Tuesday 1 October 2013

REVIEW - THE WAVES - THE ISLAND SERIES BY JEN MINKMAN

ISBN:  
ASIN:
Series: The Island
Publisher: Self/Indie
Pages/File Size: 174pages
Formats Available: 

BLURB from Goodreads
The first memory I have of my grandfather is of a moment that we share together.
I’m sitting on his knee looking out over the harbor. Grandpa is smoking a pipe. He points at the horizon. “Look, Walt. Our ships are out there. And one day, another even more beautiful ship will appear at the horizon. A mighty ship to take us all away. And Annabelle will be at the front deck with open arms, inviting us all to join her on board.”
“Why don’t we sail to her ourselves?” I inquire wide-eyed.
“Because she promised she would come,” granddad replies. “And in that promise we trust. It’s only the Unbelievers who think they can do everything themselves. They have no faith in the Goddess.”

Walt lives in Hope Harbor, an island community that has put its trust in salvation from across the sea. The townspeople wait patiently, build their ships to sail out and welcome the Goddess, and piously visit the temple every week. Horror stories to scare their children are told about the Unbelievers on the other side of Tresco. 
But not all is what it seems. Walt has questions that no one can answer, and when his best friend and cousin Yorrick is killed in an accident, he digs deeper to find out the truth about the origins of Hope Harbor’s society… and the secrets of the temple.

Return to the world of The Island and discover what Walt's life was like before and after he met Leia!


INITIAL THOUGHTS
What will the "Other side of the wall" story be? Are the "Fools" really that foolish thinking that a person named Annabelle would return to their Island to rescue them on her grand golden ship.

MY REVIEW
I received and e-copy of this book directly from the Author Jen Minkman in exchange for my honest review. 
I like the cover as it fits in with the cover of book one. The murky water and the lighthouse that the people of Hope Harbour keep lit so that when Annabelle returns she can find her way. The people of Hope Harbour believe that Annabelle is a Goddess and her and her two daughters Mary and Agnes will one day return for them on a large golden ship to take them to the other side of the water. Hope Harbour has three Priests, Bram, Praed and Finn, they oversea all worship at the temple and bless those that go to the temple. They also oversee the funerals as when you die in Hope Harbour your body is wrapped in white surrounded with yellow flowers and placed in a boat and "sent to the other side" where Annabelle will be waiting for them. Then a few days later you send a much smaller boat filled with gifts of expensive wool clothing and other expensive useful items for their life on the other side.
There are a few people that are having doubts about what the three Priests are preaching. 
One of the doubters who can actually find evidence is Walt's cousin Yorrick. Yorrick is the Book Keeper's son, so has access to all the old books on the Island. It is in the books that Yorrick finds information and maps, he goes to see the Priests to discuss things and then goes for a run. Walt is going to meet Yorrick and in the distance see's him pushed off the cliff. Who is the darkly dressed man who pushed Yorrick? Is it an Unbeliever from over the wall?
There's so much more that happens in this book, two boat crash survivor's is washed upon the shore. One on the "Believer's Hope Harbour side of the wall and the other on the "Unbelievers" side of the world  How does their treatment differ?
This book is actually set at the same as The Island was but telling the other side of the walls story. I enjoyed this book, even though we the reader already knew some of the scenario's coming up.
So did I enjoy the book? Yes I did. In this book you learn much more about the other side of the wall to the manor house which is called Hope Harbour.                                              Would I recommend the book? I'd say if you have read The Island then The Waves is a must read. Would I read another book in this series? Yes, I'd like to know what really is on the other side, and follow the outward voyage as well as the return home.                         Would I read other books by Jen Minkman? I already have, when I read Shadow Of Time, and I'd certainly take a close look at any book written by Jen Minkman.


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