had to return to library, will come back to it eventually!

I would love more in this universe!

I officially am admitting to myself that I can’t listen to audiobooks cause I cannot focus. If I ever find a hard copy of this book, I will devour it, but I’ve listened to the same two hours at least five times trying to take it all in so I’m giving up non-fiction audiobooks

I never want to read another kevin j anderson book but I know I’ll have to 😰

eeeeee a promising start to the last phase of the high republic, I’m loving it!!!

gosh i love Emily and Wendell, cannot believe I have to wait a whole year for the next book 😭

I tried to get into this but I’m not enjoying it, so off to the DNF pile. 

cannot get library copy again for awhile, but will come back to it!

I have been trying to read this for months and am only admitting now that I’m not having a good time. Maybe I’ll come back to it one day

The Cure for Drowning was the final book I read in 2023 and am I ever glad I ended the year with this beautiful novel! 

A historical fiction set in WWII era Canada with a touch of magical realism, this LGBT love story is about finding yourself, love, and family in turbulent times and how to survive and ultimately thrive. The story follows Rebekah Kromer, a French-Canadian-German whose family must face the rising anti-German sentiment that preluded the start of WWII and Kit McNair, whose Irish immigrant family holds the magic that saves them after a drowning at age ten, living on a struggling farm in rural southern Ontario. 

The novel switches between Kit and Rebekah's POVs as they slowly fall in love and deal with the fallout of WWII, of Kit's older brother's affections for Rebekah, and of Kit's finding themselves over the course of the war. 

The prose is gorgeous, I sped through the novel in two sittings. Having grown up in the forests of rural Ontario, I could easily imagine the landscapes and felt like they were lovingly described. 

I loved the touch of magical realism as a way for the McNair’s to come to terms (or at least just not be bothered) with Kit’s gender instead of the typical monstrous portrayals that seem to pervade literature/films/real life to demonize trans and non-binary people. 

Congrats to Loghan Paylor on this incredible debut! I hope many people read this and feel loved and seen. 

Thank you so much to Penguin Random House Canada for the eARC of this beautiful novel in exchange for an honest review