Winter Flower

Charles Sheehan-Miles
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Release Date June 11, 2019 

Every day, Cole Roberts reminds himself that life wasn’t always this bleak. He was once passionately in love with Erin. Sam used to be an artistic and lively kid. They hadn’t always lived in a shabby two-room house in rural Alabama, where he runs a mediocre restaurant in the middle of nowhere.

That was before Brenna disappeared. It was before Cole lost his job and they lost their home.

Every day it gets worse. Erin drinks wine out of the bottle and spends her days with a tormented expression, searching the web for signs of their daughter. Sam hides in his room and rarely speaks. And Cole works himself to a stupor for a paycheck a fraction of the size of his old salary. 

Until one day a phone call changes everything.

Winter Flower is at once a tragic tale of the disappearance of a child; struggling with gender identity; of the dark world of sex-trafficking and the transformation and healing of a family. Sheehan-Miles’s longest novel delves into the depths of family life—and how, sometimes, we can heal and find restoration.

I will admit that I have been a longtime fan of Charles Sheehan-Miles' books, but I did hesitate on getting an early review copy of this one. I was concerned because I knew it was a long book(and worried about my own attention span), difficult subject matter, and a genre change(this is not a romance book). And I am a mother of a teenage daughter myself so the subject itself is my worst nightmare. But I also trust Charles to write compelling and intriguing stories.

I pre-ordered it because I still wanted to read it(but did not want to be obligated to write a review if I was disappointed). But then I started reading his chapter excerpts on Facebook each day and I got totally hooked! I think maybe that helped ease my fears because suddenly I was interested in these characters and each one drew me in more and more. He ended up sending me a review copy anyway with no pressure to review, and once I picked it up, I could not put it down.

There are so many layers to this story and it shows how life can change in an instant. The characters are very well developed and their emotions bleed off the page. They are a family left in crisis and no one seems to know how to fix the void left by Brenna who disappeared at sixteen years old. Cole is a father who had money, career, the perfect family, and he is in a completely different place now...partly due to his own poor choices. Erin is so angry and so heartbroken that she copes in unhealthy ways. Their other child, Sam, is left to deal with significant personal issues, and the loss of a sister and lack of parental attention. They are flawed, hurt, struggling, defeated, and lost. It is told in multiple points of view so you get to see how they are all trying to cope with a terrible situation. 

But then a call comes that begins a cycle of change.

This story sucked me in, captivated me, broke my heart, then put it back together. It is hard, realistic, gritty, and suspenseful, but it is tempered by hope and determination.  It deals with some current topics that you see in the news daily...not just the main plot point of the story, but there are other important side topics weaved in. One of these issues is actually very relevant in my family, and I thought the author handled it realistically and with respect for the individuals. But he also illuminated the negative stereotypes, discrimination, fear, and stress that it causes for the person and their family.

At the core of this story is the importance of actually being present for family and establishing true connections. It is easy to get distracted by daily life, work, and expectations, but you could be missing moments that you will never get back. It illustrates the need for communication, acceptance, support, family, and friendships. Yes, it is a longer book (600 or so pages), but due to the short chapters and multiple points of view, it does not drag and it kept my attention and interest throughout. The story telling is honest and riveting, and the characters and plot feel like it all could be real...the good and the bad.

So after my initial reservations, I can honestly say that I was wrong. I can recommend this book to anyone that is interested in an engrossing and current story. It is a powerful and emotional read that is also both hopeful and inspiring. Even at the end, I was not sure I was ready to let these characters go and would have liked to have had a few more chapters or epilogue farther out in time. It is certainly a story that I will never forget.

I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.