This book was such a lovely and pleasant surprise. I don’t know what I was expecting from this book, but it certainly wasn’t what I read here. This book feels so dreamy. The setting is sparse and void of any warmth or comfort, the story is incredibly thought-provoking and interesting. One of the big things about the story is that it’s so nicely paced, there’s time to care, there’s time to run and flee, but there’s also time to breathe and think about a lot of things.

A slight drawback is that there’s not much vivid imagery in this book. However, this can be excused by the fact there’s actually not much to picture. It’s set in vast open plains, Felix lives there and wanders around a lot. We don’t really get any more than that. Characters come and go, but they’re really nothing more than just characters, they exist only as their personalities, and not very visually. I think it’s a stylistic choice, and I don’t think this hinders the reading experience in the slightest, because you’re just imagining everything in your head anyways, and it’s not too hard to just imagine a few more people. I actually thought this was a really interesting technique because they still felt like really good, really fleshed out, well written characters, just minus the visuals.

Not a huge fan of the 3rd act of this book. Lots of stuff happens, but it really starts to suddenly lean more into the “fantasy” aspect of the world. I like that there’s worldbuilding, but I do also find that there’s not enough? I think the lack of visuals certainly affects that. It’s very strange, because whereas the whole book feels extremely dream-like, in the 3rd act, suddenly everything gets dialled up to 11. All of the original worldbuilding that I previously praised for being removed from the real world just comes crashing down, and I got so incredibly lost.

That being said! I would certainly recommend this book, it’s an enjoyable read, I was very pleasantly surprised, and I think that there are a lot of others who can enjoy it too. It’s a very thought-provoking book, it’s very powerful and unique in it’s storytelling. I would recommend it if you’re into that!

“Rattled” by Lisa Harrington certainly left me rattled in the best possible way. From the very first page, this novel had its hooks in me. It’s a compelling blend of mystery, heart, and humor, woven together by Harrington’s sharp storytelling and deeply relatable characters.

We follow Lydia, the younger of two sisters, who becomes increasingly suspicious of the peculiar new neighbor, Mrs. Swicker. There’s something about this woman that just doesn’t sit right with her, and Lydia’s gut feelings refuse to be silenced. With her older sister Jilly, the girls begin piecing together strange clues, each one more unsettling than the last. As the story unfolds, so does the suspense, until it left me stunned. Lisa Harrington has a gift for building tension while keeping you emotionally engaged.

One of the novel’s strongest aspects is Harrington’s ability to make the characters, especially Lydia feel so real. I found myself completely immersed in Lydia’s world; it felt like slipping into her shoes and seeing things exactly the way she did. Harrington also finds balance between light-hearted humor and darker themes, enriching the emotional experience. It’s this balance that makes the novel not only thrilling but also moving. There were moments I laughed out loud, and others where I sat staring at the wall, reflecting deeply about what I’d just read.

I highly recommend “Rattled‘ by Lisa Harrington to readers who enjoy clever mysteries with a touch of emotional depth.

This one will stay with me for a while.

Stephen Kimber’s Sweetness in the Lime, published by Nimbus Publishing, is a touching exploration of love, loss, and self-discovery, set across key cities in North America ranging from Havana, Halifax, and Miami. This novel follows Eli Cooper, a fifty-something newspaper editor whose life is in turmoil as he loses both his job and father in the span of a day. With the hope of finding solace, Eli embarks on a journey to Cuba, where he meets Mariela, a tour guide, leading to a heartfelt and complex romance. What starts as an escape from grief slowly turns into a journey of reflection and love.

Kimber masterfully describes the “compare and contrast” aspect of cross-cultural relationships. It investigated hope, vulnerability, trust, and the quest for a new life. What I loved most was the way each setting was described with sensory detail. I could taste the citrus of Havana and feel the music and the warmth. The writer made it so much easier to completely lose yourself in the story.

The romance between Eli and Mariela felt messy in the best way possible. It was realistic and delicate all at once. What I found extremely moving was the way Eli and Mariela found strength in each other, making the story that much more special.

The book for me was more than a love story, acting as a meditation. I took a deep breath for resilience, exhaled for change, and relished the sweetness that followed the lime.

Overall, I give this book 5/5 stars. Sweetness in the Lime that lingers in your mind even after you turn the last page. It reminds readers that even in times of loss, there is beauty to be found in both courage and the act of starting over, and sweetness will find its way back. I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys novels with romance, self-reflection, and travel.

This book put me in the craziest reading slump. Strap in, there’s a lot that I want to say about Susan White’s Such a Winter’s Day. Lets start with the good parts. It’s a well written book, it utilizes multiple povs and has all of the storylines connect when it’s appropriate. The characters feel very real, they feel very grounded, they all live normal and very believable lives. I liked the insight that this book gives, and it’s really a book that made me think about a lot of things. There’s a lot of commentary about homeless people and how our attitudes towards them can change. I would say that’s my main takeaway from this book, just treating others with kindness and compassion. Not everyone makes all of the right choices in life, and the least that we can do is help people. Help people to heal, to learn, to grow, and to get their lives back on track. All of the characters take this theme and express it in their different ways, and I think that’s a very good strength for this book. A lot of people have that outlook on homeless people, like Miriam and Ted in this book, that they’re all alcoholics, that they’re all bad news. But then, some, like Gloria and Liam actually take the time to value them as a person. So that’s what I liked most about this book, and what I was most interested in reading about.

Now, some of the downsides for me, and also what made it hard to read was actually the multiple povs. There are a lot of time skips, we see Hank’s life since the late 1950-2000s and all of this is done by flashbacks. Getting into the actual story was really had for me, I’m not too used to this nonlinear storytelling, with all of the time skips and pov changes. It was quite jarring, but I really just had to stay focused and commit. This put me into my reading slump. It wasn’t good. There are also a lot of characters, I feel like sometimes the story couldn’t properly keep up with them. It’s funny because a lot of the characters were well done, but then some that got their own povs just felt like names being thrown around. Characters just pop in whenever the story needs them to, rather than them being actual solid characters that properly have a hand in the main storyline. When I started reading this, I feared that there were too many characters and not enough time or story to properly develop each. And I was right.

Another thing, I don’t feel like I’m the target audience for this specific book. With Digitally Lit books I feel that I’m either reading adult books that are too high for my age level, or children’s books that are too low. This one is the former. This is very much an adult’s book. Plus, I don’t think this book is really intended for casual fun summer reading. Its a little story that’s meant to break you into pieces, to give some social commentary on the world, and break you into little pieces. I actually expected this book to be sadder. But it wasn’t. Instead of being an ultra sad story it’s credited as being “a moving exploration of human rights and justice, and the lasting power of friendship” on the back of the book.

This book also touches on a lot of nostalgia from the sixties and onward? It’s a bit hard for a 17yr old girl like me to get through, the only thing that really helps me is that I live in Saint John. I’m familiar with the streets and the store names that are mentioned so heavily in this book. Location stuff that still exists today, and that I live within still holds up well for me, but I can see how someone who’s not familiar with the geography of Saint John would be a little lost. I find myself more lost in the nostalgia that’s heavily mentioned in the flashbacks.

I guess the question is… is it worth it? I think yeah, Such a Winter’s Day is a good book if you know what you’re in for. I hope my review can offer some insight into what kind of book it is, it might not have really been the book for me, but you know… others would enjoy it more than I did.

Book: Lore Isle
Author: Jiin Kim
Published by: Nimbus Publisher

Lore Isle follows our main character, Peter, as he runs through an enchanted forest full of mummers, spirits, fairies and even murderous pitcher plants in the heart of beautiful Newfoundland and Labrador but he must be seeing things because he sees wolves which is almost impossible, but is not?

I thoroughly enjoyed the writing, vivid pictures that helped me understand the storyline! I really enjoyed getting to the Peter and his story as an adventurer.

I liked that the setting was Newfoundland and Labrador which I proudly call home. I liked how it felt like being in a small town!

Overall, i think this book would be enjoyed for kids (and kids at heart) who enjoy fantasy and adventure books. I also will absolutely reread this book again!

🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 stars