Recent Reads: Tristis Manor by J.R. Wagner

Tristis Manor by J.R. Wagner

Series: The Never Chronicles #1.5

Publisher: Solomon Caw Publishing

Publication Date: March 20, 2013

 

Format: Ebook

Source: Netgalley and Solomon Caw Publishing

My Rating:

Goodreads Synopsis:

Margaret lives in a constant state of fear. Fear of her mother, whose constant state of anger and unwillingness to speak of Margaret's past have long since pushed Margaret away. Fear of disappointing her father should he ever discover the events of that day. Most of all, Margaret lives in fear of her abuser's return. Margaret turns to self-harm to cope with her pain and fear. Only when her self-inflicted injuries bring her near death does she realize she has the power and the support from an unlikely place to stand up to her fears and believe in herself again. Tristis Manor is a novella from The Never Chronicles, an epic fantasy series.

Review:

WOW! This was an intense book to read. I was so taken aback by the emotion and pain from the story, but also how well the author put all of it onto paper. I am blown away by this story.

Tristis Manor is a novella in The Never Chronicles series, and I have read book one and it was great, but I am not sure how this will play into it, thus the 4 star rating versus 5. It tells the story of Margaret and her pain and suffering and it was not an easy book to read in terms of there being mental and physical abuse, as well as rape and a good amount of violence.

The author does a spectacular job with his descriptions, in the beginning of the book you learn that Margaret has a coping strategy of running her fingers over splinted wood, and the detail that he goes into to describe these motions and feelings made me both cringe and assess the state of my fingertips.

Also impressive is the overall storytelling, Wagner is a wonderful fantasy writer, and this was no exception. He builds the Manor, the characters, and the emotion around this one little girl that has you feel for her as if you know her. She is strong but also weak and deals with so much more than a child should.

I am interested to see where his character is added into the Never Chronicles or how these stories merge. If you have the opportunity though, and a strong stomach, you can pick up this novella without any knowledge of the first book in the series.