I listened to this audiobook on Spotify after seeing universal praise for this debut epistolary novel. I thought this story of aging Sybil Van Antwerp was engaging and diverse, covering all aspects of her life and varied interactions with others. The narration was great. I can see the appeal of the tender, painful tale.

awesome

I never believed that the animal kingdom can have a predator protecting a prey

The coziest kind of cozy fantasy. Merhorses, cats with wings, a librarian with a talking plant for a best friend who runs a jam shop out of her woodland cottage. Also cloud bears. Pick this one up if you want a book that just feels like a warm hug.

Very silly!

I really wanted to love this book! It came onto my radar because I follow the author’s nycbookgirl instagram for bookish content. The idea of a love story in an art museum with magical realism sounded like such an amazing premise, and the lovely cover sets a nice tone. The book got off to a solid start but fragments into multiple disparate plot twists (one of which involved the pandemic, which took the book out of the present for me). I also felt like the emotional declarations between the two main characters felt too big and instalove for my taste. Still, someday when I come across Matisse’s The Music Lesson, I will immediately think of this book and all that it strove to achieve. I listened to the dual narration audiobook on Libby.

Helen Cartwright, 83 y/o, has returned to her family home in a small village in England after 60 years in Australia to die. Not that she has a diagnosis beyond being old. She has been back for 3 years, but returned still actively grieving the abrupt loss of her husband and the tragic loss of her son. She is very lonely and isolated. She does the same thing most days and memories do not give her comfort. Then she unwittingly brings a 5” male mouse into her house. He decides to stay with her and she decides to care for him. (This is not a talking mouse or an anthropomorphic rodent). To care for him she starts meeting a few people she can connect with as she moves from removing the mouse by trapping to naming Sipsworth and hoping wildlife rescue group will take him to making Sipsworth a housemate. Eventually it is revealed that Helen has done significant things. Slow start. A comforting book. Perhaps this book raises awareness of long term grieving, loneliness, sadness and isolation in people in our lives (or in ourselves).

I like how her hair color changes and her feelings change when she is feeling different things!

My favorite part of this romantasy is the angsty relationship between Odessa and the Guardian. This book is filled with terrifying magical creatures, a mysterious rage-inducing sickness, blood oaths, betrayal and secrets. I loved the first 75% and then once the romance storyline transitioned, it lost a bit of steam but the action of the book soared in the final chapters (A blood bath! Big reveals! Cliffhangers!). I really enjoyed the narration though some of Samantha Brentmoor’s male voices blended together. I listened to the audiobook on Libby and am already looking forward to the next in the series.

A little slow but I loved the characters and history. It made me want to go back to Florence and see the artwork with more appreciation.