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Brides of Rollrock Island
Brides of Rollrock Island | Margo Lanagan
20 posts | 37 read | 23 to read
On remote Rollrock Island, men go to sea to make their livings and to catch their wives. The witch Misskaella knows the way of drawing a girl from the heart of a seal, of luring the beauty out of the beast. And for a price a man may buy himself a lovely sea-wife. He may have and hold and keep her. And he will tell himself that he is her master. But from his first look into those wide, questioning, liquid eyes, he will be just as transformed as she. He will be equally ensnared. And the witch will have her true payment. Margo Lanagan weaves an extraordinary tale of desire, despair, and transformation. With devastatingly beautiful prose, she reveals characters capable of unspeakable cruelty, but also unspoken love."
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Clare-Dragonfly
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Pickpick

This book is a beautiful, heartbreaking take on the selkie legend—though in some ways not as heartbreaking as the originals. I pitied Misskaella, the witch who brings up all the seal-wives for the men, but couldn‘t fully agree with the way she takes her revenge; how could she not see the seals as deserving their own choices? I liked the variety of POVs but was disappointed in the end that the “sea hearts” they gather and eat were unexplained.

Clare-Dragonfly This was February‘s #bookspin I believe @TheAromaofBooks (edited) 2y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2y
24 likes1 stack add2 comments
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CoveredInRust
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Very interested in this one. Can't wait to see what it's like!

bnp If you like this one (I did), you may want to try her book Tender Morsels as well. 2y
35 likes1 comment
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ReadingRover
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@Avanders Thank you so much for the thoughtful end to a great two years!!! What an awesome package! Total Alice overload! I love it! You have no idea how long I‘ve wanted the Alice pop up book & I cant wait to make some of the treats in the Literary Tea Party book. They sound delicious! I hope everyone enjoyed my book. I‘m excited to read your notes. (Sorry for the delay posting). #sfmbc #thereveal #endofanera

Avanders Yay!!! I‘m glad you like your Alice 👧🏼🐰🕳⏳☕️🧁🎩👸🏻🌱🌸♥️ package! 😁😘😘 Thanks for doing #SFMBC with me - you picked such an interesting book and I had a great time w you these past couple years 😁♥️♥️ 5y
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Avanders
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Pickpick

3.5 stars. Well-written & well-told. Weird &, yes, haunting. Disturbing & yet sweet. Satisfying in the end. I‘m probably going to be thinking about it for a while. & I might think it deserves a higher rating for all that, but I nonetheless found myself struggling to stay hooked when I wasn‘t reading it, & it felt like it took me forever to get through it. For that, I think, it loses that bit O‘ star. I do recommend, though, for the patient reader.

Lindy Big Lanagan fan here. I was totally absorbed when I read this. I remember it with 5-star fervour. 😊 5y
BethM Lovely review! 5y
84 likes2 comments
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Avanders
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Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! 🦃🍁♥️
Here in the high desert, we got snow (a lot for us! And it kept snowing even after that pic in the bottom left) and it was lovely, even if it made for occasionally treacherous driving bc most people down here don‘t regally know how to drive in snow ❄️😳😜.

Also, I received the last book for #SFMBC #Speculative Fiction Mail Book Club from @ofbooksandme — Thank you!! So excited! 👏🏽👏🏽♥️

AmyG Wow! 5y
jillannjohn I‘d love some snow! In the 70‘s here. Happy Thanksgiving! 5y
Sace Yikes! 5y
See All 16 Comments
MommyOfTwo The weather is so weird lately. This snow by you and in California by my sister in law but here in Wisconsin all we are getting is rain! 5y
AprilMae We got about 9inches where I live in central MN. Another storm is supposed to come through tonight to Sunday. I'm not ready for it yet 😔 5y
kezzlou85 Looks beautiful, I keep hoping it will snow here though just a couple of inches brings the country to a standstill. 5y
ReadingRover Yay! So good to see my book again. I hope you like it. We were supposed to get snow here today but only got a slight drizzle 😕 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I hope you had a great Thanksgiving 🧡🧡🧡 5y
Avanders @jillannjohn I was sooo happy to see it! I confess, I was also happy when it all melted the next day 🤭 Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃🍁 @MommyOfTwo I know, it‘s so bizarre! But I‘m always happy to get snow ❄️💙🤍❄️ @AprilMae eep! Hope you‘re staying warm!! 🔥 @kezzlou85 I know the feeling.. I‘m often hoping for it too! 🙏🏽❄️ @readingrover I can‘t wait to read it! 😄👏🏽 aw man... hope you get bunches soon! 💙❄️🤍 5y
Avanders @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks you too!! 🦃♥️🍁🦃♥️🍁 5y
ReadingRover @Avanders lol it came! Just a bit ❄️ but more is on the way. Winter is coming!!!! 5y
BethM I had no idea you got snow! 5y
Avanders @ReadingRover yay!!! I 💙 winter 😁😁 @Bethm lol you mean like ever? Yeah ... we‘re as high as Denver, which helps in the snow department... not nearly as much, tho, since we‘re farther south and, ya know, desert. 😉 When I first moved down here, it was more common... weird that it seems to have changed so much in 15 years! 5y
MrsGagnonreads2024 @Avanders l emailed you the tracking number for Karina‘s package 5y
Avanders @Endowarrior21 got it - thanks! 5y
98 likes1 stack add16 comments
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MrsGagnonreads2024
Bailedbailed

I DNF at page 50 I tried but it just not my type of book.

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Julies_Bookshelf_Adventures
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MommyOfTwo
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I will be finishing this one today. #CurrentRead #RiotGrams

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EmilyChristine
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Pickpick

I almost finished this last night but not quite. I really liked the way the author wrote this. You could really feel what the women and men felt, when they were yearning for the sea. I also liked the different chapters by different characters and how it followed each generation. I did go and read the first chapter again since it kinda jumps back to the start in chapter two.

Just FYI, this is not a romance. #magicalrealism #seal-wife

25 likes1 comment
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EmilyChristine
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After finishing my last book I wasn‘t sure what to read. So I went on overdrive and found this. I‘ve seen it before but now it seems like a good time to read it. Anyone else read it? The picture reminds me of the movie “Secret of Roaninish” that I watched when I was younger.

BarbaraTheBibliophage I loved that movie!! 7y
26 likes1 comment
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4ravens
Sea Hearts | Margo Lanagan
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Course required reading

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HeatherBlue
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This is off to an odd start so far, but I‘m curious to see where it goes.

ReadingRover I‘m reading this one too!!! 7y
HeatherBlue @ReadingRover What do you think of it so far? 7y
thereadingowlvina I read the first few pages and gave up. Please let me know your thoughts on this book. Maybe I should try again? The premise sounds so good though 🙄 7y
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HeatherBlue @thereadingowlvina I was not super thrilled with it...the writing was very poetic, but it was more like a series of linked short stories than an actual novel. I also felt like a lot of the characters were pretty flat. Pretty writing, but it definitely wasn‘t nearly as good as I was expecting 😕 7y
ReadingRover @HeatherBlue I just finished this. I loved the writing & I enjoyed the book but I also felt like the pacing was off at times. I did have some trouble connecting the stories if I took too long between reading. I‘d have to go back to remind myself how each person was connected. 7y
ReadingRover @HeatherBlue One thing that I thought was funny was that I immediately started reading in my head using a Scottish accent. The writing was so poetic. I was transported to Rollrock w/out even knowing it! 7y
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EmilyAnne
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Pickpick

I can't resist a good selkie story! And this one was beautifully written and compelling. Loved it!

Bette 🐱❤️ 7y
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Beachesnbooks
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Bout of Books starts on Monday! This is one of my favorite readathons because it lasts a week and is super chill. I'm super excited for my TBR 😄📚#boutofbooks

Samantha.1020 I'm participating as well! It should be a good time! Good luck with your reading!! 7y
Beachesnbooks @Samantha.1020 Thanks! Happy reading! 7y
22 likes2 comments
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KerriNTurner
Sea Hearts | Margo Lanagan
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#junebookbugs I #canteven with how evocative and powerful Margo Lanagan's writing is. This quote is about giving up a child for his own good, from Sea Hearts, also published under the title 'The Brides of Rollrock Island'.

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KerriNTurner
Sea Hearts | Margo Lanagan
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#maybookflowers So many books with a #bodyofwater . Top row I've read, bottom row is on my TBR.

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BookFreakOut
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Mehso-so

This book was haunting at times but it always took me longer than I would've cared to adjust to the narrator transitions and figure out the time frame of each section. Too many families tossed in to keep track of. I liked the section about Misskaella's origins and the beginning of the seal-wives, but then it dragged and I had a hard time convincing myself to finish.

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KerriNTurner
Sea Hearts | Margo Lanagan
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#readjanuary #fortheloveoffonts I do love a good variety of fun and beautiful fonts! Just a selection of some of my faves.

TrishB I love this cover of The Book Thief ❤ 8y
KerriNTurner @TrishB me too, it really captures the mood and themes of the novel I think. I'm lucky enough to have it signed by Markus Zusak too. 8y
TrishB Oh that's brilliant 😀 8y
LeahBergen Ooo! What is that Helen, Ballet Student? 😍 8y
KerriNTurner @LeahBergen a 1950's ballet series I found completely by chance. Helen, Ballet Student is the first, followed by Helen in Musical Comedy (which I also have), then Helen Television Dancer (which I haven't been able to get a copy of yet). A very sweet series. 8y
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AWahle
Pickpick

While this book never uses the word Shellie, that is exactly what the deal wives are. The story is told by a series of narrators starting with the son of a seal wife, to the witch who calls them forth, & includes both men besotted by these enchanting creatures & the human women affected by the choices the men of the island make. #mermaids #selkies