Helen McKenna
  • Home
  • Bookshelf
  • Bookstore
  • About
  • Life Story
    • Editing
    • Life Story Book
    • Book Covers
  • Contact
  • Blog

Review No 11: Ember Island by Kimberley Freeman

13/9/2014

0 Comments

 
Bestselling novelist Nina Jones has always felt like a fraud and now it seems she has psyched herself out from writing anything worthwhile. Suffering from a severe case of writer's block she welcomes a distraction from her looming deadline when a storm damages her home on Ember Island, near Brisbane. Needing to go over and oversee the repairs she is happy to spend some time there and is hoping the space and isolation will re-boot her creativity.

The discovery of some old diary pages within the walls of her home are yet another distraction that prove to become an obsession as Nina becomes absorbed in a century old mystery involving young English woman Tilly Kirkland and her charge Nell. Tilly spent time in the very same house as a governess after escaping an unhappy marriage in England. Her intriguing story unravels slowly parallel with Nina's own.
As is her style Kimberley Freeman seamlessly weaves the historic and modern elements of the story in such a way to keep the reader in a constant state of curiosity. I was absorbed in both Nina and Tilly's stories, eager to read ahead and find the next bit but then similarly captivated when the chapters switched to the other character.

Ember Island is beautifully written with a delicious underlying state of suspense throughout. The pace is moderate and I loved the location. Both characters are wonderfully drawn and the historical elements are accurate while easily blending the fictitious location to make the story work so well. A great read.
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    All AWW Challenge Reviews
    Picture
    I am excited to once again be participating in the Australian Women Writers Challenge for 2019. Although I am not currently reviewing books for the challenge,  I am still reading. You can find my reviews from previous years below.

    You can read my previous reviews by clicking on the links below.
    2012 Reviews
    2013 Reviews
    2014 Reviews
    2016 Reviews

    Why Review?

    It wasn't until I became an author that I came to realise the true value of book reviews. It is the single best way of getting your book out there in the world.

    Reviews do not have to be long and detailed - just a short summary of your thoughts on the book and a rating is enough to help other readers discover new
    authors.

    Major global sites like Amazon and Goodreads can give unknown authors a huge leg up in being discovered. So if you enjoy a book why not take a moment to leave a review?

    Archives

    January 2019
    January 2018
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    August 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

    RSS Feed

Contact:

Picture
Picture
Picture



© Helen McKenna 2019