Blog Tour Review: Owl Song At Dawn by Emma Claire Sweeney
Owl Song at Dawn by Emma Claire Sweeney
Hi All!
Today is my stop on the Owl Song At Dawn blog tour! I’m here today to tell you my five favourite things about this book in hopes that it will persuade you all to read it!
But first, here’s some more information on the book.
Maeve Maloney is a force to be reckoned with. Despite nearing eighty, she keeps Sea View Lodge just as her parents did during Morecambe’s 1950s heyday. But now only her employees and regular guests recognise the tenderness and heartbreak hidden beneath her spikiness. Until, that is, Vincent shows up. Vincent is the last person Maeve wants to see. He is the only man alive to have known her twin sister, Edie. The nightingale to Maeve’s crow, the dawn to Maeve’s dusk, Edie would have set her sights on the stage all things being equal. But, from birth, things never were. If only Maeve could confront the secret past she shares with Vincent, she might finally see what it means to love and be loved a lesson that her exuberant yet inexplicable twin may have been trying to teach her all along.
Five Favourite Things About Owl Song At Dawn
Unique
As far as I am aware, I have never read a book quite like Owl Song at Dawn. It is a very unique story with a unique writing style and unique structure. It made the book so very interesting to read. It did also make the book have a slow start for me and it took a while for me to really get into the story but once I got used to it all, I was well and truly sucked into the book and I could not wait to see where the story was going to take me. A very exciting way to write a book.
Diverse Characters
I absolutely loved that this book is full of so many vibrant and interesting characters including characters with Downs Syndrome, characters with Aspergers and mentions of other characters with a wide variety of disabilities too. More than that, all of the characters were dealt with in a wonderful and sensitive way and was a wonderful way of showing just how wonderful people with Downs and Aspergers are. They all have their own personalities and are full of vibrant life.
Writing Style
As mentioned above, it took me a while to get into this book and one of the reasons for that was the writing style. While it was easy to read, it was also different because the narrator is talking to another person so the book is, essentially, written as a letter/thought process to another character. So it just a small while to adjust to this but I actually really loved this aspect of the novel by the end. It really just added another dimension to the book.
Past & Present
One thing that I love in books is the characters’ background story and this book has that by the shedload. The book flipped between past and present throughout and I loved how the past stories helped you to understand the present a lot more. It really added that extra something to the book and made it that much more enjoyable. And is just another wonderful thing that made this book so unique.
Setting
While it isn’t anywhere fancy and certainly nowhere I have ever head of, I loved that this book was set at Sea View Lodge. I love that most of the story happened within the walls of the inn, both past and present. It, in itself, was a character too as it witnessed all of the events that occured throughout the novel. I also just love the way the Lodge ran and became a home to so many of the characters. It was just a brilliant addition to the book.
About the Author
Emma Claire Sweeney is a multi-award-winning author of fiction, non-fiction and poetry, who currently teaches on City University’s Novel Studio and at New York University in London.
Emma was brought up in the North West of England, the elder sibling of twins, and OWL SONG AT DAWN is inspired by her autistic sister.
With her writer friend and colleague, Emily Midorikawa, she runs the website Something Rhymed, which shines a light on the forgotten friendships of the world’s most famous female authors.
Emma writes literary features, reviews, and pieces on disability for broadsheets and magazines.
Follow the tour!
Don’t miss Emma’s guest post about Owl Song At Dawn from last week, you can find it here.
