Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick Review

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick
Release Date: April 22, 2014
Publisher: Square Fish; 288 pages
Rating:

Seven stories of passion and love separated by centuries but mysteriously intertwined—this is a tale of horror and beauty, tenderness and sacrifice.

An archaeologist who unearths a mysterious artifact, an airman who finds himself far from home, a painter, a ghost, a vampire, and a Viking: the seven stories in this compelling novel all take place on the remote Scandinavian island of Blessed where a curiously powerful plant that resembles a dragon grows. What binds these stories together? What secrets lurk beneath the surface of this idyllic countryside? And what might be powerful enough to break the cycle of midwinterblood? From award-winning author Marcus Sedgwick comes a book about passion and preservation and ultimately an exploration of the bounds of love.

This book was weird. I'm going to put that out there right from the start. I wasn't sure what to think of it even halfway through the book. I honestly was intrigued but had no idea what was going on or where this was going. Sure, I had some ideas in my head but they just didn't make sense. Don't worry, this is completely normal for this book (I had to ask someone else whose read it). But when things start to come together, they really come together and it's almost impossible for you to put the book down.

I'm not sure I can really go into detail about this book without doing two things; 1) confusing you and 2) spoiling things. But seriously, you've probably never read anything as unique as this. Or if you have, I bet you can count the number of books on one hand. How complicated it all is just puts me in awe. The fact that you, as a reader, are scratching your head through half the book wondering how this is going to tie together to the point where things slowly start doing just that, typing themselves up in a nice, twisted bow. I a nice, beautiful, twisted bow.

Once you get to the end, you'll probably put the book down and just go wow and just sit there, thinking about what you just read. You're probably also unsure how you actually feel about the book. Believe me, this is completely normal. It's one of those books that need to settle and sink in for a few days before you're completely engrossed.

All I can is if you decide to read this book, do me and yourself a favor, don't give up. Hang in there and read this book until the end (I've been told the audiobook is phenomenal if you'd rather listen to it). I think you'd end up regretting not getting to the end to see everything come together.

Thank you so much Ksenia from Macmillan for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.