Saturday 3 February 2018

#BookReview The Hum and the Shiver by Alex Bledsoe @AlexBledsoe

The Hum and the Shiver by Alex Bledsoe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Named one of the Best Fiction Books of 2011 by Kirkus Reviews, The Hum and the Shiver by Alex Bledsoe is an enchanting tale of music and magic older than the hills. . . .

No one knows where the Tufa came from, or how they ended up in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. Enigmatic and suspicious of outsiders, the Tufa live quiet lives in the hills and valleys of Cloud County. While their origins may be a mystery, there are hints of their true nature buried in the songs they have passed down for generations.

Bronwyn Hyatt, a pure-blood Tufa, has always insisting on doing things her own way, regardless of the consequences. Even though Tufa rarely leave Cloud County, she enlisted in the Army to escape the pressures of Tufa life—her family, her obligations as a First Daughter, and her dangerous ex-boyfriend. But after barely surviving a devastating ambush that killed most of her fellow soldiers, Private Hyatt returns to Cloud County wounded in body and in spirit. But danger lurks in the mountains and hollows of her childhood home. Cryptic omens warn of impending tragedy, and a restless "haint" lurks nearby, waiting to reveal Bronwyn's darkest secrets. Worst of all, Bronwyn has lost touch with the music that was once a vital part of her identity.

Now Bronwyn finds the greatest battle to be right here at home, where her obligations struggle with her need for freedom, and if she makes the wrong choice, the consequences could be deadly for all the Tufa. . . .

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When I got a copy of The Fairies of Sadieville, the latest book in the Tufa series did I not started directly with it as I usually do, despite that I usually have no problem about reading books, not from the beginning. I have wanted to read this series for a while now, and having all the previous available as audiobooks gave me the chance to listen to all the previous books in order before starting to read The Fairies of Sadieville. And, after finishing this book is my advice to do the same. Yes, the books can be read stand-alone. But, you will get a greater appreciation and understanding of the characters reading the books in order. Not to mention that the books are great!

The Hum and the Shiver introduce us to the Tufa that lives in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. No one knows where they came from and it's said that they were there before the white men arrived and even before the native Americans arrived in the country.

Bronwyn Hyatt is a pure-blood Tufa who has arrived home as a hero after surviving an ambush that killed many of her fellow soldiers, and that led her to kill ten men. But, the danger isn't over for her. Omen points to that someone in her family will die and her ex-boyfriend is not over her. And, she's having problems remembering the music that is so important for the Tufa. If there is one genre I love is it urban fantasy and the Tufa series is right up my alley. Well-written, with a story about a mysterious people that live in the Smoky Mountain.

The Hum and the Shiver introduced us to the characters, like Bronwyn Hyatt, Bliss Overbay, Rockhouse Hicks and Mandalay Harris. All important characters in the Tufa community. The Tufa isn't one group of people, there are those that follow Mandalay and those that follow Rockhouse Hicks. It's a fascinating story and I was engrossed in the story. I liked listening to the narrated version, it's the kind of book that made working easier because the book fascinated me so much that I didn't mind working.

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