience it with some measure of emotion. I am not a historian, nor a nonfiction writer. My hope is that you leave this novel informed, but not merely with the facts and figures; rather; I want you to be able to actually imagine it, to ask yourself how you would have fared in such terrible times.”...more
Wow! Another incredible, complex, high-octane Orphan X thriller! His work as the Nowhere Man was a total na5 stars - Vigilante Justice/Action Thriller
Wow! Another incredible, complex, high-octane Orphan X thriller! His work as the Nowhere Man was a total nailbiter! I had no idea how or if he was going to pull everything off and make it out alive! This series is just fantastic! Big 5 stars!
This isn't the last book in the series, and part of me is glad there's more to come. But I also think the end of this book provides closure for Evan's life as Orphan X and the Nowhere Man. (view spoiler)[He receives an informal presidential pardon, so the government will finally stop searching for him. He also completes his final mission as the Nowhere Man, so he can retire and attempt some semblance of a normal life, ideally with Mia and Peter. (hide spoiler)] I think with just another chapter or two and/or an epilogue, this book could've made for a great ending to the series....more
Wow! This series is fantastic! I loved the previous book, Hellbent, so much that I was worrie5 stars - Vigilante Justice/Assassination/Action Thriller
Wow! This series is fantastic! I loved the previous book, Hellbent, so much that I was worried this wouldn't be as good, but it definitely delivered on the action and emotional depth.
This had me on the edge of my seat wondering how the hell Evan/X was going to pull everything off. And I really loved his work as the Nowhere Man in this one. The scenes with the boy he helped were so moving, and his vengeance was delivered brilliantly.
(view spoiler)[My heart breaks for Evan at the longing he feels for a normal life with Mia and Peter. I hope he can find happiness and peace and have a life with them at some point. (hide spoiler)]...more
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