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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Once more I’m blown by Christy Lefteri’s craft! What a writer! Her writing is so full of sensitivity and she tells her stories in different ways… this book talks about tragedies and how things are not always so straightforward as we’d like to think… there are nuances to every story. No one is essentially good or evil, but so many things in between… beautifully written!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Fire/Fire injury
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved this audiobook from Christy Lefteri, author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo. It was a slow burn, which I tend to avoid, but the writing and narration, made it a compelling story that I didn’t want to stop listening to.
Set on an unnamed Greek Island, it’s told partly by Irini’s point of view before and after the fire that destroys half the island, and also from The Book of Fire that Irini writes about her experiences during the ordeal. It was a clever way of telling that part of the story, even though it was written in the third person which I don’t always like. The mystery throughout about who started fire and the aftermath was really good, and keep me listening to discover what it was all about .
As I mentioned before the writing was so good, especially the descriptions of the forest before and after the fire. It reminded me of past holidays to the Greek Islands, decades ago.
The author’s note at the end explains where she got her inspiration for the story, following a wildfire on a Greek island. As I was listening to this there was a huge fire on the island of Crete, and in the last couple of days another one in Marseille in the south of France, and one in Spain. It’s frightening!
Alix Dunmore, a new-to-me narrator, was absolutely superb, drawing me in and keeping my attention the whole time. I definitely want to listen to more audiobooks narrated by her.
Highly recommend this if you enjoy contemporary, slow burn mysteries.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book is sad but ends on a more hopeful note. A major theme is climate disaster. Good characters setting and story.
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I found it hard to get started as it is just so sad, it's so well written, but the world is deep and complex and I'm glad I read it. A powerful book
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes