Fireflies in Winter by Eleanor Shearer

 

Nova Scotia, 1796. Cora, an orphan newly arrived from Jamaica, has never felt cold like this. In the depths of winter, everyone in her community huddles together in their homes to keep warm. So when she sees a shadow slipping through the trees, Cora thinks her eyes are deceiving her. Until she creeps out into the moonlight and finds the tracks in the snow.

Agnes is in hiding. On the run from her former life, she has learned what it takes to survive alone in the wilderness. But she can afford no mistakes. When she first spies the young woman in the woods, she is afraid. Yet Cora is fearless, and their paths are destined to cross.

Deep among the cedars, Cora and Agnes find a fragile place of safety. But when Agnes's past closes in, they are confronted with the dangerous price of freedom--and of love....

With evocative prose and immersive storytelling, Fireflies in Winter is a powerful novel about love--love for the wilderness in all its unforgiving beauty, and love between two women who risk everything to be together.

Fireflies in Winter is the first book I have read by Eleanor Shearer and this one was certainly a learning curve for me as I had no prior knowledge of The Maroons who were sent from Jamaica to Nova Scotia, I had to google this to get a general insight into this because the book did't so much educate me on this it prompted more of an intrigue which made me want to gather more insight.

The storyline sure is a story of resilience and survival in a dangerous and unsettled place which was felt through the pages with thanks to the author's descriptive writing style. Our main characters Cora and Agnes really are strong women but they had no choice if they wanted to survive and live a life of freedom. We also meet Thursday who I loved from our first meeting and he was the only character I found myself really drawn to and had trust in too.

This book isn't full of dramatic twists and turns, it is a gentle paced read too but for the story it is trying to tell this works well. I did find it took me quite a while to feel invested in the storyline however I do wonder if this was more so because of my lack of knowledge of the history that this book is cantered around so maybe those who have existing knowledge may find it a different reading experience.