Rivers of eden
Rivers of Eden. ARC. Genre: historical fantasy/fiction.
Queer scale: Flaming. Enjoyment level: Alright.
Rivers of Eden, was set in 1890 in Dakota Territory, however
the book doesn’t really mention this except in the description on
the back cover. Honestly, it may have been better for my enjoyment if that had
not been known, as the description having a more nebulous ‘past date’ would
have meant any of the small inconsistencies in the setting, would have been
easier to gloss over. Also I know authors have this problem all the time, where
the cover artist clearly did whatever they wanted, but I spent a big portion of
the book confused over the author’s descriptions of the main characters and the
differences on the cover! It probably doesn’t help that the main character, Margaret
isn’t really described until you get much further into the book, yet Emma is described
on the second page.
This brings me to the actual story. The two women, Margaret and Emma are in love with each other. This is very apparent in the first chapter.
However, it
is confusing once you hit chapter two, because Margaret is now married to a man,
joseph, and has a child. There isn’t much to explain the sudden time jump and
it’s a bit jarring. Back to the first Chapter the women do some sort of ritual,
and we aren’t really sure where they learned this spell, or what it’s supposed
to do. They don’t seem to know why they are doing it other than Emma really wants to do it. These events seem
like they are implied to affect the rest of the story, but the reader isn’t
really sure if these later events are related to this first chapter. If
they are, for example, then why didn’t the bad things happen before Margaret get's married
or before she’s had a child?
However despite the above complaints. I enjoyed R. E. Levy’s
insight into Margaret’s mind and her thoughts throughout the book. If you are
looking for a wlw with a predictable ending, this is a wonderful short read! And honestly, having more Queer books is something I truly want! For an author to put themselves out there and self-publish a book it's a wonderful thing worth supporting!
So if you would like a copy or are intrigued by the description above, here is where you can find the author:
Patreon:
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