Book Look 1: The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

Hello readers!

So, here we are nearing the end of July, nearly three months after my first post. This is not how I imagined I'd be pacing myself, what with my initial declaration of just having to do it. Well, here's to trying again.

Apart of my absence had to do with trying to figure out what exactly I wanted to talk about in my posts. Like I've mentioned, I tend to overanalyze. Fortunately for me, I have a wonderful mentor whose given me some ideas. First one being the book review. I post a book of the month of something I've read, and my mentor suggested I write about that. What I like about the text and what I don't. By doing this, I can learn from authors and get inspiration for my own work.

So, my first book review will be over The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. I actually chose this for a book club I was in. To preface, I will say I do judge a book by it's cover and it looked interesting. Otherwise, to me, what's the point of cover art? However, I will also say I've been humbled too in this regard.

Anywho, the book is a blend of historical fiction, romance, and mystery. I love the idea of incorporating multiple genres in a story. The novel is slightly long, but for good reason. Mrs. Lawhon has done a wonderful job of world building and explaining the life of main character, Martha Ballard. Set in the territory, Maine 1789, Martha is prominent village midwife and healer. She's who the community called on to deliver babies and seek care for ailments. She's a hard working woman who runs her home well and has the help and support of her family which is wonderful. Martha gets involved in a wintertime murder case due to her background but has to solve it mostly on her own as women weren't supposed to be involved with such matters in that time period, and faces pushback from leaders and commonfolk.

Overall, I liked the book. Over time, I've come to be a slow reader because I like to visualize a book's world so I can follow it better for context and not just speed through it. I enjoyed learning about Martha's backstory leading to her present life. The book also explored other characters of the village and how they all interacted together. I will say, the focus on the mystery aspect was not prominent enough for me, though a culprit reveal surprised me, as well as a showdown between Martha and a foil character. It was nice to get an insight on how historical mystery is done and if any reader decides to read this book, I hope you enjoy it!