Book Review / The Mill River Redemption by Darcie Chan (Blog Tour)

Having unexpectedly lost her husband and lacking the means to support herself, Josie DiSanti and her two daughters take refuge in the small town of Mill River, to live with Josie's aunt, Ivy. The sisters, Rose and Emily, are inseparable growing up - until a shocking tragedy tears them apart.

Years later, Rose and Emily return to Mill River for the reading of their mother's will, where they learn that Josie would do anything to force their reconciliation: the sisters must move into neighbouring houses for the summer and work together to locate the key to Josie's safe deposit box, which contains their inheritance. And so, left with no choice, Rose and Emily reluctantly begin their search. But in a place known for its magic and miracles, little do they know that an even greater treasure awaits them . . .


Published:     26th August 2014
Publisher:  Sphere (Little Brown)
Author Website:  Click here
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Not part of series ** But note the recommendation in the review below ***
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher
Review:   9 out of 10
 
My Review

What I loved about this story...
After reading, finishing and loving The Mill River Recluse I was so excited to get stuck into this one and picked it up pretty much immediately.  This story definitely did not disappoint.  Similar to Darcie Chan's first book there are quite a few characters that feature in this story but I had absolutely no problem keeping up to date with each of them.  I do have to say that it did help that I had read The Mill River Recluse recently as characters from that story are also in this one.  

What I loved the most about this story was the personalities of the two sisters, Rose and Emily and their relationship with each other - both in the past and in the present.  They seem to be the complete opposites in nearly every way possible.

I also liked the fact that this story is split into two 'time zones' - one following Josie's story (Rose and Emily's mother) when the two sisters were children and the other in the present day when Rose and Emily are adults. 

What I was not fond of with this story...
I have to be honest and say that the ending of this story really surprised me.  Obviously I won't talk about what happens as I don't want to spoil the story for you but there is a twist that I really wasn't expecting and it really threw me.  It wasn't necessarily the ending that I was hoping for and expecting but an interesting one...  

RECOMMENDATION

Although The Mill River Redemption can be read as a stand alone novel, completely separate to Darcie Chan's first book The Mill River Recluse, there are quite a few references to the first book in The Mill River Redemption some of which will spoil the story in The Mill River Recluse.  

If you don't like to be spoiled, I would strongly recommend picking up Darcie Chan's first book (The Mill River Recluse) first and then follow it with The Mill River Redemption.   


About the Author
From Goodreads

Darcie Chan is the author of THE MILL RIVER RECLUSE, an originally self-published debut novel that became a word-of-mouth e-book sensation. With more than 700,000 copies sold, THE MILL RIVER RECLUSE appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists for more than 30 weeks and became a heartwarming favorite of readers across the country.

Ballantine Books will release THE MILL RIVER RECLUSE in print for the first time in the United States and Canada on June 17, 2014, and an updated e-book version of the novel will go on sale on that same date.

Only two short months later, on August 26, 2014, Darcie's second novel, entitled THE MILL RIVER REDEMPTION, will be published in both print and electronic formats. Like her first novel, THE MILL RIVER REDEMPTION is set in the fictional town of Mill River, Vermont, and will be released by Ballantine Books.

Currently, Darcie lives just north of New York City with her husband and son. She is hard at work on the third novel in the Mill River series.