Breathtaking! What a marvelous read that brings in historical fiction and a coming of age tale all into one. A story of bad circumstances that lead to a shared fate is always an interesting read and I thoroughly enjoyed Two White Queens and the One-Eyed Jack.

Our story follows children who come from rough circumstances - one losing an eye, one losing their vision, and two girls who's Mother is lost to them - and to their eventual adulthood. The story shows us their own paths as well as some of the adults in their lives. This book is much more a contemporary fictional read than a pure historical read. There is historic information that will peak your interest if you love interesting facts like me, this is book is more a character study in my humble opinion.

This is a unique read and I loved it. I'm so glad I picked it up at a local bookstore.

Four out of five stars. ( )

The author states that “This novel is my small way of scratching the surface of complacency with my raspy voice.” While Heidi von Palleske may believe that, this novel is spoken with a voice of fluid thought, descriptions, emotions and tremendous lyricism. She hasn’t scratched the surface of complacency, she has ripped it wide open and exposed the underbelly of vile familial situations. She hasn’t omitted many topics, she hasn’t deflected the raw emotions that are part of the territory of love and loss, rape and incest, everyday and otherworldly, loss of sight and gain of wisdom. She speaks through her characters and you feel the gamut of their feelings and experiences. She guides you in the history of oculary making it more interesting than you thought possible. Her transitions between characters and the story are often jarring. The story flows, stops, pivots and I was never sure why but somehow it worked.

Thank you NetGalley and Dundurn for a copy. ( )