One Size Eats All #2: Rattus New Yorkus – Hunter Shea

“City rats are tough bastards.”

This is a B-grade movie I need to see! Mankind’s infinite wisdom strikes again. This time we’re taking on New York’s rat population, up close and personal with “hand-to-paw combat”.

Dr Randolph “Ratticus” Finch has developed a new rodenticide, Degenesis, that promises results. There are results, just not the ones he was hoping for. These rats are smarter and more aggressive, they’re multiplying quickly and they’re hungry. Exterminators Bennie and Chris Jackson are going to be working overtime on this one.

They were enormous and mangy and looked like the embodiment of animal savagery and disease.

I always have so much fun with Hunter Shea’s books. Although I really enjoyed watching the rats wreak havoc from a safe distance, a couple of the elements I look forward to in Shea’s stories weren’t quite as prominent in this one.

The action was pretty much non stop but my horror book bloodlust wasn’t entirely sated. The rats gnawed their way through the pages but I wasn’t sustained by graphic insides that are now your outsides details like I was in Misfits and Slash. There also wasn’t the time for me to become invested in any specific character’s survival. I was actually on the rats’ side and wanted them to prevail, although I did have my swattin’ pole on hand, just in case.

I’m keen to experience all of the bloody fun that Shea’s novels promise and definitely want to see the mayhem unfold in the other One Size Eats All novellas.

“I think panic is an appropriate response to what we just saw.”

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Lyrical Underground, an imprint of Kensington Books, for the opportunity to read this novella.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

THEY’RE BIGGER

Deep in the sewers of New York City, the rat population is growing. Dr. Randolph Finch is determined to break the cycle. His new rodenticide, Degenesis, doesn’t kill rats. It sterilises them from reproducing. But nothing adapts faster than a New York rat …

THEY’RE SMARTER

City exterminators and soon-to-be divorced Chris and Benita Jackson think they know how these rats think. They know how rats breed. And they fear that Degenesis has only made these rats stronger. More aggressive. More intelligent. And more ravenous than ever …

TONIGHT’S DINNER SPECIAL: US

After a noticeable surge in rat den activity, the Jacksons witness something strange. Without warning, the rats disappear – only to reassemble in a massive lair beneath Grand Central Station. Millions upon millions of them. Working together. Operating as a hive mind. Feasting on the flesh of the homeless below – and planning their all-out attack on the unsuspecting humans above

Manga Classics: The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne

Story Adapter – Crystal S. Chan

Illustrations – SunNeko Lee

Lettering – W.T. Francis

I don’t usually fare that well with classic novels so, although I’ve been interested in reading The Scarlet Letter for years, this manga was my introduction to Hester’s story.

I feel like I definitely got the gist of the story and the characters (I vote that Hester’s husband is certifiable), although I don’t doubt that I’ve missed out on a lot of the complexities.

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I’m really enjoying catching up on some Manga Classics that have been on my TBR pile for way too long. I loved the artwork in this adaptation, particularly the splash of colour each time the A was pictured. The manga stories I’ve read previously have been exclusively black and white so the colour really popped for me here.

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It was such a quick read that I was done before I gave much thought to the themes of the story. Right now part of me is fuming at the way Hester was treated and I’m shaking my head at yet another story where a woman’s sexuality is the subject of fear and condemnation by men and the church.

Once I read the novel I expect another part of me is going to be loving Hester’s strength and compassion. I liked what I saw of her in this manga adaptation but the format can’t provide the depth that novels can.

If I was on the fence before about whether or not I wanted to read The Scarlet Letter I’m not now. I’m intrigued enough to want to delve deeper.

Thank you to NetGalley and UDON Entertainment for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s powerful tale of forbidden love, shame and revenge comes to life in this manga presentation of the classic story. When Hester Prynne bears an illegitimate child, she is introduced to the ugliness, complexity, and ultimately the strength of the human spirit. Though set in a Puritan community during the Colonial American period, the moral dilemmas of personal responsibility and consuming emotions of guilt, anger, loyalty and revenge are timeless. This beautiful manga retelling of Hawthorne’s classic American novel is faithfully adapted by Crystal S. Chan and features stunning artwork by SunNeko Lee which will give old and new readers alike a fresh insight into this tragic saga of Puritan America.

Megabat – Anna Humphrey

Illustrations – Kass Reich

Spoilers Ahead! (in purple font)

Daniel’s family has just moved to a new town. He misses his friends and isn’t looking forward to starting a new school where he doesn’t know anyone. It doesn’t help that he’s sure his new room is haunted.

It turns out the ghost is actually a talking fruit bat, who is also a long way from home. Megabat loves smoosh-fruit, buttermelon and Star Wars.

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Daniel is determined to return Megabat to Papaya Premium. These new friends are going to have to channel the Force if they’re going to succeed in their mission.

This was a really cute story for younger readers, with a focus on friendship. I loved Kass Reich’s illustrations, particularly those featuring Megabat.

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It did lose me a bit at the end when Megabat asked Birdgirl, his pigeon friend, to marry him but I’m probably overthinking it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tundra, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada, for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Daniel Misumi has just moved to a new house. It’s big and old and far away from his friends and his life before. AND it’s haunted … or is it?

Megabat was just napping on a papaya one day when he was stuffed in a box and shipped halfway across the world. Now he’s living in an old house far from home, feeling sorry for himself and accidentally scaring the people who live there. 

Daniel realises it’s not a ghost in his new house. It’s a bat. And he can talk. And he’s actually kind of cute. 

Megabat realises that not every human wants to whack him with a broom. This one shares his smooshfruit. 

Add some buttermelon, juice boxes, a lightsaber and a common enemy and you’ve got a new friendship in the making!

The Once and Future Witches – Alix E. Harrow

Once there were three sisters.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January was my favourite read of 2019 and The Once and Future Witches is my favourite read of 2020. I know there are still plenty of pages to fall in love with this year but trust me, friends, this is the one!

The wise one, the strong one and the wild one. There’s a bit of each of us in at least one of the Eastwood sisters; hopefully all three. This is a story of sisters and suffragists. Of fairytales and the power of words. Of survival and sacrifice. Of transforming the story you were given into a better one. Of “witchcraft most wicked”.

The wayward sisters, hand in hand,

Burned and bound, our stolen crown,

But what is lost, that can’t be found?

Sometimes you read a book that feels like it was written with you in mind. Sometimes characters will draw you into their world and you feel like they’re kin or, at the very least, kindred spirits. Sometimes a story speaks to your soul in such a way that when you lift your head after the final page you are certain you grew wings while you were reading. That’s just some of what this book was for me.

I want to ramble about characters, surprises and heartbreaks, love found and battles waged but, consistent with other books that have so deeply worked their magic on me, this review is more personal. Sorry if this isn’t the review you were looking for.

Don’t forget what you are.

As I read I felt my spine straightening. My will strengthened. My courage blazed. My heart opened, warming and knitting itself together, even as it broke. My tears threatened many times before the inevitable ugly cry (it was so ugly!). This was the perfect book for me at the perfect time.

I made a deal with myself weeks before I started reading. I had a really difficult task ahead of me and I wanted this book to be my reward for completing it. Not allowing myself to dive in before I won my battle was its own special brand of torture but knowing the witches were waiting for me spurred me on. Being able to finally immerse myself in the lives of Agnes, Bella and Juniper was worth the wait. And then some.

I now have a task equal, if not greater, to face than the one that preceded it but this book has fortified me and given me the courage I need to shine a light on the next shadow on my path.

Together they dared to dream of a better world, where women weren’t broken and sisters weren’t sundered and rage wasn’t swallowed, over and over again.

I can’t wait until someone I know has read this book so I can get all gushy about the specifics. Until that time, a warning: if you see me out in the wild, prepare yourself. Our interaction is likely to consist of me emphatically telling you to “Read this book!” as I shove it in your face. Protect your nose accordingly.

“Maleficae quondam, maleficaeque futurae.”

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Orbit, an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group, for the opportunity to fall in love with this book early.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

In 1893, there’s no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.

But when the Eastwood sisters – James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna – join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women’s movement into the witch’s movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote – and perhaps not even to live – the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.

There’s no such thing as witches. But there will be.

Book Haul – 4 to 10 September 2020

I finally finished the report I was working on for the past couple of weeks so I was able to begin my reward book yesterday! It’s my Bookish Highlight of the Week. Knowing I had something I was really looking forward to waiting for me at the end of an emotionally intensive experience was much more helpful than I anticipated. I have another icky report to work on during the next couple of weeks. Because it worked so well the first time I’m going to motivate myself with a bookish reward again. I just need to decide what it’s going to be.

I saw about half a dozen whales when I went to the beach last weekend. They were really close to the shore so it was easy to see them. I looked again today when I went for a walk but it was quite windy so there were too many white horses to spot any whales.

This morning I glanced across the road and saw a duck and six teensy ducklings. They all wandered down a driveway before deciding that wasn’t where they wanted to go. After walking back up the driveway they went down the next driveway instead. I’m not sure if they were heading for the swimming pool in the back yard or the bushland behind the home. I’m definitely going to be keeping an eye out for them. They were so adorable!

We’ve also had a new visitor to our front yard this week – a raven. It’s quite timid but is gradually coming closer to me and getting used to me talking to it. I took this photo of a raven in our back yard a couple of years ago so it’s probably not the same one. Hopefully I’ll get close enough for a photo of my new feathered friend soon.

Word of the Week: grit – “courage and determination despite difficulty” (from Cambridge Dictionary)

Bookish Highlight of the Week: I’ve started reading Alix Harrow’s The Once and Future Witches. Their debut, The Ten Thousand Doors of January, was my favourite read of 2019. I’m absolutely loving this one too!

This week I read:


Kindle Black Hole of Good Intentions

When you can’t trust your mind, trust your heart.

Adam is a pretty regular teen, except he’s navigating high school life while living with paranoid schizophrenia. His hallucinations include a cast of characters that range from the good (beautiful Rebecca) to the bad (angry Mob Boss) to the just plain weird (polite naked guy). An experimental drug promises to help him hide his illness from the world. When Adam meets Maya, a fiercely intelligent girl, he desperately wants to be the normal, great guy that she thinks he is. But as the miracle drug begins to fail, how long can he keep this secret from the girl of his dreams?


Ox was twelve when his daddy taught him a very valuable lesson. He said that Ox wasn’t worth anything and people would never understand him. Then he left.

Ox was sixteen when he met the boy on the road. The little boy who talked and talked and talked. Ox found out later the little boy hadn’t spoken in almost two years before that day, and that the little boy belonged to a family who had moved into the house at the end of the lane.

Ox was seventeen when he found out the little boy’s secret and it painted the world around him in colors of red and orange and violet, of Alpha and Beta and Omega.

Ox was twenty-three when murder came to town and tore a hole in his head and heart. The boy chased after the monster with revenge in his bloodred eyes, leaving Ox behind to pick up the pieces.

It’s been three years since that fateful day – and the boy is back. Except now he’s a man, and Ox can no longer ignore the song that howls between them.


NetGalley

Mila is used to being alone. Maybe that’s why she said yes to the opportunity: living in this remote place, among the flowers and the fog and the crash of waves far below.

But she hadn’t known about the ghosts.

Newly graduated from high school, Mila has aged out of the foster care system. So when she’s offered a job and a place to stay at a farm on an isolated part of the Northern California Coast, she immediately accepts. Maybe she will finally find a new home, a real home. The farm is a refuge, but also haunted by the past traumas its young residents have come to escape. And Mila’s own terrible memories are starting to rise to the surface.


The Phantom of the Opera, the iconic gothic romance, is retold with all the spectacle its legend demands in this devoted graphic novel adaptation that marries stunning artwork with Gaston Leroux’s haunting prose.

Everyone has heard the whispered tales of the phantom who lives beneath the opera house, the mysterious trickster behind all the little mishaps and lost things. But no one has ever seen the monster … until now. When the promise of blossoming love lures him out from his intricately constructed hideaways in the labyrinthine building’s walls and cellars, a hideously disfigured artist trains the lovely Christine to be the opera’s next star for a steep price. Does she choose her newfound success or her beloved Count Raoul? This doomed love triangle threatens to combust when a tragic death, a series of betrayals, and increasingly dangerous accidents cast the players of The Palais Garnier into a heart-wrenching horror story that will echo through the ages. 


Bookish Quirks

Okay, so we all have them. Maybe we admit to some more freely than others, but they’re all part of the bookish experience. Here are just a few of mine:

  • Deciding you need to read every future release by an author because you fell in love with the first one you read.
  • Reading a copy you borrowed from the library when you already own a signed copy because you don’t want to accidentally hurt yours.
  • Reading a book that has multiple cover designs and saying you read the one with the cover you prefer, whether you read that particular one or not.
  • Preordering multiple copies of a book. On purpose.
  • Reading picture books when you’re having a bad day.
  • Compulsively buying the entire series of one of your childhood favourites, even though you only read about forty of them when you were a kid. You’ll read them all one day, right?
  • Adoring a movie/TV series but knowing the book was better, even if you haven’t read it yet.
  • Feeling shame if you enjoy the movie/TV series more than the book.
  • The feeling you get when you finally own all of the copies of one of your favourite childhood series. Followed closely by the feeling you get when you discover a book in the series you didn’t even know existed when you were a child.
  • Spending an absurd amount of money on a series that’s now out of print, even though you know it’s going to be dodgy fun at best. Then enjoying them even more because you had to fight other people on eBay to get them.
  • Knowing you already own enough books to last you for decades but needing to buy more because you’re absolutely certain you’ll read them soon.

Manga Classics: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain

Story Adapter – Crystal S. Chan

Illustrations – Kuma Chan

Lettering – Jeannie Lee

I absolutely loved the manga version of Anne of Green Gables so I was keen to explore some more Manga Classics. I read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer when I was a child but I never got around to reading about Huckleberry Finn. I thought this was a great opportunity to find out what I’d been missing. I expected I’d want to read the novel once I finished the manga version but it turns out I’m not a fan of this story.

In the introduction we are told that Twain’s “use of coarse vernacular and racial stereotypes in this novel was intended not to endorse but rather to ridicule the racism of his day.” Despite knowing this I still hated all of the racism in this story, especially the consistent use of racial slurs. Even if I could find a way to ignore the racism I still don’t think this would be the book for me. While adventures on rafts sounded interesting to me I found myself getting bored.

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But you know what? The revelation that this story is not for me has made me want to read more Manga Classics, not less. The manga version Anne’s story made me want to read Anne of Green Gables. I now know for sure I don’t want to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It turns out that manga is a great way to get a feel for a book.

Even though I didn’t like Huckleberry Finn’s story I really liked the artwork. The story was easy to follow and the illustrations helped bring the characters to life. There’s definitely going to be more manga in my life in the near future.

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Thank you to NetGalley and UDON Entertainment for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Chafed by the – sivilized – restrictions of his foster home, and weary of his drunkard father’s brutality, 14 year-old Huck Finn fakes his own death and sets off on a raft down the Mississippi River. He is soon joined by Jim, an escaped slave. Together, they experience a series of rollicking adventures that have amused readers, young and old, for over a century. The fugitives become close friends as they weather storms together aboard the raft and spend idyllic days swimming, frying catfish suppers, and enjoying their independence. Their peaceful existence ends abruptly, however, with the appearance of the King and the Duke, an incorrigible pair of con artists who take over the raft. After many difficulties, Huck and Jim escape their tormentors, and with the help of an imaginative rescue by Huck’s old friend Tom Sawyer, Jim gains his freedom. Manga Classics breathes new life into this American Classic with a faithful adaptation of Mark Twain’s masterpiece.

The Phantom of the Opera: The Graphic Novel – Varga Tomi

Everything that is underground belongs to him!

Apologies in advance for making this review more about my first and favourite musical than the graphic novel I just read. It’s just brought back so many wonderful memories!

I first saw The Phantom of the Opera in 1992. My school’s music classes were going on an interstate excursion to see the musical and a few of us who weren’t studying music as an elective managed to find a way to tag along. I finally understood why my Nan loved musicals so much.

I was already quite familiar with the Angel of Music because when I stayed with my grandparents my Nan and I would listen to it on repeat (on cassette) while we played cards late at night. My Pop would be trying to sleep in the next room but every time a new song began Nan and I would get up and dance around the room. Poor Pop … Saint that he was, he never once complained. You would have loved my grandparents!

As an adult I got to see Phantom again, this time with my mother in 2008. Mum fell in love with it as well and although Nan had died a couple of years beforehand we’re pretty sure she was there too. We had seats directly in front of the orchestra so it was an even bigger buzz when the chandelier flew over our heads!

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Although I haven’t read the book (yet!) the graphic novel included many of my favourite scenes from the musical. The Phantom’s face was more skeletal than I had been expecting but it worked. I wasn’t so sure about his red eyes. I expect the detail of some of the darker scenes will be more vivid in print.

Some of the fonts, particularly those used in the letters, were quite difficult to read in the ARC. Hopefully the higher resolution of the published version will render these more legible.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, A Wave Blue World and Diamond Book Distributors for the opportunity to read this graphic novel.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

The Phantom of the Opera, the iconic gothic romance, is retold with all the spectacle its legend demands in this devoted graphic novel adaptation that marries stunning artwork with Gaston Leroux’s haunting prose.

Everyone has heard the whispered tales of the phantom who lives beneath the opera house, the mysterious trickster behind all the little mishaps and lost things. But no one has ever seen the monster … until now. When the promise of blossoming love lures him out from his intricately constructed hideaways in the labyrinthine building’s walls and cellars, a hideously disfigured artist trains the lovely Christine to be the opera’s next star for a steep price. Does she choose her newfound success or her beloved Count Raoul? This doomed love triangle threatens to combust when a tragic death, a series of betrayals, and increasingly dangerous accidents cast the players of The Palais Garnier into a heart-wrenching horror story that will echo through the ages. 

Watch Over Me – Nina LaCour

“I hope you aren’t afraid of ghosts”

Mila has just aged out of foster care and been offered an internship teaching children. She will live and work with her employers, Terry and Julia, on a farm in the middle of nowhere.

Everything was beautiful and nothing was perfect, and I didn’t know how I could have been chosen to be there.

Mila is searching for a place to call home and desperately wants to keep the past in the past. No one told her about the ghosts, though.

I flew through this book. Granted, it was short but I don’t remember the last time I finished a novel in under a day. For months now my attention span has been appropriately equivalent to that of a fruit fly.

People need to know where they fit in in the world.

I didn’t have to work to get into Mila’s story and it was easy to lose myself in it. I loved imagining the flowers, the fog and the walk to the beach. For a while I wondered if the farm was going to turn out to be a cult because the atmosphere was so intoxicating; my wanting it to be a safe place warred with my suspicion that it was all too good to be true.

Because this book is so short there wasn’t a lot of time spent on developing the characters. I wanted to find out more about Terry and Julia’s backgrounds and I didn’t get much of a sense of Liz and Billy’s personalities. I found most of the children fairly interchangeable, although I adored Lee and would like to formally register my interest in adopting him.

I spent much of this book thinking about the hold memories can have over us and how daunting it can be to face our fears. Although Mila feels shame about the past, she is also resilient. The wounds of the past continue to haunt her but she is still able to care deeply about people. I always love found family stories and was keen for Mila to find the acceptance and sense of belonging she’s craved for so long.

I wish I could be one of you

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Text Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Mila is used to being alone. Maybe that’s why she said yes. Yes to a second chance in this remote place, among the flowers and the fog and the crash of waves far below. But she hadn’t known about the ghosts.

Newly graduated from high school, Mila has aged out of the foster-care system. So when she’s offered a job and a place to live on an isolated part of the Californian coast, she immediately accepts. Maybe she will finally find a new home – a real home. The farm is a refuge, but it’s also haunted by the past. And Mila’s own memories are starting to rise to the surface.

Magic Lessons – Alice Hoffman

Spoilers Ahead!

Do as you will, but harm no one.

What you give will be returned to you threefold.

Colour me bewitched! I say this with the utmost respect: with each Alice Hoffman book I read, I become more convinced that she is proficient in the Nameless Art.

If you’ve ever wondered how the Owens curse came to be, wonder no more. The answer lies in this book. The story of Maria Owens and her daughter, Faith, is one of love, revenge and the fear of powerful women.

Any story involving witchcraft in the 1600’s, especially one partially set in Salem, is bound to include all manner of horrors perpetrated against women. I prepared myself for the likelihood of witnessing immolations and drownings but I was still surprised at times by the darkness of some of the events that unfolded, particularly those involving the death of animals. I probably needed to brew myself a cup of Courage Tea before settling in.

It was a dangerous world for women, and more dangerous for a woman whose very bloodline would have her do not as she was ordered, but as she pleased.

There was so much to love about this book: the bond between mothers and daughters, the importance of keeping the door open to those in need, the power of words and finding the courage to be who you are. While I really liked Maria, it was Faith’s journey that really sucked me in.

A few times in the first quarter of the book I caught myself thinking that if something could be said in two sentences it was said in five, but over time I got used to the descriptions and backstories.

I was left with a few outstanding questions:

If a witch’s touch turns silver black, then why was the hairpin still silver when Maria first received it? Wouldn’t Rebecca’s touch have already turned it black?

How do Maria’s red boots still fit her as an adult? Is there a spell that allows clothing to grow with you?

What happened to Elizabeth?

Did Finney ever return to Penny Come Quick?

Reading this Owens origin story made me want to reread Practical Magic and finally read The Rules of Magic. Practical Magic and I have a long history. I fell in love with Alice Hoffman’s early books in the 90’s, so of course I found Practical Magic then. I also managed to wear out the movie on VHS before the DVD made its way into my life. I would still have that DVD, if not for a friend who ‘borrowed’ it and failed to return it. Never fear; I found the perfect incantation in my Grimoire so they aren’t likely to do it again. 😜

“You never told me what happens if someone falls in love with us.”

“We ruin their lives,” Maria told her daughter.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

It’s no secret that love has plagued the Owens family for centuries. But when did the curse begin, and why? It all began with Maria Owens, who arrived in America in 1680, with a baby in tow …

Born with pitch-black hair and pale green eyes, Maria was abandoned in the English countryside by her birth mother and raised by Hannah Owens who warned her, “Always love someone who will love you back.” She inherits Hannah’s Grimoire – a magical book of enchantments that include instructions to heal illnesses, ingredients for soaps that restore youth, and spells that make a person burn with love for another. When Hannah dies in an attack, Maria leaves for Curaçao, where she meets John Hathorne, a magistrate from Salem living freely for the first time in his life as he falls in love with Maria. But Hathorne soon abandons her, before Maria realises she’s pregnant. When she gives birth to a red-headed baby girl, Faith, who possesses immense magical talent, Maria embarks on a voyage to Salem to face her destiny, with or without magic.

But aboard the ship bringing her to America, fate intervenes and she meets a man who will change her life, if she’ll only let him. Her journey, laced with secrets and truths, devastation and joy, magic and curses, will show her that love is the only answer, always.