Pages: 263
Received: Was given a copy from Mac Kids Books in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: February 5, 2013Buy From Amazon.ca / Buy From Chapters.ca /
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Seven stories of passion and love separated by centuries but mysteriously intertwined—this is a tale of horror and beauty, tenderness and sacrifice.
An archaeologist who unearths a mysterious artifact, an airman who finds himself far from home, a painter, a ghost, a vampire, and a Viking: the seven stories in this compelling novel all take place on the remote Scandinavian island of Blessed where a curiously powerful plant that resembles a dragon grows. What binds these stories together? What secrets lurk beneath the surface of this idyllic countryside? And what might be powerful enough to break the cycle of midwinterblood? From award-winning author Marcus Sedgwick comes a book about passion and preservation and ultimately an exploration of the bounds of love.
My Review:
So usually I am not a fan of short stories, but something about this book caught my attention, the way each of the stories connect with one another really was intriguing. I wanted to see how all these stories fit together with one another and yet still be so different from the one before.
Each of the stories are very short but so much seems to happen, I was pleasantly surprised at how invested I was in everything happening. Normally when I read a book of short stories, I read one and then do something else, but I found myself continually going back to the stories in MIDWINTERBLOOD. Sedgwick wrote in a way that keeps his readers captivated, starting at one point and working backwards from there to show how everything was started.
Right from the opening, I could see that these stories had an air of creepiness around them, making you wonder what is happening on the island that is so secret. As Sedgwick takes you further back in the past, readers slowly learn more about the island and it's inhabitants, the whole thing is like trying to figure out this mystery of how these two characters are connected. I loved that there were all these other characters, but throughout everything we see these two people always coming together in some way or another. But I felt like the story was not just about the people, but the island was a character as well, the island plays such a large part in each of the seven stories.
There is a beautiful romance story behind everything but I found it took me some time to really find that story underneath everything that is happening in the stories. I have to say I think it's hard to pick one of the stories as my favourite, but I was most interested in the archaeologist story, it ends on such an interesting idea that it was where I found myself needing to just keep going with the stories.
Even if you are not a fan of short stories, I suggest giving these ones a try. The book does not feel like short stories because they are all connected with one another. But it's also such a nice quick read that you don't realize how much time has passed and you've finished another story. I could feel my heart pounding and some of the stories truly gave me shivers because of the mystery and creepiness. It was definitely an interesting read!
I'm usually not a fan of short stories either but these sound really interesting! Can't wait to read them.
ReplyDeleteHuh. I've been so curious about this one. And reticent, I think mainly because I also saw this as short stories and I am not a huge fan. But I like that they are connected and that you say a lot seems to happen in them and they are interesting. Rethinking my original thoughts now!
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