Welcome to Litsy!

I enjoy a book that ends up being a pleasant surprise. Inti is one of the most unusual characters I have ever encountered. She is fierce but brittle. She fights with an intensity that Brad‘s off of her. Her love of wolves and her sister is everything.

December Book 1/25 #bookspinbingo

#wintergames2021 has begun and these are my first two picks. So far they are both good.

My favorite-author-of-2021 posted on Instagram about her nomination on Goodreads and when I commented on that, she LIKED it! Haha, it‘s silly I know, but it feels cool to see her name appear on my feed!

Surprising no one, I am firmly in the ‘Pick‘ camp for this book. Loved it despite some issues and obviously I must now (finally) read Migrations.

Full review on my blog: http://sprainedbrain.blog/2021/11/30/audiobook-review-once-there-were-wolves-by-...

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This was also my #DoubleSpin for November. 😃

I didn‘t love it but I didn‘t hate it either 😹. It started out great but then went off the rails for me. I felt like the author was really trying for something that she just quite couldn‘t pull off. I liked the premise of rewilding wolves in Scotland but some of the plot points were just ridiculous. My favorite thing about this book was that it introduced me to Werner‘s Book Of Colours. If you‘re a sensitive reader, stay far away from this one.

I read most of this at Gladstone‘s but forgot to take a pic whilst I was there - doh!

This follows much the same style and storyline as Migrations; MC with troubled background trying to save a species as well as trying to save herself, and is just as beautifully written.

Still loved it, but not quite as much as Migrations, due to an extraneous plot line and one huge implausibility.

Thank you so much for sending it to me @KarenUK 😘

Book 135

I listened to this well-written story with themes of wildness and ferocity of humankind and animals. the protagonist's career is to reintroduce wolves in the wild. She also must help her sister heal from an abusive relationship and come to terms with the abuses she has endured. There is a lackluster element of fantasy that fell short of the author's intent but did add complexity to the character and uniqueness to the story. 4 stars

Here are the #Two4Tuesday questions for today. I was just thinking that the year is almost over, can you believe it!😲 Enjoy and thanks to all who played. Happy Tuesday and many blessings to everyone!

My answers:
📘 I meet my GoodReads goal of 120 books last month. Still working on finishing some series I have started. #SeriesRead2021
📘 So many, but the tagged one is of particular interest to me.

Want to play? @Eggs @wanderinglynn @EadieB

This book has a density to it because there isn't a lot of dialogue and the narrator spends a lot of time describing how others' touch feels because of her mirror-touch synesthesia. All while she is leading a team to rewild a group of wolves in Scotland.

Where this author's previous book Migrations was depressing from an environmental perspective, it was more about isolation. This book has a more violent streak and also a bit of a murder mystery.

Après le petit déjeuner ???☕️

The writing is amazing, no problems there.
My issues are below so I don‘t put any spoilers.
Generally disappointed.

I wasn‘t expecting a murder mystery when I picked this book up, but I enjoyed it. The author clearly loves and is in awe of the natural world - in that way it reminded me of Crawdads.

Grateful to be having a #motherdaughterread

This book was amazing. I loved it. The audiobook is very well narrated, and the accents all sounded spot on to me.

I found Inty‘s condition of being able to feel physical sensations that anyone she is looking at is feeling incredible. I‘ve never heard of anything like that before.

Be warned- this is dark and shines a light on man‘s worst evils. If you need content warnings this likely isn‘t for you. See spoilers below.

This one was just alright. It was good enough to finish, but it was just so over the top. It‘s one of those you couldn‘t recommend to a friend without a little bit of embarrassment or at least a word of warning that it leans toward the sensational.

Loved this book just as much as Migrations. McConaghy does a fantastic job at combining a focus on environmental issues with great characters and plot. Highly recommended!

“When we were eight, Dad cut me open from throat to stomach.”

#firstlinefridays

I am frustrated at this book. I started it and was totally in love until we got to the tired and frankly gross plot line of "someone doesn't want to have children, we will just have a character fall pregnant, and then everyone will change their mind".
The writing is excellent, the storyline interesting with a few twists and turns, the pacing is excellent and even with some emotional scenes it is very readable.

Amazing! A story set in the near future of a woman set on rewilding (and saving) Scotland‘s ecosystem by reintroducing wolves into the country. Of course it is also about rewinding herself. Intense, dramatic, poetic, and glorious. A celebration of feminine strength.

#FirstLineFriday @ShyBookOwl

"When we were eight, Dad cut me open from throat to stomach"

I love a sensational first line. This book is incredibly well written.

5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️! 5 wolves 🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺! Loved this.

#weeklyforcast

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Such an atmospheric and haunting story about the beauty and brutality of nature and humanity, our connection to our environment and each other, and the wildness in us all. I loved the writing, the mystery, the wolves… read it and let yourself get lost in these woods! 🐺🤍🎧

Any book that starts with an Angela Carter quote gets me excited 🖤 🐺

Atmospheric. Trauma. Darkly beautiful. Hopeful. I loved this book 💗

@thearomaofbooks #bookspinbingo Ready to GO! 😁

#bookspin & #doublespin excited for these 2 new books!
@TheAromaofBooks

By the end, I was borderline hate-reading this. I really enjoyed the first half of the book which focused on Inti‘s work re-wilding wolves in rural Scotland and her dealing with the politics of that in the local community. Things really started to go off the rails when the book became a murder mystery and dwelled in trauma porn. Inti‘s “mirror-touch” disorder was a lazy plot device that was used to excuse the extremely stupid decisions she made.

Last one of the month, finished just under the wire. And so good! Beautifully written, powerfully told with glimpses of a whodunnit and a love story. This book is one of a kind. Highly recommend! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #BookspinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Starting this tonight and hoping it will take me somewhere that is less hot than my current location. I‘m so ready for fall

"And when you open your heart to rewilding a landscape, the truth is you're opening your heart to rewilding yourself."

I have all three catboys as reading buddies tonight. 🧡🧡🧡

#CatsOfLitsy

This book had me at wolves (forever a girl from Montana) and did not disappoint. I loved that it crossed British Columbia, Australia, Alaska, and Scotland. It‘s a relatively short book and I was expecting a quick read, but I had to slow down to fully absorb where the story took me - and I‘m talking more than just location!

#DoubleSpin @TheAromaofBooks

I haven't had much chance to read in the last week, but my plan for today includes finishing this beautiful book (I'm going to cry, aren't I?) and then starting a new audiobook while working on a project for this weekend. It's going to be pouring rain all day, so I'm going to stay indoors with my stories. 🧡🌧📚

#fangirling #shereplied 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

@AmyG finished this maybe a half hour ago. Cried, gasped, felt like my heart might burst. Learned so much and felt sad about how maybe I don‘t do enough for the world. It was just like reading Migrations but also different and possibly more painful in a way? But I loved it and she‘s officially a favorite author ♥️♥️

Reading in the light of the last of the evening sun 🌞

Another dark tale from Charlotte McConaghy about nature and human nature. Set in Scotland, the protagonist works with a project to repopulate the Highlands with wolves. #page158subscription @sudalu

For fans of wolves, nature and Barbara Kingsolver.

(TW - domestic abuse)

“We‘re most fallible when trying to raise our children.”

Starting a new book! It‘s a slim volume, so thinking I can finish before the end of the weekend.

Currently reading. My expectations are so high 🤞🏻.

3.5 ⭐️ I struggled through the first half! I knew the main character was flawed based on her trauma, but she felt unlikeable and nonsensical. I also wasn‘t feeling the wolf magic like I hoped! The last third of the book redeemed itself to me and the ending was tenderly interwoven in a way the surprisingly made me cry, multiple times! Ultimately a beautiful, touching story even if it took me awhile to get there.

Inti is an expert on wolves, facing a hostile, fearful local population as she and her team perform wolf reintroduction in Scotland. As the story moves forward, we also learn her history alongside her twin. There‘s a lot of violence in this and mostly the story is terrific, but there‘s a scene near the end so ludicrous it almost ruined the book for me. I‘m putting content warnings under a spoiler tag below.

Hanging out with my favourite domesticated wolf today and finally getting into this book. Loved migrations so much and this one is very interesting so far!!

Excited for my September #BookSpinBingo! Tagged book is my #Bookspin, and Someone to Hold is my #Doublespin. I‘ve been really excited about the tagged #BOTM, since the main character has a backstory in Alaska. My bingo card this month is still mostly BOTM backlist titles, but I also added a few library borrows and #TBR books on my Kindle already. Most of my free spaces will probably be filled by various Libby/Hoopla borrows.

#FallTreasures #AugustStats. 17 books read 2 DNF‘s

5🌟
Migrations
Hollywood Park
Once There Were Wolves
Persuasion

4.5🌟
Our Souls at Night
Valentine

4🌟
Wordslut
All the Devils are Here
Leaving Coy‘s Hill
A History of Loneliness
King of Scars
The Jane Austen Society

The rest were 3.5 or 3 🌟. Loving Storygraph and seeing my stats in graphs and pie charts.

#Augustwrapup
Really enjoyed my month of reading… not a lot of time, but quality over quantity and no #DNFs….☺️📚

Easy favorite was the tagged book, which will no doubt make my Favorites list at the end of the year…. And The Mercies was a close second, but I mostly enjoyed all my picks. 📚💕

1. Tagged. 2. I signed up for 3. I love swaps and Fall! Here are the tags: #BasicWitches #HauntedHollowedSwap #AllHallowedReadsSwap

Inti, an expert on wolves, is part of a mission to re-introduce wolves to the Scottish Highlands. Opposition from farmers who fear the wolves will kill their livestock is fierce. But when a human turns up dead from what looks like a wolf attack, Inti desperately tries to save her beloved wolves along with her sanity. This is a suspenseful novel which touches on climate issues and violence against women. Great pacing and keeps you guessing.

This book is absolutely amazing. I had extremely high hopes because Migrations was my favorite read last year. This lived up to her first book and may even be my favorite of the two. I won‘t speak of the plot, as there‘s so much the author was able to do in such a slim novel. But big themes are identity, conservation, good vs evil, nature. Stayed up late with tears streaming to finish. I‘m just so impressed; I‘ll read anything this woman writes.🐺