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Estuary
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 23, 2026
4.5⭐️
I adore Josh and his storytelling. What I love most about it is how he taps into the human reactions surrounding grief and loss. These are important feelings that many people don’t always get right when they’re depicting a story. I should also note that because I am a feelings guy, I tend not to gravitate towards magical realism based stories because I want to feel feelings authentically… but Josh has a way of integrating this component of magical realism that still feels authentic and necessary in telling his story about grief.
This is about two people, who had a strong love for one another in college, but life turned them apart. Now they are both dealing with the absolute worst life has to hand them when they’re depicting are thrust together again after a devastating loss. Soon the lines between reality and the mystical begin to blur as they see if they can rebuild their lives and start a journey of healing.
I adore Josh and his storytelling. What I love most about it is how he taps into the human reactions surrounding grief and loss. These are important feelings that many people don’t always get right when they’re depicting a story. I should also note that because I am a feelings guy, I tend not to gravitate towards magical realism based stories because I want to feel feelings authentically… but Josh has a way of integrating this component of magical realism that still feels authentic and necessary in telling his story about grief.
This is about two people, who had a strong love for one another in college, but life turned them apart. Now they are both dealing with the absolute worst life has to hand them when they’re depicting are thrust together again after a devastating loss. Soon the lines between reality and the mystical begin to blur as they see if they can rebuild their lives and start a journey of healing.
April 3, 2026
Estuary is a novel of loss and grief, but so too is it one of liberation and connection. At the center of this novel are two very broken people, each of whom are crumbling under the immense weight of their own grief.
Rank excels in his vast exploration of human sadness, yet is able to maintain the undercurrent of hope throughout. He not only captures the transformative nature of grief, but uses it to propel the narrative.
The choice to write this as a dual narrative allowed space for the reader to delve into the many emotional layers of both characters.
This is a beautiful story and serves as a reminder that we are not defined by our losses, and sometimes we need to lose everything to find our way back home.
Rank excels in his vast exploration of human sadness, yet is able to maintain the undercurrent of hope throughout. He not only captures the transformative nature of grief, but uses it to propel the narrative.
The choice to write this as a dual narrative allowed space for the reader to delve into the many emotional layers of both characters.
This is a beautiful story and serves as a reminder that we are not defined by our losses, and sometimes we need to lose everything to find our way back home.
June 19, 2026
I’m so impressed by Rank’s character writing and cryptic storytelling. It’s rare I feel so connected with characters and having read The Present is Past recently and Estuary in one day-I can say I’m looking forward to everything he writes. Auto-buy author for me. Great story, amazing dialogue and intriguing plot. Well done!
April 29, 2026
A southern gothic lit fic about grief and recovery.
As always, I was in tears by the end on my emotional roller coaster
As always, I was in tears by the end on my emotional roller coaster
Review of advance copy received from Author
I read The Present Is Past maybe two years ago now and have been waiting for another full length novel by Josh to fill the void he left with that excellent novel upon completing. I adored his use of magical realism and overall approach to grief and familial connection. I can confidently say that he has shown up strong on his follow up novel, Estuary.
This novel had me in all the feels, another story of loss and grief but ultimately of love and found joy. His tale is so aptly titled and settles at the base of the story in such a dynamic way. If you are in need of an easily digestible story that leans nicely into magical realism but guts you along the way, please do yourself a favor and pick this one up. I am so thankful to have read this and will be a promoter as always for Josh, a modern master in emotional storytelling!
This novel had me in all the feels, another story of loss and grief but ultimately of love and found joy. His tale is so aptly titled and settles at the base of the story in such a dynamic way. If you are in need of an easily digestible story that leans nicely into magical realism but guts you along the way, please do yourself a favor and pick this one up. I am so thankful to have read this and will be a promoter as always for Josh, a modern master in emotional storytelling!
Review of advance copy received from Author
Finished this in a day and took an emotional journey the entire time. It's not often a book can make me feel so much while keeping me completely invested from beginning to end. Rare 5-star read from me and worth every minute ❤️📚
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Pretty good!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews