Saturday, June 29, 2013

The First Rule Of Swimming by Courtney Angela Brkic

5 Star

A woman must leave her island home to search for her missing sister-and confront the haunted history of her family.

Magdalena does not panic when she learns that her younger sister has disappeared. A free-spirit, Jadranka has always been prone to mysterious absences. But when weeks pass with no word, Magdalena leaves the isolated Croatian island where their family has always lived and sets off to New York to find her sister. Her search begins to unspool the dark history of their family, reaching back three generations to a country torn by war.




Sabrina-Kate - 5 Star

The absolute first thing that struck me about The First Rule of Swimming was the absolutely stunning cover. And yes, I know I probably shouldn't, but I do often judge a book by its cover. There are so many choices these days for excellent reading material that I definitely can say this cover drew me to this book and I am quite glad that it did.

From the first word, this book had the exact kind of delicious descriptions that I crave while reading. I almost felt like I was there experiencing the characters lives even though they are very different than mine but the author made their world come alive.

This book focuses on the bonds and differences between sisters and portrays two very different women and their lives. The complexity and richness of this book was impressed upon me from the very beginning. The story has many very intense events in it and you learn why it is called what it is quite quickly as nothing seems simple for this family who has many hardships they need to overcome.

You are able to get to know the characters well throughout creating a rapport with them that makes you actually care about what will happen to them next. The pacing was a bit slow but I think that was the reason you could get to appreciate them as individuals more than characters in another book.

The story flows well from past to present and you get to see what secrets in the past can do to a family in the present throughout this deftly woven tale.

Thank you to Little Brown & Company for our review copy. All opinions are our own. 

Connect with Courtney Angela Brkic:
Website
Facebook

No comments:

Post a Comment

Share!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...