“There is incredible love in every word, as there must‘ve been in every movement of her hands, every nail she hammered. I am taken from this bleak and stormy Island to live for an afternoon among her snow gums, I imagine myself waking to the morning fog and the sun rising over the hills, the glorious view from her bedroom, and before I know it, I am in her bed, and then, accidentally, she is in this bed beside me.”
pickSlow build, big ending! Some mixed feelings about it but it did pack a punch. Listen to the audio if you like Australian accents 😂 #BOTM
pickWork has been turning my brain to mush so it took me some time to get sucked into this book but when that switch flipped I was tearing through it because I had no idea where it was going and was so excited to find out. I think this is my favorite by the author so far.
It‘s no surprise to me that Wild Dark Shore was my March favorite. I had to add the Shadow and Bone trilogy as my first Wild Card though. Yes I‘m counting the whole trilogy as one complete work. 🙂📚 Cuz I can.
#bookbracket
“Here is the nature of life, we must love things with our whole selves knowing they will die.”
I absolutely devour anything Charlotte McConaghy writes ❤️
pickI will read any book this author writes. I read her first two voraciously and have waited for this one to come out impatiently. Did not disappoint. Highly recommended.
pickThis story is going to stay with me a long time. It was educational, entertaining, suspenseful, and haunting. I learned a lot about the islands on the outer banks of Australia. I also learned a lot about botany and seed vaults. This was my Book of the Month club pick for March 2025. I‘ve read so many books I would never have otherwise heard about thanks to this book club. The end of this book was especially good. I couldn‘t put it down.
pickI mean this was near future dystopian but in some aspects felt like a current-day living off-the-grid family drama. I liked it. It was unique and I had no idea how it would end or who would survive. I loved the short 9-yo Orly chapters filled with his scientific knowledge and take on life.
pickThis is a wonderful tale set on an isolated island between Australia and the Antarctic. It is there that a father and his 3 children work to save the seeds in a seed vault that climate change is destroying. This is a beautifully told story of family secrets, grief, tragedy and love. The environment and wildlife are also lovingly depicted. I loved the characters and the story, and it will stay with me. Thanks to Edelweiss+ for the ARC 4.75/5
pickWhat a great book!
Very atmospheric.
Towards the end, I was flipping pages as quickly as I could while mysteries were being revealed and questions were being answered.
pickThis atmospheric book steadily drips in the desperation as different characters seek out their goals on a remote, ravaged island. I felt like I was there and could feel the cold and urgency as these characters circled each other. Really good.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book beautifully exposes the expansiveness of love, etching itself right into the heart. How we can choose to add to destruction or choose to care for one another. How it‘s worth the fight because sometimes things can survive despite all odds. How loss is a painful reality, but we keep loving anyway. How love doesn‘t dissolve with the body - it carries on. #BOTM
My March #botm and #aardvark picks!!
I‘ve never read Stephen Graham Jones before, so I‘m going to try this one and hope it‘s not too scary!
pickLook at all those unread books. And yet I can't imagine that I haven't read my favorite book of the year already. Charlotte McConaghy did it again.
Dom and his kids live on a remote island and look after a seed vault with all kinds of species in it for when the world needs them. But the water rises and then a woman washes up.
Again, nature is the main, awesome character. But the human characters, dialogues and the plot are fabulous too ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
pickI loved ONCE THERE WERE WOLVES, so I was thrilled to dive into the audio of McConaghy‘s latest and one of this month‘s #BOTM selections. It‘s a riveting premise— a woman washes up on Shearwater Island near Antarctica where the seed bank there and island is crumbling into the rising seas. A father & his three children remain— along with their secrets, as it all comes to light in the wake of their new arrival. Heartbreaking yet beautifully written!
I was so excited to see the Book of the Month choices today! 🥳🎉🎉🎉 I absolutely could not resist the pretty page edges of The God of the Woods! Do I already own a copy of it? Yes! 😂 But that's okay, because the new one will have pretty pink pages! 🤭💕 What did everyone else end up ordering? #botm
pickShearwater Island will exist forever in my mind. This desolate, cold, and doomed island with its isolated inhabitants, its treasure trove of seeds which hold the hope of a future world, seems as real as Antarctica. Atmospheric, tense, and incredibly well-written, this must be one of the "it" books of the year. Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for an advance review copy.
Going with my gut for my March box (and haven‘t even touched my Feb box 🫣). #botm
I‘ve been looking forward to the tagged March #BOTM selection! I‘ve really enjoyed her previous books.
I hadn‘t heard of my add on before, but I thought it seemed like a fun read to balance out some of the more intense books I‘ve read lately.
“The God of the Woods” was one of my favorite reads last year, but I had listened to the audiobook, so I‘m happy to have a physical copy! Especially with the pretty sprayed edges ☺️
So very excited for Wild Dark Shore!!! And a free book. Huzzah! 🎉
pickAnother great book by Charlotte McConaghy. The audio production was excellent with several narrators. The description of the island was so vivid. I loved the characters and their growth. Highly recommend.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance audio copy.
Pub date: March 4.
Wild Dark Shore | 
