Firefly
Hollow Collection
Books 1-3 By T.L Haddix
I
love the cover art. I would have bought the book based solely on the
Title and cover art. It just jumps out at me and says “I'm a great
book”. It looks and sounds romantic, in a countryside possibly
from a time years ago. And it was.
The
book I read contains the first 3 books in the collection. To make it
easier on myself, I'll write this as a review on each of the 3 books
separately, then combine for final thoughts. So yeah, this will
probably be a long review.
FIREFLY
HOLLOW (Book 1)
This
book starts out in 1954 (and spans about 7 years to the early 1960s)
near what sounds like a very small rural town near Hazard, KY. The
surrounding countryside is beautifully described by the author. In
particular, the woods and pool that Sarah Jane Browning found when
she was 15 years old. Never mind the fact that she's trespassing on
her neighbor's land. I can see it in my mind and think, gosh, I wish
I could go there.
All
of the characters are described well and are believable, for the
location and era of the book. The story covers the lives of Sarah
Jane Browning, her immediate family, Owen Campbell, basic details of
his immediate family. The main characters being Sarah and Owen.
When
Sarah trespasses onto Owen's family's land and discovers the pool
formed by natural boulders, rock ledges and rock shelves – it is
the most beautiful and serene place she has ever seen. Through the
years Sarah visits the pool regularly. That's not all Sarah found on
the mountain though. What she found changes her life forever. (I'm
deliberately not including spoilers in my review).
This
is an excellent book. I'm glad the copy I have includes the next 2
books in the collection. I recommend this book, even as a stand
alone, for ages 14 and up. There IS a bit of “intimate” activity
in the book, but, in today's world, children have already been
exposed to the facts of life and at least this book makes it
beautiful.
….........
on to book #2 Butterfly Lane
BUTTERFLY
LANE (Book 2) **
Book
2 picks up after Sarah and Owen are married. She discovered in Book
1, among other things, that Owen is the famous author H.O. McLemore,
using his mother's maiden name to ensure anonymity and he's a
shape-shifter.
1st
thoughts on book 2: Hmmmm, do I like that page 1 tells me right off
the bat that Owen and Sarah have 5 children spanning 10 years? Or do
I feel like I lost 10 years?
Did
the author have to tell me there are other talents and abilities
among the children?
I
accept that the book would have been too mundane and tedious if she
didn't.
I
enjoyed that Sarah and Owen were a part of this book also, older but
still very much in love. The main characters of this book are their
son John and the girl he marries, Zanny. The majority of the book
was taken over by John & Zanny's marital problems. The book
still portrays the Campbell family as having pretty great morals,
while understanding that mistakes happen even in the best families.
There was quite a bit of sexual activity in this book – but it was
loving and tastefully written. [who doesn't enjoy some steamy
content?]
Although
the initial marital conflict was very realistic, the separation drug
on way too long and was not very realistic.
It
was nice to get a break from John & Zanny's prolonged marital
problems and have some of the other family members included in the
book.
My
disappointment in the book Butterfly Lane:
For
a book that's supposed to have shape-shifters and other paranormal
“abilities” - there wasn't enough of it in the book to even be
included in the books description.
I
liked book 1 much better. Book 2, while an enjoyable read, was a bit
of a disappointment. I can only hope book 3, Dragonfly Creek, will
pick up the excitement level or I might not be able to complete the
book.
At
the moment I feel the need to read a whole different genre before I
attempt book 3.
DRAGONFLY
CREEK (Book 3) ***
October
1987, the story opens at the funeral service of Geneva Brewer, mother
of Ainsley Brewer-Scott.
Ainsley
speculates that most of the people who attend the funeral were there
due to either curiosity or fear of retaliation.
In
this book we learn that Geneva Brewer was a very rich, powerful and
also very mean person. Her riches and power derived mostly from
blackmail/extortion and corruption. Her worst atrocities were
committed against her only child, Ainsely. To simply state that
Ainsley's childhood to adulthood were a living hell would be a gross
misstatement.
This
3rd
book is predominately Ben Campbell and Ainsley Brewer-Scott. It
alternates between each of their points of view, of their past to
present.
I
still love that the story is set in small country town of Hazard, KY.
I love the simplicity of the characters, the strong family bond and
the moral values of the Campbell's.
The
story depicted is a “young love – missed opportunity”. Even
though Ben and Ainsley both feel the instant connection with each
other when they met shortly after high school the family dynamics
with Ainsley's mother prevented them from being together. In an
ironic twist, Ainsley's mother, or rather her death, is what brings
Ainsley back to Hazard, KY where she runs in to Ben, who has only
recently returned himself.
Their
first meeting was full of anger and hurt, it didn't end very well.
Ben
and Ainsley have a LOT of work ahead to unravel the cruel acts of her
mother and circumstances forced upon them if they ever want to clear
the past web of lies, hurt and deceit. After 5 years apart, until
her mothers death, at last they can start anew to heal the deep hurt
both were caused. The evil was unfathomable, the hurt deep but the
courage to commit to love and trust can be glorious.
My
disappointment in Dragonfly Creek:
From
chapter 1 [other than the funeral] through chapter 7 [which is 73% of
the book!] , I'm re-reading, almost word for word, book 2. There are
a few paragraphs where new material emerges in the form of
remembrances.
Chapter
8 > we FINALLY get to the new material and the story developed.
This is at location 73%, 3/4ths of the book completed.
Final
Impression of all 3 books contained in this ebook:
Book
1 – fabulous, Book 2 – boring, Book 3 – waited until the last
1/4th
of the book for the awesome ending.
I
received the book free in exchange for an honest review. This does
not effect my opinion nor rating of the book. Review to be
posted on amazon, netgalley, goodreads and
moonshineartspot.blogspot.com
Terri/Aunt
Meanie
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