Anna Undreaming by Thomas Welsh releases today and I am delighted to be able to finally bring you my review. I read this book a couple of months ago after the author approached me and asked me to review it and write a small blurb too. I wrote two small blurbs for the publishers to choose from. Thomas’ book is the third book I’ve read, published by Owl Hollow Press and I have to say I loved it. Another must-read added to my book list. You can read my review and blurbs below.
Anna Undreaming by Thomas Welsh
“Two worlds collide in this stunning novel of grief, survival, and the unbeatable strength of the human spirit.” Amanda J Evans
“A brilliant piece of writing…a fantasy novel filled with energetic writing that pulls the reader in and doesn’t let them go.” Amanda J Evans
Anna Undreaming Book Review
Thomas Welsh’s debut novel is an inventive story that pulls on the heartstrings and introduces a character in Anna that will resonate with many.
A broken widow, a world unseen, and a battle for life itself.
Torn apart by grief and trying desperately to battle the pull of desolation, Anna is tossed into a world where she can choose to fight for survival or have her wish for death granted.
When Anna stumbles into a Haze her whole world as she knows it changes. Attacked and fighting for her life, the only person she can turn to for answers is the mysterious Teej, the guy she met over the internet and has been avoiding because he’s completely mad.
From the first moment Anna encounters the Haze, and this new world she was unaware of, her life is in danger. Now struggling to overcome the grief eating her up inside she is faced with a new battle – the one for her life. An enemy called the Midnight Man wants her dead because she is his undoing and that of all the Astethes. He has sent his monsters after her and she has nowhere to hide.
Thrown into this new world and finding out she has strange powers, Anna becomes the saviour not only of herself but of the mysterious Teej. The choice for Anna now is whether to believe the unimaginable and fight back or hide and pretend none of it is real.
This book had me hooked from page one and in reading I became Anna. I felt her pain and suffering, understood the desolation that she wanted to give in to, and I felt the power thrum through me as she battled and became the heroine to save them all. Her strength and determination, her courage, her will to live, flowed through the pages and into part of me as well. Although she knew nothing of this new world she stood her ground and fought.
It’s not often we get a book where the female character has to save the male and this is what made Anna Undreaming such a joy to read. It was real, it was emotional, it was moving at times, and it was an adventure I didn’t want to end. Adrenaline coursed through my veins in parts as I held my breath and hoped for success. The descriptions of the monsters in the Haze were excellent and I found myself shivering as Anna tried desperately to escape. I felt it all and I enjoyed every single moment of this book, from the gory to the fantastical, this is a book that will take you away to another world and remind you why we strive to live.
It’s entertaining and imaginative, and yet poignant and emotionally deep at times. It reminds readers of the power we all have within to survive no matter what life throws at us. A truly excellent start to what I’m sure will be an outstanding series.
Anna Undreaming released today and is available now at all good bookstores as well as Amazon in ebook and paperback.
Until next time,
Keep reading and writing
Amanda
Amanda J Evans is an award-winning Irish author and writing coach. Amanda writes adult romance that often crosses into paranormal and fantasy. Growing up with heroes like Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones, her stories centre on good versus evil with a splice of love and magic thrown in too. Her books have all won awards and her novella, Hear Me Cry, won the Book of the Year Award at the Dublin Writers Conference 2018. Amanda is also the author of Surviving Suicide: A Memoir from Those Death Left Behind, published in 2012.
