It was a bit repetitive, and some readers might not find it exciting enough for them, but I really enjoyed it.
The cover is beautiful, and of course I loved the details about the birds, the quest to protect endangered wildlife, etc.
4 stars
Sorry, I took this picture to test my phone's camera, and I thought it was so pretty I had to share:
The National Trail Trek is an annual event at Phoenix's South Mountain Park. It's a 15.5-mile hike from one end of the park to the other, and this year I got to volunteer with it, hiking the trail and helping participants along the way. It was a beautiful day (back in January), with perfect weather and good fun.
Here we are starting out in the dark:
And me at the end of the day, still feeling good:
The desert setting was awesome, and though a few too many dangerous things happened on their trip for it to really be believable, other aspects of the desert WERE believable and well drawn.
The backpacking details were interesting for me, giving it good pacing throughout, even before the creepy, suspenseful part really started.
The backstory/underlying themes were strong, and I loved the exploration of the cousins’ currently strained relationship.
My only problem was the alternating first-person points of view. They weren’t always distinct enough, so I kept forgetting whose head I was in. However, it didn’t seriously affect my enjoyment.
I will read more of Natalie D. Richards.
4.5 stars
