Welcome to #booklove!

Where I go on and on about books I love.

For the longest time I was in a reading slump. Oh, it’s not that there weren’t books to read, but I couldn’t get into any of them. Trust me. It was an awful phase. When I finally pulled out of it, I pulled out of it. The next few books and more were fantastic.

I felt like I had to share.

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A little secret. But this just speaks to the strength of the book. When I saw that In the Shadow of Blackbirds was set in 1918, I almost didn’t pick it up. In fact, I didn’t. It sat there at my library. Then I saw a book blogger state that they really liked it.

So on a whim, I got it out, thinking I’d possibly read a few chapters.

I read the first couple chapters and thought wow. The writing is fantastic. It was the writing at first that pulled me from paragraph to paragraph. It was a joy to read.

Then I was introduced to this fantastic character, Mary Shelley, a girl with whispers of  betrayal in her past that puts her whole family at risk. Her father already was taken away for his views against war. So she’s sent to live with her aunt, who makes her eat onions all the time, wear onions and gauze masks to keep away the influenza epidemic. People were dying left and right. This really put me in that time period.

Yet, this story didn’t feel like historical fiction. It reads like contemporary.

This story also tears at the heart, because Mary has lost so much. Her dad first, and then she learns her longtime friend and love dies at war. Everyone is freaking out, and filled with grief, they turn to séances and photographers who supposedly can capture the spirit of your lost love.

The ending was just perfect.

While loving this story, I also caught a glimpse of the time period, which was absolutely fascinating.  I can’t recommend this book enough.

Read any good books lately? Feel free to share in the comments.