Read the Author’s Notes first!

I’ve been given feedback that for people unfamiliar with selkies and world-building of that era, that it is helpful to read my Author’s Notes first (at the back of the book) before delving into the novel.

Here’s the latest 4-star review left by a reader:
​K. Stephen's knits together 1920's New England, prohibition, and the mythological selkie from Celtic and Scottish folklore seamlessly. Her research on dialect of the 1920's leaves the dialog feeling authentic. She truely does a fantastic job transporting the reader back to the 1920's. Another aspect of her writing that adds legitimacy to the time period is how the women are treated by men and how the women act towards each other.

I'm going to call Stephen's world building, "reverse-world building" because I felt like I went back in time. I felt like I was reading a novel written 100 years ago that would still resonate with modern readers. The characters were well developed and with each having their own distinct personalities, brought depth to the plot and belivability to the internal and external conflicts.

I would recommend to readers wanting to read this book to read the Author notes first. My initial read through was a 3 star read because I was unfamiliar with selkies and some of the spellings of words. After reading the Author notes, I was motivated to reread the story and was better equipped to understand and appreciate the hard work the Stephen's put into her choices.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.