The majority of us can come to an agreement that first impressions of a book is important to spark the readers attention. Marketing strategy and all… In this, I had the idea of sharing my thoughts on some of the ways I’m wanting to be more diligent in how I choose what stories to read regarding the supernatural. Many times, it can be an unexpected element to a story or vaguely mentioned in the book description. I must confess I fully understand why it can be tricky on how much information to reveal without giving spoilers. That in itself leads to much discussion.

Often times, more times than not, the readers are left having to consider more carefully about the premise before investing money spent and time.

First Impressions of Embers on the Wind.

About the book:

The past and the present converge in this enthralling, serpentine tale of women connected by motherhood, slavery’s legacy, and histories that span centuries.

In 1850 in Massachusetts, Whittaker House stood as a stop on the Underground Railroad. It’s where two freedom seekers, Little Annie and Clementine, hid and perished. Whittaker House still stands, and Little Annie and Clementine still linger, their dreams of freedom unfulfilled.

Now a fashionably distressed vacation rental in the Berkshires, Whittaker House draws seekers of another kind: Black women who only appear to be free. Among them are Dominique, a single mother following her grand-mère’s stories to Whittaker House in search of an ancestor; Michelle, Dominique’s lover, who has journeyed to the Berkshire Mountains to heal her own traumas; and Kaye, Michelle’s sister, a seer whose visions reveal the past and future secrets of the former safehouse―along with her own.

For each of them, true liberation can come only from uncovering their connection to history―and to the spirits awaiting peace and redemption within the walls of Whittaker House.

My Thoughts:

While many aspects of the history told in the description is of great interest to me, there is a detail that I read that has made me pause.

My faith in God tells believers not to follow the abominable practices such as, practice of divination or tell fortunes or interpret omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead and so on… Which compels me to be better at discerning in what I read, should I read it and why or why not. Not knowing enough about one of the author’s character- who is a seer- I’ve decided to refrain from reading this story at present until I know more. Especially because of late when I made a mistake in a purchase of a book that entailed extreme darkness and evil spirits and there was not a conclusion of good triumphing over evil in my view. I was uneasy to say the least.

In the past, I made mistakes in books I accepted to review and wish I hadn’t if I had more information about the content. This is not to disrespect or dismiss the authors ability to write a good story, to say the story is bad or if it should have been written.

Despite my discernment of Embers on the Wind, I still wanted to highlight the book cover and title. The graphics both in design and composition of the floating embers by definition, strikes a chord of malicious intent or, quiet possibly, an accident or some sort of natural disaster. The profile of the female in the background is a wonderful addition. These elements lead one to want to discover more about the content of the story and the likelihood of wanting acquire the book. I certainly wanted to find out more.

Stephanie Hopkins

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