Book Review: "The Fabled Earth" by Kimberly Brock

Reviewed by Carol Reynolds

How did the book make you feel while reading it?
The author creates a beautiful story set in the Cumberland Island, Ga area that kept me excited and intrigued until the very end. It was one of those rare books that cannot be set aside. If you have ever read a book that was impossible to "put down," this Brock novel is just like that.

Was the pacing (slow, fast, steady) a good fit for the story?
It was a perfect pace—not slow, fast, nor steady—as the author pulled the reader forward through a decades-long history of the lives of the remarkable characters that helped give the story such color and life. The character development of the strong women, the place called Kingdom Come, and the use of the Carnegie Family and its mansions all stitched together to make this a novel so alive.

What was your favorite aspect: the writing, the characters, or the setting?
The author's descriptions of Cumberland Island were so beautifully drawn in words that I could almost taste the salt sea air and feel the warm breeze. I now have Cumberland Island on my "bucket list" of places to visit!

Who is this book for?
Adults who love historical fiction.

What other books did it remind you of?
The racism and gender equality issues present here remind me of “The Cigar Factory” by Michele Moore. Its plot covered the American period 1917–1946.

Would you read more from this author based on this book?
I have enjoyed reading all of Kimberly Brock's novels and await her next one impatiently. I enjoy supporting local authors, especially one like Brock who can take mythology, the themes of guilt and redemption, and weave all into such a rich story.