#Blogblitz #Review: Ours is the Winter by Laurie Ellingham @laurieellingham @HQDigitalUK @rararesources

Release date - 17th November 2017
Book length - 384 pages
Publisher - HQ Digital
Amazon UK - www.amazon.co.uk
Amazon US - www.amazon.com


I want to thank Rachel from www.rachelsrandomresources.com for providing me with a copy of this book for review, and for the opportunity to take part in this wonderful blog blitz!


ABOUT THE BOOK

Journeying across the Arctic, their pasts are about to catch up with them.

Erica, Molly and Noah are embarking on the challenge of a lifetime, driving Siberian huskies across the frozen wilderness of the Arctic. Cut off from the world and their loved ones and thrown together under gruelling conditions, it isn’t long before the cracks start to show.

Erica has it all. A loving husband, a successful career and the most adorable baby daughter. But Erica has been living a double life, and as she nears her fortieth birthday her lies threaten to come crashing down.

Molly was on her way to stardom. But when her brother died, so did her dreams of becoming an Olympic champion.  Consumed by rage and grief, she has shut out everyone around her, but now she’s about to learn that comfort can come from the most unexpected places.

Noah has a darkness inside him and is hounded by nightmares from his past. Tortured, trapped and struggling to save his fractured relationship, he knows this journey is not going to help, but try telling his girlfriend that.

As their lives and lies become ever more entwined, it becomes clear that in the frozen wilds there is nowhere to hide.


MY REVIEW

OURS IS THE WINTER by Laurie Ellingham is so much more than what I expected, delving into an emotional and heartbreaking story with the Arctic wilderness as a stunning backdrop and almost a character in itself, offering its solitude as a respite from the loudness of the character's troubles. 

Erica and Molly are estranged half-sisters who are struggling with what has happened in their lives. Grief, lies, uncertainty, and guilt all play a huge part in their lives, and Erica desperately hopes that working together on this exploration will help them find the peace and the answers they both need, as well as a little escapism from reality.

Noah has been dragged along by his partner Rachel as she makes another attempt to 'fix' him. Why can't she understand that he will never be the same person he was before that night? Everything changed for him back then and as he constantly struggles with the darkness that wants to suck him down forever, he does what he has to do to survive, and he is sure that this expedition will do nothing for him.

But as these strangers are forced to work together and share their personal space in extreme conditions, the Arctic will change each of their lives forever. And as they face up to reality it becomes clear that they will be connected forever by this experience, no matter how painful it may be.

OURS IS THE WINTER by Laurie Ellingham is a superbly written story with many ups and downs that will break your heart but it also excellently portrays the strength of the human spirit, and what we can achieve when we open ourselves up to the truth and face it head-on. The characters are flawed and emotional, and all so real to make them very easy to connect with and care about, and Noah found a special place in my heart as he struggled with his demons. The pace of the story is perfect and the Arctic setting simply breathtaking as you can picture it in your mind - and not to forget there are gorgeous dogs too! 

OURS IS THE WINTER by Laurie Ellingham is a powerful tale of strength, grief, and finding light in the darkness, and it deserves to be read by fiction fans the world over. A truly excellent story.

Author Bio:

Laurie Ellingham lives on the Suffolk/Essex border with her two children, husband, and cockerpoo Rodney. She has a First Class honours degree in Psychology and a background in Public relations, but her main love is writing and disappearing into the fictional world of her characters, preferably with a large coffee and a Twix (or two) to hand. 


For more information:
Website - www.laurie-ellingham.com
Twitter - twitter.com/laurieellingham
Facebook - www.facebook.com/LaurieEllinghamAuthor/


CHECK OUT THE TRAILER FOR 'OURS IS THE WINTER' HERE - www.facebook.com/LaurieEllinghamAuthor/videos/764727783715328