Amity and Sorrow is an outstanding novel
by debut author Peggy Riley. It is a book that I have not stopped
thinking about days after finishing and one which I will be
recommending to everyone I know.
The novel opens with Amaranth and her
two daughters frantically fleeing from their home after a huge fire,
which we are led to believe may have started under suspicious
circumstances. Amaranth crashes the car and the trio are stranded at
a gas station. We soon find out that she has been driving for almost
four days solid in order to attempt to escape her husband and a
strange religious cult to which they had belonged.
The novel jumps back between Amaranth's
life before she had children and the present day. This is very
effective as it allows the reader to get to know Amaranth and also
helps explain some of the decisions that she has made. Amity and
Sorrow; her two daughters will push her faith and love to the limits,
causing Amaranth to question everything she has ever believed in.
Amity and Sorrow could not be more different, Amity is willing to
embrace change and different cultures, whilst Sorrow seems headstrong
and stuck in the past. She believes that only life inside the cult is
worth living. As the story progresses, we see how each character
changes and adapts to their new surroundings. However, at the back of
her mind Amaranth knows that people will not just forget about the
fire.
This book is mesmering, un-putdownable
and terrifying in places. For me, what truly stands out is Riley's
beautiful style of writing – every scene, setting or conversation
is vividly brought to life and I found myself completely hooked from
the very first page. I eagerly await Riley's next book.
5 stars
Thank you to Tinder Press for sending
me a copy to review.
No comments:
Post a Comment