The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan

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Book summary: 

Rollrock island is a lonely rock of gulls and waves, blunt fishermen and their homely wives. Life is hard for the families who must wring a poor living from the stormy seas. But Rollrock is also a place of magic - the scary, salty-real sort of magic that changes lives forever. Down on the windswept beach, where the seals lie in herds, the outcast sea witch Misskaella casts her spells - and brings forth girls from the sea - girls with long, pale limbs and faces of haunting innocence and loveliness - the most enchantingly lovely girls the fishermen of Rollrock have ever seen.
But magic always has its price. A fisherman may have and hold a sea bride, and 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 is. He will be equally ensnared. And in the end the witch will always have her payment.

          Don't be surprised if you see plenty of people putting this book as DNF as this books takes time. It takes time to feel its magic and get into the story. Luckily for me they are my favorite type. Also luckily for you because I'll try to make you read it and experience the real magic.

         Everything starts in Rollrock Island, a very lonely place where most of the people are fisherman and they're pretty much cut out off from the outside world. They visit other islands from time to time but most of their lives they spend in Rollrockll. Beside being lonely this island is also very special and magical, very magical. It's the place where on the beach you can see seals lying in herds and only one person can wake them up. And everything starts with her...

         Once upon a time Misskaella was just a simple girl in Rollrock and as many other girls she dreamed of marring and having a normal life, only some other things stopped her in that. Which lead to another thing - her magic and soon enough from the village's outcast she became the most powerful person, which changed lives of all village for many generations to come.

          If you have a brilliant mind (as I do) and start reading this book without reading the blurb first you'll be lost. I mean you'll be lost anyway because this book has different narrators but as the plot unfolds you get to understand the connection between them, but I was extra lost. Don't bother if the whole idea seems pretty wicked as it really is, the writing here will keep you going and probably you'll start believing everything the author says. It's like magic where her words bewitched me and I couldn't but love this book.

          I'm sure not many people will appreciate the suffering to discover the beauty here, but not me. I'm that kind of person that doesn't like that beauty that everyone can see, I like to search, go deeper to discover that beauty inside, the one that's hard to get but once you have it you feel fulfilled.

Rating: 5 stars.

Until the next time,