Imbuing the cultural differences of Germans and Navajo, The Hummingbird’s Cage takes you deep into the recesses of domestic violence and the awakening strength a person must find to face the end, be it there own or the enemy’s. Cultures may differ in some cases but in others they are very much the same, to look inward towards the proof of what we as humans have found to sustain our souls and carry on in spite of what we believe to be our last moment of life. In finding her freedom, Joanna also finds her courage. ❤️ ( )

Everyone needs a little magic in their life at one time or another, non more so than Joanna. Married to an abusive man, Joanna's days are spent trying to please him, to do nothing wrong that will set him off and to try to keep the terror of their relationship from rubbing of on their young daughter.

The beginning is a explicit rendering of the abuse. mental and physical at the hands of her police officer husband. She sees no way out until a stranger offers her a way. After things don't work out the way she planned, she finds the magical little town of Morro. She doesn't remember how she got there, nor does she know where she is at or even how this town exists, but she knows that the people there are wonderful. It provides her with the respite she need to go on and the strength to plan and future for herself and her daughter.

Wish Morro really existed or a town just like it. Just a magical little place that is there when needed. Just thinking about it and its characters puts a smile on my face. ( )

This was a difficult book to read but it was well worth it. Joanna is a battered wife, her husband is a cop and everyone in their town thinks that they have a wonderful life with their small daughter. No one knows what goes on behind the closed doors of their home. Joanna has no where to turn because her husband has managed to cut her off from her friends, keep her from making new friends and since he is a cop the police won't help. With the help of her husband's old girlfriend, Joanna is able to escape but does she really? This is a book about magic and reinvention and hope for the future. Even though the beginning is so difficult to read with all of the abuse, it is a a fantastic book and one that will stay with you long after you've read the last page. ( )

THE HUMMINGBIRD’S CAGE wasn’t an easy book to read – stories with gawd-awful abusive husbands never are – but at the same time it pulled me in and wouldn’t let go. For Joanna to have survived so long with this a-hole is amazing. Finally, a stranger comes along and offers to help her escape, and Joanna and her young daughter end up in an idyllic town called Morro.

I can’t say much about the plot without giving away spoilers, other than Morro was a curious place, and Joanna was drawn there for a reason. While the beginning of the book was suspenseful and gut-wrenching, the pace slowed down during her time in Morro. There was much for Joanna to take in and process, but it seemed her husband’s threatening presence was always close by. I thought that the ending was great, very dramatic, and also a bit sad – though in a bittersweet way.

I enjoyed Tamara Dietrich’s engaging writing style and complex characters. Joanna’s story is a haunting one, and one that I won’t soon forget.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ( )