Review of A Watch in the Night

[srkilgour]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "A Watch in the Night" by Roseanna Lee.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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A Watch in the Night: Book One – Give Your Angels Charge by Roseanna Lee is the first book in the A Watch in the Night series. Give Your Angels Charge follows the lives of Naomi Ivey and her daughter, Karen. They live in the swamplands of Florida in Tate’s Hell on the outskirts of the larger town of Trinity. Tate’s Hell is not a place for the weak of heart and very few people live and survive out there. On a rare snowy night, Naomi’s neighbor, Bessie Whately, brings over her daughter’s newborn twins to watch, while she waits for the sheriff and doctor. Unfortunately, her daughter, Lily, died during the traumatic childbirth. These three ladies find themselves raising the newborns alone in the swamplands, where there are not many resources. Can these three ladies successfully raise the newborns in such dire circumstances?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The writing transported you to this place in the swamps of Florida that made you feel like you were right there with them. You were completely immersed in their lives and felt like you were friends with the characters. Naomi and Karen had such a realistic mother-daughter relationship, especially after the passing of Naomi’s husband the year prior. The navigation of their new lives without him and only having each other to survive in this tough place was so refreshing.

This is not a true standalone book. You need to read all the books in the series to completely understand what is happening in each individual book. There are a lot of loose ends that are never tied up or even really explored in this first book. This first book introduces you to the characters and Tate’s Hell, but to get any closure of most of the things in the book, you need to keep reading. This book does end on a cliffhanger that forces you to read the next book in the series.

I think this series is very interesting and the writing was fantastic. I think Lee did a great job to give us just enough mystery and getting us to fall in love with her characters to make you want to keep reading the series. I would give Give Your Angels Charge 4 out of 4 stars for these reasons.

I would recommend this book and ultimately this series to anyone that loves a good story about the power of family and love. I would not recommend this book to anyone that has triggers to alcoholism and abuse.

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A Watch in the Night
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[Okorji98]

There are a lot of loose ends that are never tied up or even really explored in this first book. Hope they are all tied up in the consequent book in the series. Great review.

[Yasmine Zaki Muhieddine]

The storyline is engaging. It must be hard to raise a newborn in these conditions, let alone newborn twins. Thank you for the review.

[Duwire Banda]

Naomi Ivey looks like a character I would love to read about. I will get this book if I come across it.

[NetMassimo]

I have mixed feelings about this novel because it has some engaging elements but the power of family and love are not something I look for in story, especially if I have to read a whole series. Regardless, thank you for your great review!