#Bookreview – Atonement, Tennessee by Teagan Riordain Geneviene

What Amazon says

Esmeralda Lawton is sick of the big city. “Ralda” was betrayed until trust became a theoretical concept. So it’s a dream come true when she buys an old estate, complete with historic cemetery. Okay, she isn’t excited about the cemetery, but she’s strangely drawn to the estate. Atonement, Tennessee, a quaint town, seems like the perfect place for her. However, her new life isn’t quiet.

The house is full of antiques. Some have extraordinary properties — a brass bed causes strange dreams, and a mirror shows the truth of who you are.

A mysterious neighbor secretly watches over the graveyard. There’s more to him than meets the eye, but what? Then there’s Gwydion, owner of Fae’s Flowers. She stubbornly resists her feelings for him.

Ralda suspects that people are drawn to Atonement to, well — atone. She wonders what sins led her there. However, her ancestress made the mistakes.

Atonement is home to more than humans. Supernaturals go there too. Some have fallen far.

This urban fantasy, seasoned with Celtic mythology, comes with a side-order of mystery. Are you sad to see the “Sookie Stackhouse” stories end? Make a visit to Atonement, Tennessee!

My review

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author has a wonderful knack of bringing her characters to life and making the reader really care about them and what is happening to them.

Esmeralda Lawton has just moved to Atonement, Tennessee after purchasing a large, ramshackle house at an “unbelievably low price” in an auction. Esmeralda or Ralda, as she prefers to call herself, can’t believe her good luck which seems almost to good to be true. Perhaps that is because it is to good to be true. The house, which is attached to a family graveyard which Ralda is also the proud owner of, has a history and is of great interest to a number of people in the town.

Not long after taking up residence in her new home, Ralda and her calico cat, who sports the gorgeous name of Lilith, start noticing some unusual things about the house and graveyard. Ralda starts to meet some unusual people; or are they people? Something rather strange is going on with strange noises in the night, enormous feathers which don’t belong to any know species and frightening dreams and thoughts. At the same time, Ralda is trying to give support to her new neighbour who is going through a rough time with her marriage and whose husband seems to have vanished.

Atonement, Tennessee is a great, all-round read, with elements of a mystery, the supernatural and romance all successfully intertwined. The book also dips into the themes of female friendships as well as destroyed trust which add to the intrigue. I read this book in less than a week and am looking forward to reading the next book, Atonement in Bloom, in this series.

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