In previous posts I have either reviewed Elizabeth Hunter´s work or mentioned her name. Her first book in the Irin Chronicles, The Scribe inspired my bucket list and my trip later this year to Istanbul as a result thereof. So when a few weeks ago Elizabeth Hunter wrote a post on her Facebook page that readers could subscribe to win an ARC copy of The Secret in exchange for an honest review I was excited at the opportunity and immediately followed the link.
Mostly it was just straight forward answers and I was happily filling them in until I came across a weird question on the Princess Bride, I sighed `I am so screwed´ I thought to myself because I have no idea what it was, it sounded like something that young girls would like so I asked my daughter, she shrugged in response, so much for the help on that front. That left me to do the only thing I could, I answered honestly `I have no idea I have never seen it´ at the same time mumbling about my chances of getting that ARC going down the drain. What was it with that question anyway?
A few days later I saw Elizabeth Hunter´s name on a message in my inbox and I was reminded of how much I love surprises and how happy they make me. For those of you that follow favourite authors you can probably relate to the excitement and the sheer joy of receiving an ARC or being selected as a beta reader for a favourite author, it´s like receiving a most unexpected but precious gift. Usually these moments of happiness are caused by a family member or a friend however, this time it was a novelist but the feeling was the same, so in spite of the Princess Bride incident I figured that an archangel out there must like me because I was getting an ARC of The Secret.
Books have a purpose whether informative, educational or entertainment, these are merely a few of the reasons we pick up a book. But more importantly there are brilliant novels that, not only are they capable of taking us on a journey of a lifetime but they also awaken so many of our dormant emotions. Elizabeth Hunter´s books fall in this category of brilliancy, I was going to write here ´the author´ but to honour her own accuracy, research and attention to detail in her novels, I took the time to look up the difference between writer, author and novelist and Elizabeth Hunter is most certainly a novelist, an absolutely wonderful novelist.
I was planning on reading The Secret on the day it was released but having received it earlier changed things. It stayed closed in my kindle for a few days, I had to be in the right frame of mind to start reading it, you only get to read it for the first time once and I didn´t want to risk being tired or have my mind filled with concerns when I finally did sit down to read. What I did want was a clear mind to fully appreciate what was being offered to me, I had to be perfectly ready for the journey that I was about to undertake and in my mind I knew that on the last page I would be saying farewell to Ava and Malachi. You might think this ridiculous, and I suppose to an extent you are right, but nonetheless, at times saying farewell to certain characters is almost a Shakespearean tragedy, depends on how well the book is written and how far one can travel into the authors world that has been laid out for you in the pages of a book. The Irin Chronicles are such books, you would like to follow these characters for years to come.
The Secret by Elizabeth Hunter is the last book in The Irin Chronicles, and it is without a doubt a must read but if you haven´t read The Scribe and The Singer do it before The Secret is released on the 19th of March. This series will take you to places you have never been and you will still be thinking about the characters long after you read the last page.
In case you haven´t read it yet here is the Amazon link to The Scribe that is currently on sale http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EENAPDQ/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_tmb
Coffee and Bookaholics 