For Better or for Worse
Ingrid Nickelsen
When one story ends, another begins.
Evangeline lived a long fulfilling life. Loving mother and wife, she had everything she could wish for…until a tragic car accident took it all away from her.
Awakening in a new world with the body of a young woman, Evangeline doesn’t remember anything about her life, not even her own name. Luckily she has godparents to help guide her in this new society of the dead. As she struggles to fit in, deep inside, she can sense something is missing, a part of her that she can’t recall. When a mysterious man claims he can help get her memory back if she agrees to keep their nocturnal meetings a secret, she can’t refuse. Everything about him screams trouble, but she can’t seem to stay away. Every moment spent with him makes her feel alive again.
Is she really prepared to unveil her past completely, from beginning to end? Everything is not as it seems in her new found home, and her new life may also end in tragedy.
Rest in fear, Evangeline.
Evangeline lived a long fulfilling life. Loving mother and wife, she had everything she could wish for…until a tragic car accident took it all away from her.
Awakening in a new world with the body of a young woman, Evangeline doesn’t remember anything about her life, not even her own name. Luckily she has godparents to help guide her in this new society of the dead. As she struggles to fit in, deep inside, she can sense something is missing, a part of her that she can’t recall. When a mysterious man claims he can help get her memory back if she agrees to keep their nocturnal meetings a secret, she can’t refuse. Everything about him screams trouble, but she can’t seem to stay away. Every moment spent with him makes her feel alive again.
Is she really prepared to unveil her past completely, from beginning to end? Everything is not as it seems in her new found home, and her new life may also end in tragedy.
Rest in fear, Evangeline.
When the author of this book asked me to review her book in all honesty, I hesitated a little bit. It was a paranormal, and I was afraid that I would not be able to keep reading it due to not having read a paranormal book for so long. Not only that, but (I hate to admit) I still thought a bit stereotypical when it comes to paranormal: vampires, werewolves, and all that jazz.
But man. Paranormal is sooooooo much more than that.
This book had me from the very beginning. It was intriguing because Nickelsen started in media res (in the middle of a narrative or plot), but it was also a bit confusing because I wasn't sure when things were occurring in the past or present. However, it wasn't a long-lasting confusion and I was able to understand quick. It also may be because I received an ARC for this book, so formatting and things like that weren't complete and permanent yet.
The main character, Evangeline, pissed me off a lot. I do not want to spoil anything, but when she loses her memory after she dies, the actions she takes in regards to her memory made me want to punch her. Besides that, Eve is a smart, strong-headed, and normal girl (woman? She was old when she died, after all...).
Her five godparents are all badass (well, not all), compassionate, funky, and have their own murky secrets that leaves the reader dying with curiosity (like seriously, there should be short novellas that focus on them!).
There's the mysterious man, Will, who is absolutely charming and mysterious (duhh!), who cannot seem to leave Eve, of aaaalllll people, alone.
There's also Eve's husband, Josh, who we also get to see within the book and cry with him and love him (or is it just me???).
I loved the imagery going on in the book. The author does a SPECTACULAR job in describing the setting and the people in the book, which allows the reader to fully imagine the world the book takes place in and its habitants. Nickelsen not only portrays the physical details perfectly, but the emotional details as well. It was as if I was actually there: I had forgotten that I was curled up on my couch or sitting at my desk in school and was instead transported to the world that Nickelsen beautifully carved.
Nabokov, who is a famous novelist that we always refer to in class, has talked about what a good reader and good writer is like. My favorite thing he has said about a good writer is, "Then with a pleasure which is both sensual and intellectual we shall watch the artist build his castle of cards and watch the castle of cards become a castle of beautiful steel and glass" (1948).
In my honest opinion, Nickelsen's writing portrays just that: a castle of cards that become a castle of beautiful steel and glass. Something that is permanent and solid, standing tall and beaming with pride.
This book made me tear up at times. It made me go through many emotions: from anger, to despair, to heart-break, to understanding, to hope.
This book is a DEFINITE must-read. No doubt about it.
But man. Paranormal is sooooooo much more than that.
This book had me from the very beginning. It was intriguing because Nickelsen started in media res (in the middle of a narrative or plot), but it was also a bit confusing because I wasn't sure when things were occurring in the past or present. However, it wasn't a long-lasting confusion and I was able to understand quick. It also may be because I received an ARC for this book, so formatting and things like that weren't complete and permanent yet.
The main character, Evangeline, pissed me off a lot. I do not want to spoil anything, but when she loses her memory after she dies, the actions she takes in regards to her memory made me want to punch her. Besides that, Eve is a smart, strong-headed, and normal girl (woman? She was old when she died, after all...).
Her five godparents are all badass (well, not all), compassionate, funky, and have their own murky secrets that leaves the reader dying with curiosity (like seriously, there should be short novellas that focus on them!).
There's the mysterious man, Will, who is absolutely charming and mysterious (duhh!), who cannot seem to leave Eve, of aaaalllll people, alone.
There's also Eve's husband, Josh, who we also get to see within the book and cry with him and love him (or is it just me???).
I loved the imagery going on in the book. The author does a SPECTACULAR job in describing the setting and the people in the book, which allows the reader to fully imagine the world the book takes place in and its habitants. Nickelsen not only portrays the physical details perfectly, but the emotional details as well. It was as if I was actually there: I had forgotten that I was curled up on my couch or sitting at my desk in school and was instead transported to the world that Nickelsen beautifully carved.
Nabokov, who is a famous novelist that we always refer to in class, has talked about what a good reader and good writer is like. My favorite thing he has said about a good writer is, "Then with a pleasure which is both sensual and intellectual we shall watch the artist build his castle of cards and watch the castle of cards become a castle of beautiful steel and glass" (1948).
In my honest opinion, Nickelsen's writing portrays just that: a castle of cards that become a castle of beautiful steel and glass. Something that is permanent and solid, standing tall and beaming with pride.
This book made me tear up at times. It made me go through many emotions: from anger, to despair, to heart-break, to understanding, to hope.
This book is a DEFINITE must-read. No doubt about it.
My Rating:
1/5 I didn't like it
2/5 It was okay
3/5 I liked it
4/5 I really liked it
5/5 It was amazing
~Deniz
1/5 I didn't like it
2/5 It was okay
3/5 I liked it
4/5 I really liked it
5/5 It was amazing
~Deniz