All The Winters After - Book Review

Kache hasn't been home to Alaska since his parents and brother died in a tragic plane accident twenty years ago. All these years he's been carrying around the grief and burden of losing his family but now his grandmother is dying and his aunt Snag has asked to come home.  Kache expects to find the old homestead in rubble and decay since it has stood empty all this time.

Kache and Snag didn't know that the homestead has actually been cared for by Nadia, a young woman hiding out from her clan of Old Believers. Used to a life of solitude, Nadia hasn't left the homestead for nearly ten years. She's kept up the place and left it essentially the same as it was the day Kache's family died.

Kache, Snag and Nadia must all face their personal fears and guilt and find a way to heal their hearts and move on with their lives.

I love a book set in Alaska. There just seems to be an extra bit of magic and wonder, danger and fear when a story takes place in the majestic and rugged beauty of Alaska. So, I was expecting a lot when I picked up All the Winters After by Sere Prince Halverson. Though the novel took a different direction from what I was initially expecting, I did enjoy reading more about the characters and their experiences and adventures in Alaska. Part of the fun of the Alaska setting is that certain plots really only work there. I appreciated the addition of the Old Believers, a Russian religious sect that immigrated to Oregon and then Alaska. I have never heard of them before so I found it rather interesting. The characters were unique enough to be interesting. Aunt Snag was so likable in her vulnerability and sensitivity hidden behind her facade of strength. The strengths of the novel are  definitely characterization and setting.

The plot line gets hijacked by romance for too long and it starts to drag in the middle. There was foreshadowing of a thriller but the climax and ending were abrupt and lacked the intensity I was hoping for. Overall, All the Winters After was a fairly good read that started out strong but lost momentum for the conclusion. I enjoyed reading more about Alaska.

All The Winters After by Sere Prince Halverson was published by Sourcebooks Landmark in
February 2016.

**I received a complimentary copy of All the Winters After. All opinions are my own. No compensation was received.**