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Japanese Literary Fiction
Bronze: Finished 5 Main Quest books.
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Classic Literature from the United States
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The Island Bakeshop
Roseanna M. White
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Take Me Back to Yesterday
Jasmine Little
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Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
Neil Postman
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Sophie’s World
Jostein Gaarder
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Much Ado About Nothing
William Shakespeare
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Anne of the Island (Anne of Green Gables, #3)
L.M. Montgomery
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The Bookshop of 99 Doors
Jaime Jo Wright
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The Good Earth (House of Earth, #1)
Pearl S. Buck
storynooksarah wrote a review...
《 three and a half stars 》
Like Snow Before Sun immediately captured my attention when I first heard of it, as it's centered around a time period and setting I rarely see in historical fiction— that being the French and Indian War and the Expulsion of the Acadians. Not only that, it features a protagonist whose perspective is even rarer: a woman of mixed Mik'maq and Acadian heritage. While these elements are what initially drew me to the book, it was the writing that kept me reading. The author certainly has a way of bringing the setting to life! It's clear she did her research, and the characters read like they could be real people from that time.
So why wasn't it my favorite? Well, part of it I think is entirely on me as a mood reader, not reading this when it was exactly the sort of book I was in the mood for. I won't fault it for that! But the rest was mainly owing to the fact that while the characters felt real enough and the story was compelling, I never did fully connect to any of it, and the romance wasn't entirely my thing, though I can't quite put my finger on why. Given that it was a larger part of the story, that did take away from my enjoyment some. There were also some open-door scenes I had to skip over, though I do appreciate that the couple was married. I just prefer my reads to be closed-door.
I would recommend it with caution to readers who can handle a little more content (married intimacy, foul language, semi-described injuries, wartime grief, forced departure from one's home, etc.) in their books. Especially those who, like me, are looking for more historical fiction reads centered around the French and Indian war.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts expressed are my own.
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British & Irish Classic Literature
Platinum: Finished 20 Main Quest books.
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The Island Bakeshop
Roseanna M. White
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The Bookshop of 99 Doors
Jaime Jo Wright
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Take Me Back to Yesterday
Jasmine Little
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Anne of the Island (Anne of Green Gables, #3)
L.M. Montgomery
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The Rainshadow Orphans
Naomi Ishiguro
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Tress of the Emerald Sea
Brandon Sanderson
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Of Dawn and Embers (Volume 3) (The Fireborn Epic)
Gillian Bronte Adams