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With the world in shambles after a crippling apocalypse, Lynn McBride and her family have found safety in the wilds of the Yukon Territory.  It's not an easy life they live, nor a simple one.  Every day, they must battle the harsh weather, find enough food to sustain them, and deal with the loneliness and boredom that come from seeing the same four faces day in and day out, year after year after year.  Although Lynn is grateful for her safety, she longs for something more.

"More" comes in the form of Jackson Day, a 27-year-old stranger she finds wandering the barren landscape with his dog.  Jax is the first new person Lynn has seen in seven years; bringing him home seems like a natural, normal gesture.  Not everyone in Lynn's family is glad to see him, though, especially when he triggers a chain of events that will have deadly consequences for the McBrides.  Before long, Lynn will find herself traversing a frigid, hostile world toward an unknown future in a ruined world.  It's up to her to save the world.  Can she do it?

I had very high hopes for The Wolves of Winter, a debut novel by Tyrell Johnson that has been described as "written in a post-apocalyptic tradition that spans The Hunger Games and Station Eleven but blazes its own distinctive path."  With that kind of acclamation, I expected to be knocked off my feet by excessive wow.  Did that happen?  Not exactly.  While The Wolves of Winter offers an absorbing survival tale set against an intriguing, atmospheric backdrop, the story adds little originality to the genre.  The plot remains very basic, nothing you won't find in dozens of other post-apocalyptic stories.  While this is a comparatively quiet tale with lyrical prose reminiscent of Station Eleven, it's nowhere near as unique or compelling as The Hunger Games and there's little about it that's truly distinct.  That being said, I enjoyed the novel overall.  I didn't love it, but I liked it enough to be interested in reading more from its author, a talented newcomer.

(Readalikes:  similar in tone to Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel; story reminds me of the Partials trilogy [Partials; Fragments; and Ruins] by Dan Wells) 

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for strong language and violence

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

When Hetty Deveraux inherits her crumbling ancestral home in Scotland's Outer Hebrides, she decides to transform the dilapidated edifice into a hotel.  Never having seen the property before, she's shocked at the ruinous state of Muirlan House.  Even if she sinks every penny she's got into the place, it won't be enough.  With potential backers in London, Hetty decides to go forward with the plan anyway.  

Hetty's project goes awry almost immediately.  She's meeting resistance from locals who don't want their quaint island turned into a fancy tourist destination.  Then, bones are discovered at Muirlan House.  With police crawling all over her property, she doesn't know what to think.  Who could possibly be buried in the old house?  

As Hetty digs into the house's history, she learns it once sheltered Theo Blake, a distant relative and a skilled painter of some renown.  She also discovers that the bride he brought to Muirlan House disappeared without a trace in 1910.  Could the bones be those of Beatrice Blake?  If so, what happened to the couple's seemingly happy marriage?  By listening to local gossip and studying Theo's increasingly dark, disturbing paintings, Hetty hopes to find answers to explain the past and guide her future.

Thanks to Peter May, I'm all in for novels set in the wilds of the Outer Hebrides.  Initially, that's what drew me to The House Between Tides by English author Sarah Maine.  The novel's premise did the rest—I'm always up for a family secrets novel set in a mysterious old house in the middle of a moody, broody landscape.  And you know what?  The House Between Tides did not disappoint.  With it's atmospheric setting and tense, suspenseful plot, it sucked me right in.  Yes, I saw the big reveal coming, but there were other twists that caught me by surprise.  Overall, I enjoyed this one and will definitely be checking out Maine's previous (and future) books. 

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of The Edge of the Earth by Christina Schwarz as well as Hebridean mysteries by Peter May and novels by Kate Morton)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for brief, mild language (no F-bombs), violence, and mild sexual content

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of The House Between Tides from Amazon with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

Get out the noisemakers and shoot off some fireworks—Bloggin' 'bout Books is finally ready to step into the new year!  Phew.  After the reviewathon of the past few weeks, I am done reviewing books that I read waaaayyy back in 2017.  Thank you for your patience during this catch-up process.  Thanks, especially, for continuing to visit and comment.  I appreciate your support more than you know.  Because I enjoy blogging so much, I would probably do it even if no one read a word I wrote, but it's a lot more fun to have book conversations here rather than just monologues, so THANK YOU.  

I'm going to take a little break from reviewing (your feed readers will be so relieved), but I will be responding to comments, visiting your blogs, and updating some things this weekend.  

Thanks again for your support.  What's everybody reading these days?  I'm about 1/2 way through Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson and I am loving it!  

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Earl Marcus left Coulee County, Georgia, twenty years ago with no intention of ever going back.  Scarred—both physically and emotionally—from growing up in the snake-handling obsessed Church of the Holy Flame, he's cut ties with the "church," his cult leader father, and his haunted past.  Now a private investigator in North Carolina, he's compelled to return only when a photograph of his dead father surfaces with a recent time stamp.  The man in the picture is no corpse.  It appears as if the powerful, legendary R.J. Marcus is still alive.  Either that or, as his followers believe, he's come back from the dead.  Earl has experienced the mystical power of his father's presence enough to believe almost anything.  Thing is, he can't put his own demons to rest until he knows for sure.

R.J. isn't the only person missing in Coulee County.  "Rebellious" teenage girls from the Church of the Holy Flame's congregation are also disappearing, only to return changed.  The strange marks on their skin could be signs of almost anything.  Hoping to find answers before another girl is traumatized, Earl starts digging.  Unearthing old secrets doesn't sit well with some people and Earl finds himself in danger once again.

Heaven's Crooked Finger by Hank Early is a debut novel and the first in a promising series.  The novel tells a tense, compelling story that's both atmospheric and suspenseful.  Although the tale feels a bit flimsy and far-fetched, it's still engrossing.  In the end, I didn't love Heaven's Crooked Finger, but I liked it enough to continue with the series.  

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language, violence, sexual content, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find