Nina Rossing

Thank you NetGalley and Harmony Ink Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I, personally, consider this year as A Year of a New Authors.
Thanks to NetGalley I have found out about so many good authors and absolutely awesome books. And Fjord Blue by Nina Rossing is not an exception.

But writing a review for this book proved to be very difficult – every sentence of the first draft of my review was one big spoiler. And I decided just to make this /- list.

What I like about this book:
1. Well developed, complex, funny, lovable, realistic characters.
2. Colourful descriptions of a Norwegian nature.
3. Trolltunga
4. Sweet storyline
5. Promising ending
6. Understanding relatives and friends
7. Characters’ development

What I don’t like about this book:
1. Too much complex sentences and lots of commas in the beginning of the book
2. Slow narration
3. God-fearing and, to be honest, crazy Even’s parents
4. My inability to read all those Norwegian names correctly (it would have been great to have a sort of list with names’ transcriptions).

P.S. Dear Nina, it was a very promising ending. I do really hope that there will be a sequel to this amazing story.… (mehr)

This book is filled with the juxtaposition of different cultures, American City life vs. Slow paced small town life and Cubano vs Norwegian life. The stoic quiet small town religious culture of the Norwegian community vs. the boisterous and always stimulating American and Cubano cultures are tough on Ben at first but slowly he learns to appreciate the quiet and the beauty around him as well.

Beautiful descriptions and very well developed characters. You really feel for Even who is struggling with his super religious parents who just don't understand their son at all. Ben's grandparents who are also religious are not quite what they seem and you see glimpses of their fun nature a few times. I didn't want this story to end, I wanted to know more, I wanted to see where things would go and that to me is the measure of a really great book.

Rossing deals with the LGBT aspects in this book with raw honesty. You feel the struggle that Ben has with his new realization, and his fear of his community and his religious grandparents finding out. The tragic results that some people deal with when coming out and the grace and joy when parents embrace their children no matter what. Wonderful read.… (mehr)