Jeff Gunhus

Suffering from writer's block, novelist Rachel Ames escapes to a lake cabin to calm her mind and regain a sense of herself. The location is perfect. Isolated. Beautiful. Inspiring. It even comes with a good-looking landlord who shows an interest in her. But she can't shake the sense that something terrible has followed her to the lake, something just beyond her consciousness, something out on the edge where the sounds of a raging fire and sirens linger whenever she slows down to listen. show more Determined to make the cabin work, she tries to settle in and give her new life a chance. But when strange things begin to happen around her, she wonders if she's made a terrible mistake. As the darkness that's followed her manifests itself in inexplicable ways, her concept of reality is stretched thin and she realizes nothing at the lake is what it seems. As she fights to survive with her sanity intact, she understands too late that the location she's chosen for herself is far from perfect. show less

In A Nutshell - This is a beautiful middle-grade novella that deals with handling grief, specifically after parental death.

Thirteen year old Caroline lost her dad a month ago and isn't able to cope with her grief. Nothing seems to help lessen the pain. One day, during a solo sojourn in the nearby woods, she discovers a window over a lake. While trying to peer inside it from atop an old oak tree, she falls inside and discovers a whole other world. The first "person" she encounters is show more Mordecai the Gand, who seems to be friendly but hiding his own secrets. What follows is a journey with Mordecai in this strange land, with surreal creatures and difficult situations. It's a journey of pain and courage, of self-discovery and self-realisation, of choices and compulsions.

The entire story is presented in the form of a letter that forty year old Caroline is writing for her son after she has been diagnosed with cancer. This is based on the author's own experience as he was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. As he reveals on his introduction, he was worried about leaving behind his wife and 5 children, and "didn’t want them to forget all our wonderful years together built on laughter and joy and love." He wrote the book as a kind of moral guide to help his children deal with his death. (Glad to report that the author is cancer-free for five years now.) This story wasn't meant for public eyes. But because he received a positive response from his family and friend circle, the author decided to publish this book. Good for us!

The entire story goes at a relaxed pace, as if the author understands that concentration is difficult during times of grief. Caroline's pain feels very real and raw. And in times such as the present days, when everyone knows at least one person who has died because of covid, it becomes very easy to identify with that searing emptiness of the heart. We progress along with Caroline and learn from her experiences. And at the end, we realise that what the book says about grief is true. What does the book say? Read it to find out.

There are many beautiful lines in this book. Here are my top three favourites:

❤️ ‘Why’ is almost always the right question. If we try to understand other people’s why, then we have a better chance of understanding our own along the way.
❤️ People who wait for something to happen rarely have anything happen to them at all. Not the best way to solve a problem.
❤️ Those in the habit of calling things impossible often prove themselves right, but only at the expense of achieving the implausible

4.5 stars from me to this delightful and meaningful read.

Thank you, BookSirens and author Jeff Gunhus, for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Join me on the Facebook group, Readers Forever!, for more reviews, book-related discussions and fun.

Follow me on Instagram: RoshReviews show less

In A Nutshell - This is a beautiful middle-grade novella that deals with handling grief, specifically after parental death.

Thirteen year old Caroline lost her dad a month ago and isn't able to cope with her grief. Nothing seems to help lessen the pain. One day, during a solo sojourn in the nearby woods, she discovers a window over a lake. While trying to peer inside it from atop an old oak tree, she falls inside and discovers a whole other world. The first "person" she encounters is show more Mordecai the Gand, who seems to be friendly but hiding his own secrets. What follows is a journey with Mordecai in this strange land, with surreal creatures and difficult situations. It's a journey of pain and courage, of self-discovery and self-realisation, of choices and compulsions.

The entire story is presented in the form of a letter that forty year old Caroline is writing for her son after she has been diagnosed with cancer. This is based on the author's own experience as he was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. As he reveals on his introduction, he was worried about leaving behind his wife and 5 children, and "didn’t want them to forget all our wonderful years together built on laughter and joy and love." He wrote the book as a kind of moral guide to help his children deal with his death. (Glad to report that the author is cancer-free for five years now.) This story wasn't meant for public eyes. But because he received a positive response from his family and friend circle, the author decided to publish this book. Good for us!

The entire story goes at a relaxed pace, as if the author understands that concentration is difficult during times of grief. Caroline's pain feels very real and raw. And in times such as the present days, when everyone knows at least one person who has died because of covid, it becomes very easy to identify with that searing emptiness of the heart. We progress along with Caroline and learn from her experiences. And at the end, we realise that what the book says about grief is true. What does the book say? Read it to find out.

There are many beautiful lines in this book. Here are my top three favourites:

❤️ ‘Why’ is almost always the right question. If we try to understand other people’s why, then we have a better chance of understanding our own along the way.
❤️ People who wait for something to happen rarely have anything happen to them at all. Not the best way to solve a problem.
❤️ Those in the habit of calling things impossible often prove themselves right, but only at the expense of achieving the implausible

4.5 stars from me to this delightful and meaningful read.

Thank you, BookSirens and author Jeff Gunhus, for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

***********************
Join me on the Facebook group, Readers Forever!, for more reviews, book-related discussions and fun.

Follow me on Instagram: RoshReviews show less

I’ll open this review by stating that I am not the target age for this story, nor am I a reader of the fantasy genre. Ever. It’s just not my thing. With that said, I became totally absorbed in this tale and connected with Caroline rather quickly. Don’t pass over the Author’s Note at the beginning of this book. It’s touching, gives the story added depth, and is what influenced a non-fantasy-reader (me) to read this story in the first place.

Caroline And Mordecai The Gand opens with a show more letter from Caroline written to her son. It describes certain events in her life, beginning shortly after her father died when she was 13 years old. Still grieving and feeling responsible for her father’s death, Caroline’s life changes with the opening of a magical window…

Audio Narration: Sarah L. Colton’s voice is soothing and pleasant.

Audio Production Quality: The production quality of this audiobook is clear with no distracting noises.

Overall Opinion: This is an entertaining, meaningful, and moving adventure story with themes of love, loss, grief, and healing. Recommended for anyone, young or old, who has experienced loss.

Dɪsᴄʟᴏsᴜʀᴇ: I ʀᴇᴄᴇɪᴠᴇᴅ ᴀ ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟɪᴍᴇɴᴛᴀʀʏ ᴄᴏᴘʏ ᴏғ ᴛʜɪs ʙᴏᴏᴋ. Mʏ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ ᴡᴀs ɴᴏᴛ ɪɴғʟᴜᴇɴᴄᴇᴅ. show less