What do you think?
The Serenity Nearby
Veronica Hockmeier’s relationship with her girlfriend/PhD supervisor is on the rocks. A graduate student has died by suicide in her English Department. And her eating disorder has returned with a vengeance. All Veronica wants to do is get out of town for a weekend, and when her paper is accepted at an academic conference on Emily Dickinson, in Dickinson’s hometown of Amherst, Massachusetts, Veronica takes this as a good sign.
On the way there, she is greeted with calamity after an accident on the road, a person from her past, and what appears to be the ghost of a graduate student in her hotel room. When a friendly hotel worker named Bo Wu shows her some kindness, Veronica can’t help but fall for the tall woman with a winning smile—even if she does have a creepy collection of items dead patrons have left behind.
When Veronica’s passport goes missing and another body turns up at the hotel, she becomes trapped in a nightmare she can’t escape from—not without Bo’s help.
On the way there, she is greeted with calamity after an accident on the road, a person from her past, and what appears to be the ghost of a graduate student in her hotel room. When a friendly hotel worker named Bo Wu shows her some kindness, Veronica can’t help but fall for the tall woman with a winning smile—even if she does have a creepy collection of items dead patrons have left behind.
When Veronica’s passport goes missing and another body turns up at the hotel, she becomes trapped in a nightmare she can’t escape from—not without Bo’s help.
304 pages, Paperback
Published May 20, 2022
About the author
Eve Morton
129 books5 followersEve Morton is an author, artist, and educator living in Waterloo, Ontario. Sometimes romantic, other times completely unhinged, and then downright ethereal, Eve's works span the range of the beach read romance to the heart-stopping short horror story that sticks with you.
When not writing, walking, or obsessively reading anything, Eve raises her two kiddos, occasionally paints, gets tattoos, and reads tarot cards.
Book an event; book a lecture; or just read a good book--there is something here for you!
When not writing, walking, or obsessively reading anything, Eve raises her two kiddos, occasionally paints, gets tattoos, and reads tarot cards.
Book an event; book a lecture; or just read a good book--there is something here for you!
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
December 17, 2023
Review: The Serenity Nearby-Eve Morton
“After all, who really reads romances? Only people who couldn’t really read.” This is the initial opinion of young protagonist PhD. Veronica Hockmier, while caught in the poisonous web of Academia and under the spell of her much older mentor, Dr. Stella Flanders. But Eve Morton’s book is no romance. It is a claustrophobic condemnation of naval-gazing literary academia, trapping its anxious, ambitious students in viral suicides, anorexia, bulimia and sexual power games. The relationship between Emily Dickenson scholars Veronica and Stella is symbiotic and disturbing, with Stella out to control Veronica’s thoughts, her body, and if possible—her soul. I found the psychological angst almost unbearable to read at times, but kept hoping Veronica would come into her own and answer the question: “I’m Nobody. Who are you? Are you nobody—too?”
The book is lush with literary quotes and references to art and paintings—some familiar, some not so much. As the characters evolved fully formed, like Bo, the Asian trans woman who helps Veronica imagine a pathway to joy (and also to reading romances), I decided that in spite of the emotional pain it caused along the way, the rich tapestry of the book’s journey made it well worth reading.
It was also courageous. The author was brave to go deep into-the-weeds literary in a genre not known for such depth. It was unexpected, and moving. I can’t wait to read more by Eve Morton.
“After all, who really reads romances? Only people who couldn’t really read.” This is the initial opinion of young protagonist PhD. Veronica Hockmier, while caught in the poisonous web of Academia and under the spell of her much older mentor, Dr. Stella Flanders. But Eve Morton’s book is no romance. It is a claustrophobic condemnation of naval-gazing literary academia, trapping its anxious, ambitious students in viral suicides, anorexia, bulimia and sexual power games. The relationship between Emily Dickenson scholars Veronica and Stella is symbiotic and disturbing, with Stella out to control Veronica’s thoughts, her body, and if possible—her soul. I found the psychological angst almost unbearable to read at times, but kept hoping Veronica would come into her own and answer the question: “I’m Nobody. Who are you? Are you nobody—too?”
The book is lush with literary quotes and references to art and paintings—some familiar, some not so much. As the characters evolved fully formed, like Bo, the Asian trans woman who helps Veronica imagine a pathway to joy (and also to reading romances), I decided that in spite of the emotional pain it caused along the way, the rich tapestry of the book’s journey made it well worth reading.
It was also courageous. The author was brave to go deep into-the-weeds literary in a genre not known for such depth. It was unexpected, and moving. I can’t wait to read more by Eve Morton.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review