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Starlight Sonata: Annabelle of Beaver Island: Book Two of the Watson Family of Beaver Island
395 pages, Paperback
Published March 9, 2025
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 28, 2025
Prepare to meet a few of your new favorite characters of all time…and not all of them are human!
Character development is completely satisfying: consistent, but not predictable, endearing and even lovable. But not all…everyone loves to despise a good villain messing about, bringing conflict to the party. There’s conflict aplenty. Not just villainry, but emotional conflict as well. We are talking about teens, after all. This is a story of young love, so sometimes you just want to reach into the pages and shake some sense into these kids, but this is not Romeo and Juliet, thank goodness! That’s not to say you won’t need a box of tissues, because I certainly did. There are so many relatable, human moments that get your feels all tangled: heartache, danger, awkwardness, hilarity, tenderness, absolute strength and determination, family connections, duty, heroism, love, and my favorite - justice. It’s a very full, and fun ride.
I want so desperately to tell you about the main character, Annabelle, but I can’t do it without spoiling; you’ll just have to read for yourself and you will be so glad you did. It’s rare to have a character in a novel make you wish she was your bestie, or daughter, or granddaughter. I just wanted to hang out with her, enjoy her unique qualities, and hear her drop the F Bomb…don’t worry, it’s not the MOAFB. 😂
Let’s talk about music. Starlight Sonata is a musically arranged story (for lack of a better term) heard through the soloist’s (Annabelle’s) perspective and she experiences, interprets and shares the world in this unique way. You do not have to know anything about music at all to hear it in the text. But you will likely learn a lot about music through the experience. The language is lovely and fluid and it makes you feel really good. My uncle’s writing voice is sublime.
Underneath the exciting plot, the exhilarating romance, and the struggle of two families who are navigating their places on the island with respect to one another, is a fine marriage of really interesting history and great fiction. This may be one of my favorite experiences while reading this book - (and I read it very deeply and carefully) the story of the island, its people and their cultural perspectives and rituals. I love it so much I want to go there, and I will one day. If you are a lover of historical fiction, you will devour this series. If you aren’t, you will be!
Yes, the author is my uncle; however, I love his work for what it is…a most excellent historical fiction, not who he is…a most excellent uncle. 😂
There is mild violence that is not at all gratuitous.
Spice Factor: Anaheim Pepper - mild and tasteful.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Highly recommend!
Character development is completely satisfying: consistent, but not predictable, endearing and even lovable. But not all…everyone loves to despise a good villain messing about, bringing conflict to the party. There’s conflict aplenty. Not just villainry, but emotional conflict as well. We are talking about teens, after all. This is a story of young love, so sometimes you just want to reach into the pages and shake some sense into these kids, but this is not Romeo and Juliet, thank goodness! That’s not to say you won’t need a box of tissues, because I certainly did. There are so many relatable, human moments that get your feels all tangled: heartache, danger, awkwardness, hilarity, tenderness, absolute strength and determination, family connections, duty, heroism, love, and my favorite - justice. It’s a very full, and fun ride.
I want so desperately to tell you about the main character, Annabelle, but I can’t do it without spoiling; you’ll just have to read for yourself and you will be so glad you did. It’s rare to have a character in a novel make you wish she was your bestie, or daughter, or granddaughter. I just wanted to hang out with her, enjoy her unique qualities, and hear her drop the F Bomb…don’t worry, it’s not the MOAFB. 😂
Let’s talk about music. Starlight Sonata is a musically arranged story (for lack of a better term) heard through the soloist’s (Annabelle’s) perspective and she experiences, interprets and shares the world in this unique way. You do not have to know anything about music at all to hear it in the text. But you will likely learn a lot about music through the experience. The language is lovely and fluid and it makes you feel really good. My uncle’s writing voice is sublime.
Underneath the exciting plot, the exhilarating romance, and the struggle of two families who are navigating their places on the island with respect to one another, is a fine marriage of really interesting history and great fiction. This may be one of my favorite experiences while reading this book - (and I read it very deeply and carefully) the story of the island, its people and their cultural perspectives and rituals. I love it so much I want to go there, and I will one day. If you are a lover of historical fiction, you will devour this series. If you aren’t, you will be!
Yes, the author is my uncle; however, I love his work for what it is…a most excellent historical fiction, not who he is…a most excellent uncle. 😂
There is mild violence that is not at all gratuitous.
Spice Factor: Anaheim Pepper - mild and tasteful.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Highly recommend!
Displaying 1 of 1 review