Review Tour + #Giveaway: The Origins by J. A. Boulet @love_walk_life @GoddessFish

The Origins

by J.A. Boulet

GENRE: Historical Romance

BLURB:

A young mother, Mt Askja and an unbreakable love

In the harsh landscapes of Iceland in 1850, a young girl loses her mother and struggles to grow into a woman alone with only her father’s help. Throughout the breathtaking 20-hour daylight summers and the bleak darkness of winters, Margret falls in love and dreams of a large family but the path to her future is rougher than she expected. The Origins will take you back in time delighting you with endearing Icelandic heritage, visual feasts for the mind and gripping you with the struggle to stay alive on a volatile island.

THE ORIGINS

Experience the rich journey of a 19th-century woman who proves that even the weakest people can become stronger than anything you can imagine.

Purchase The Origins on Amazon

Excerpt:

Margret stirred the soup slowly on the iron stove, worrying about her mother. She had always had a wheezy breath, and sometimes in the fields, she would start coughing hoarsely. In the middle of a harvest, she would take many breaks to catch her breath.

When influenza came into their home, Momma had nursed both her and her Pappa better with soups, hot drinks, blankets and loving care.

Now Momma was sick.

Some people had died from this nasty influenza. A few adults succumbed, and many babies died. Margret wrapped her momma’s red shawl around her shoulders and shivered. She couldn’t imagine a life without her momma. It was unfathomable. Momma would just simply have to survive. She must be here with them.

Margret would have to think positively. Such thoughts were like the devil trying to enter her brain. She had heard the pastor at the church say such things. That must be what it is, she thought.

She gazed through the kitchen window across the bleak frozen landscape. Iceland had some bad winters, but mostly it was bearable. Drift ice along the shores in the north brought cold weather along the eastern side of the island, and this past year was colder than usual. They lived on a sheep ranch near Horn. It was an expansive hilly countryside with beautiful views of the ocean to the east, and the mountainous regions rose to the west.

It was quite sunny today, and the weather was pleasant enough to lift her hopes. It was the start of spring and a new beginning. They had harvested all the weak animals before the last harsh winter, the neighbourhood community chipping in to help. Even Margret had been out in the fields tending to the vegetable crops and helping to build shelters for the remaining animals. The winter was typical, cool but pleasant with the ocean air, until January when the winter struck hard, with freezing temperatures and blowing winds. Sometimes the door would stick, the wooden frame swelling in the humidity, imprisoning them all in their home.

Margret sometimes wished she could fly away on a bird’s wings to a different country, somewhere more pleasant, somewhere easier. Her eyes glazed over as the sun shone brightly into the kitchen, warming her hands.

She was only a child, but she had her share of life’s tribulations. Her younger brother had died at birth, and her mother could not conceive again. The doctor said the blood in her uterus was no longer any good. Margret wondered if such talk was true or just a simple explanation for a complex problem.

The soup began to boil, and she grabbed the oven mittens. Margret lifted the pot to the side table, placing it on a large ceramic cooling pad. She ladled hot soup into three bowls. Hopefully, Momma would eat. She sat down and waited patiently for the bowls to cool enough to take one to Momma. Margret laid her chin in her hands and daydreamed across the bleak landscape. One day, she would grow up, fall in love with a handsome man and have many children of her own. She looked forward to that day. Margret always wanted a big family.

The longcase clock chimed at 2 o’clock in the afternoon. The sound awakened her out of the daydreaming.

She tested the soup with a small spoon and blew on it. It was cooled enough. She would feed her mother, and Momma would get better.

My Review:

The Origins is the fourth book in The Olason Chronicles. I fell in love with The Olason Chronicles and all of its characters in the first book The Strong Amongst Us. I have read all the books in The Olason Chronicles and I have truly and honestly loved each and every one. Each book was so very unique in its own way.

I loved following this family down through the years and getting to know them. I was very happy to go back in time with the Olason family to see where and how their story began. I enjoyed going back to see Nathan’s homeland, Iceland, and getting to know his mother and father’s story and how their stories began.

While The Olason Chronicles are books about the same family they can still be read as standalone. Each book tells its own story of the same family spanning over years and generations of love, heartache, loss, misery, and hardship.

The Origins is one of those stories where you feel as if you are one of the characters. It is written so well that you feel as if you are a part of its world. I had no problem at all seeing what I was reading in my head as if I was watching a movie.

Oh, and speaking of movies I would truly love to see The Olason Chronicles on the big screen. I honestly believe that it would be a big hit. In many ways, it reminds me of Yellowstone’s original show, 1883.

Like all the books in The Olason Chronicles before it, The Origins will grab your attention from the first page and will not let go until you have read the last page. The twists and turns just keep popping up one right after the other. You will be pulled in so deep that the world around you will disappear. When the end does make an appearance you are shocked back to reality way too quick.

I love this family and their world and would love to read more about them and their lives.

I highly recommend The Origins to anyone looking for their next best read! One-click your copy of The Origins and take a step back in time. Oh, be sure and check out all the other books in The Olason Chronicles as well.  

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

J. A. Boulet is the passionate author of The Olason Chronicles, a historical saga of war, courage, love and strength. Her newest novel The Origins Book 4, the final book in the series, is being released on June 8, 2022. J. A. Boulet was born and raised in Western Canada as a first generation Canadian from European descent. Her father enlisted with the Hungarian military and fought bravely during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, changing sides to stand up for what he believed in. He was granted asylum in Canada and built his family here.

J. A. Boulet was born many years later, raised with strong morals and values, which she stands behind to this day. She started writing poetry at the age of five and progressed to short stories and novels. She has a keen interest in ancestry, healing, family bonds and military history. J. A. Boulet writes with a spine-tingling realism like none other, grabbing your emotions and refusing to let go. The Olason Chronicles is the series you’ve been waiting for. Watch for the next book 1956: Love and Revolution (Dec 2022), a standalone historical romance novel that takes place during the courageous Hungarian Revolution.

Follow her on her Website, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Reddit

 

Giveaway:

$15 Amazon or B/N GC

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